OEM vs. Aftermarket Brake Rotors and Calipers

In September 2021 I upgraded (or so I thought) to the Power Stop KC137-36 Z36 Drilled/Slotted Brake Rotors and Calipers. After my most recent off-road trip I noticed the driver side brake pads were grinding against the rotors causing a horrendous burning smell. They became extremely hot and started smoking when I cooled them off with water.

I had the truck towed to Toyota and they recommended I go back to OEM rotors and calipers. I only had the Power Stops on for just over a year and on 5 off road trips. Does anyone have any advice or insight into OEM vs. Aftermarket Rotors and Brake Calipers. I live in New England and spend about 90% on-road and 10% off road through out the year. I am running 35x12.5x17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT's. My thought was with the larger tires and added weight to the truck I would need an upgraded braking system. Maybe I just chose the wrong ones? Are people still using OEM brakes with aftermarket wheels and tires and added armor? Any input is helpful.

$552 Power Stop KC137-36 Z36 Truck & Tow Front Calipers with Drilled and Slotted Brake Rotors, Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads Brake Kit For Toyota 4Runner FJ Cruiser Tacoma 6 Lug

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CFL5OTI?ie=UTF8

 

Your actual caliper was grinding against the rotors? Or the brake pads were grinding? I have the same PowerStop brakes, but prefer OEM. Only reason I didn't go back OEM was the rotors were backordered when time came for me to do my brakes, and I didn't want to wait any longer for them to come in. Did you follow proper break-in procedure, or just install them and start driving?

Edit: I don't have the same kit; I have the kit, minus the PS calipers.

 

Sorry, yes the brake pads were rubbing on the rotors, like they ad seized to it

 

I’d stick with oem calipers and pads, but dba slotted rotors since the oem ones seem to get a lot of warping complaints

 

Gotcha, so likely that the caliper/piston/pins seized; I'm following now. To answer your question, I researched alot around here trying to figure out the "best" brake upgrade, and it really seemed that OEM or Stoptech rotors, with TRD pads, seemed to give the best performance. Going with a big brake kit is debatably "better", but yes, plenty people use stock brake components with added armor/wheels. My truck went 97k on original pads/rotors, with 60k+ of those miles added armor, wheels, AT larger tires. Of course its different for everyone, with different driving habits, towing, personal demand from their brakes, so take that with a grain of salt. I'd go back OEM calipers, and use the pads/rotors of your favorite flavor.

 

I have been looking around to see if upgrading (pads and rotors, keep oem caliper) is worth it but have seen mixed reviews on PowerStop now.

So, what did you end up doing? Go back to oem or figure something else out?

Also, I think you were on Turkey Trek with me this year - I’m the MGM Taco that ripped my bumper plastic off

 

From what I read those power stop kits with the calipers are a problem for a lot of people. Allegedly the calipers suck.
I know you can “save money” with aftermarket stuff but in the end are we really saving?
That said, there are some really good aftermarket rotors and pads available, I usually avoid ceramic pads because I like stopping power in temperature extremes and long pad life. Just my preference….. I usually always end up with a pulsation using ceramic vs semi metallic. I use only semi metallic now and they’re usually cheaper than ceramics.

My current favorite rotors are Centric High Carbon alloy. I have used Centric metallic pads and loved them (a bit dusty but that’s what soap is for lol), also have R1 Concepts semi metallic pads on my car they’ve been great.

 

Sounds like you have a stuck or sticky piston. Usually it is caused by contaminated brake fluid and/or bad seals. This can happen with OE as well as after market calipers. Of course the dealer is going to say you need to go with OEM. In this case I would probably agree with them. Unless you are auto crossing your truck, you probably don't need to upgrade your brakes. Slotted and cross drilled rotors are no benefit unless you are on your brakes a lot and need to keep them cool. They don't decrease stopping distance under normal use. They cut down on brake fade when you run them to the point that your rotors are glowing red. Virtually impossible to do unless you are on a race track. OEM calipers, rotors and pads are quality products. Really no need to change.

 

100% agree on this statement for cross drilled and slotted. 99% of road vehicles will not get any benefit from them.

Centric High Carbon alloy IMHO are great improvement alternatives to OE.
You can get them cyro treated too for better heat stability (allegedly) if needed.

 

Idk about power stop brake products, but i used ebc drilled, and slotted rotors with the stock ceramic toyota brake pads on my gen 1 tundra. This made a world of difference on that truck over the solid rotors it came with that kept warping. Pad life with the ebc rotors lasted well over 50k miles.

 

I'm in the caliper rebuilding business. Powdercoated calipers are not very good. The reason pistons stick is because of rust in the bores. The dust boots don't seal 100%, and when whatever coating degrades we will get rust in those areas...when it occurs around the boots, it holds moistures and the process continues until rust creeps under the boot and down the bore...then we have sticking problems.

Some cheaper rebuilt calipers have no coating at all, like Centric's 141 series, Nugeon, etc...it's just a bare iron shot blasted casting that's dipped in a aqueous rust preventative solution to keep it clean during it's shelf life. These will turn brown after their first exposure to water (rain, wash the car, etc..) and continue to rust. Powdercoated calipers are functionally no different. Powdercoat is thicker than paint, so critical areas of the caliper need to be masked off...around the dust boots, the bores, areas where the pads contact the castings, the pin holes, the threads, etc... Since powdercoat is pretty thick, it leaves a hard masking line, and there is always some exposed bare iron that will rust quickly.

A better solution is a plated zinc plated casting. Some of the reman calipers come zinc plated, and many of the aftermarket new calipers come zinc plated. The zinc plating is thin and go down the bore, into the threads, whatever without any adverse effects. To further improve the life of a zinc plated caliper, spray the whole thing with a good clearcoat like POR15 or even SprayMax 2K clear...it will protect the zinc, which protects the iron. If you want red or green or blue or whatever calipers...get some zinc plated calipers and paint those over the zinc. The plating, and not leaving bare iron surfaces exposed due to masking, is the important part.

If service life is a concern, go with plain rotors...in the rust belt, you'll get rust in the slots and drill holes that will creep out into the friction surface, as well as the typical rust creep from the OD and ID of the rotor into the swept area that will eventually consume the enough of the friction surface to the point where it degrades enough to not work well. With a plain rotor, the pads are able to keep to friction surface cleaner and since you've only got rust coming in from the ID and OD of the swept area, the rotors will live quite a bit longer.

 

Always go OEM, especially with brakes; I found this out the hard way...

 

I don't think that's necessary...aftermarket rotors are generally pretty good these days. The days of lousy oil-sand castings from China are long gone...all the factories are using resin sand castings and if you buy a name brand rotor, you're gonna get good quality. OEM reman calipers from the dealer are no better than what you'll find in the aftermarket...none of the OEMs rebuild anything, they simply contract with aftermarket rebuilders for that...parts/specs are really no different, even though parts counter guys and service writers might lead to believe it is...it's not.

OE pads are my preference...mostly because they always work as expected. Aftermarket pads can have some characteristics that might have you second guessing yourself and chasing your tail. I'm dealing with a soft brake pedal in a 2003 4runner right now after the customer installed some high end aftermarket OE replacement pads from a very reputable supplier. I've checked the work and performed the bleeding procedure twice now with the same results, so it's waiting on a set of OEM pads. In brake pad formulation, we can make the friction material more porous (using lightweight filler material) to help control noise, but that makes the pad more compressible, so there is a balancing act and sometimes they go a bit to far. With a real OEM pad (not the value line that Toyota is offering now)...I would not consider blaming the parts for this type of problem, but rather simply look elsewhere. If the OEM pads solve this issue, I will have wasted 2 hours of labor because someone wanted to save $30 on a set of pads rather than going to the dealer. I don't work for $15/hr.

 

I had that issue on an older car what I found was I hadn't used brake grease on the pads where they rub on the calipers, the pads need to float freely in that caliper. Also make sure the caliper itself can float like slide side to side, if the two bolts that hold it on are rubbing or dirty it may cause the caliper to stick on one side.

That said I had slotted/drilled rotors in the past and the holes caused funny wear on the pads which left my rotors with rings.

 

I put a set of powerstop brakes on the wife's Subaru WRX STI after a fast trip through the Dragon (HW 129, Great Smokey National Park), and they came off again a month later due to a wobble on the rotor and a soft brake pedal. These days I get the top of the line Wagner products from Rock Auto. Their severe duty "police grade" components are VERY good. If someone offered me a box of powerstop products I would decline or stick them in the back of the shop for an freeby job for someone down on their luck that week. They could use some quality control on their rotor casting process.

 

Imagine that the dealer would recommend their parts.

Personally, I think this is a fluke. Been running power stop for years and never had an issue like this before. They were also one of the first upgrades I did on the truck because the factory pads were so weak that they were scary (and I'm only on 33's with lightweight wheels). I'd stick to the Z36's, or upgrade to a beefier brake setup all together that can support the weight of 35's better (Stoptech, Powerbrake, etc), but to each their own.

 

With 35" tires, you would never notice a slightly wobbly rotor...I suspect my expectations on brake quality required is different than yours. In other words, we are both right.

 

10% off road? Just get a second set of tires that match the terrain where you go off pavement and swap them out when needed. You could even match your tire rotation to your off road adventurres. It maybe cheaper and safer than modifying your brake system

Problem solved.

 

Definitely as far as brake pads. I found the toyota ceramic pads best overall. They work even better with an ebc drilled, and slotted rotors for dissipating heat to prevent rotor warpage, and give stronger braking power .

 

Wow - lots of feedback! For me, I think I’m going to stay with OEM since I’m not carrying constant load and have no complaints from my current brakes. I’m thinking drilled and slotted rotors will collect more mud and muck.