Well, i can't decide what to get.

My front right brake is making some serious grinding sounds. Sounds like maybe the brake has worn all the way down and is destroying the rotor now.

Rotors look bad anyways. So, why not replace them?

My question is. I plan on getting the HAWK HPS brake pads from the mazdatrix site. They look pretty inexpensive and my car is mostly street. No heavy racing.

So, on the rotor side. I can't decide between getting some slotted rotors, or just staying with the regular vented ones.

On the mazdatrix site, the OEM ones are... $95, and the aftermarket are $75.

Are the AM ones better or worse the OE? If I decided to go for some slotted, where is a good place to buy those? I don't want to buy drilled because of the tendancy to crack where the holes are. But slotted seems like a good middle between insane performance and reliability.

Any information would be great. I also plan on rebuilding the calipers while I am down there.

Thanks guys!

 

Stop right there. Now, go down to the nearest NAPA or whatever other parts store and order some of their OEM replacement rotors. It shouldn't cost more than $25/ea. The aftermarket ones are just fine. Lots of people use the NAPA rotors for racing without issue.

 

^^ What he said.

If you want 'name brand', this place has Brembo OE-spec rotors for just slightly more than you'll pay for 'parts store brand' rotors. They have free shipping too.

-chris

 

And - if the old pads are worn unevenly, swap in some rebuilt calipers.

Mazda did a good job with the stock brakes on the 7's.
Hawk pads & slotted rotors are for track cars, or for looks.
I leaned hard on my stock brakes carving through Deal's gap last spring with no brake worries. (20-70-20-60-15-70.. 300 times)

Here's a clip:
link to 13MB video

 

There's also a group buy going on for slotted, drilled and vented rotors right now.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=613125

 

Yay for NAPA. $21 each rotor.

Now I am going to buy some pads and when I get the calipers off I am going to look at them and see if they need to be rebuilt.

Thanks guys.

 

Don't forget to bleed the brakes. Good fluid is just as important as anything else, if not more. Old, crappy fluid can get hot, boil (which creates bubbles in the lines), and leave you with no brakes. I use ATE Super Blue or gold.

 

Yea, most people don't realise how cheap rotors can be. And it's not like they're not decent quality too.