Front Brakes Replacement

[SW03ES]

Banned.

What an a$$hole LOL

[Mike Hobbs]

If this is not the most appropriate venue for a report to fellow LS400 owners, I apologize in advance, but thought that my experiences with front brakes might be useful for others. My local dealer did the usual 90K mi. work, including tire rotation. When I subsequently noticed that my front rotors were warping (the usual symptoms), I checked the lug nut torque and found that I had to stand on a 3 foot breaker bar added to a lug wrench to loosen them! I weigh 172 lbs. Draw your own conclusions and I won't elaborate on other observations that lead me to believe that they are, in my opinion, corrupt. Anyhow, after some study of the subject, I replaced my front pads with Wagner Thermo-Quiet ceramics (about $22 after rebate and, yes, I checked the specific characteristics of the product carefully before selecting) and the rotors with Bendix (about $23 and, yes, I compared weight, thickness, composition, surface, cooling vanes, etc.). The job was very easy to do myself and the results have been excellent...easily equivalent of the original performance. I have not tried other "aftermarket" brake components but thought I'd just report my experience with these particular ones since they are readily available and by major manufacturers. I have since met a knowledgeable Lexus owner who uses NAPA brake pads and has been happy with them as well.

[curiousB]

I had the same trouble. New tires at a tire store. Work was done in the evening and they hire high school kids for night shift.

Well an 18 year old male chock full of testosterone holding an impact gun and the formula for over torquing is complete.

My front rotors were warped within a month.

Learned my lesson. I've bought torque limiters for my home shop to avoid this. I always use a torque wrench for final tightening.