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Went from squishy pedal to firm bite in one afternoon on my 2003 Camry
Swapped out some AutoZone special pads for OEM Toyota ones last Saturday and the difference was night and day - pedal feels solid now and stops way shorter. Anyone else notice how cheap store brand pads just don't grip the same even when they're brand new?
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taylorb949d ago
Oh man, that reminds me of my buddy Dave with his old Civic! He bought the cheapest pads he could find at some discount auto parts place, and the pedal felt like stepping on a marshmallow for the first week. They would grab okay once they warmed up, but in the rain? Forget about it, he almost rear-ended someone at a stoplight. He finally swapped to some mid-range Nissans I think, and the difference was wild. The brake feel went from vague and spongy to actually telling him what the car was doing, and he stopped worrying about panic stops. It really is amazing how much a decent pad changes the whole driving experience, even on a normal commuter car.
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hill.barbara9d ago
Stepping on a marshmallow" is the most perfect way to describe cheap brake pads I've ever heard, @taylorb94. Dave got off lucky, my buddy tried the same trick and his pads basically disintegrated after one hard stop on the highway. Honestly, spending a few extra bucks on pads is cheaper than a new bumper.
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rivera.jake8d ago
Right? Isn't it wild how much a bad pad can ruin the whole driving experience? I had a similar situation with an old truck I used to have. Put on some store brand pads and the thing would just shudder and shake whenever I hit the brakes from 60 mph. Swapped to some basic Bosch pads and it was a whole new truck, smooth stops every time. It's one of those things where you don't realize how bad it was until you actually get something decent.
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