iceblast

Hi all,
Looking for aftermarket brakes recommendations for the ES350 ...

I went with the OEM parts last time (they lasted 46K miles and cost an insane amount from the dealer, installed) and wasn't so happy with the relatively soft feel of the brakes. Looking for a slotted/drilled setup (if it's worth it). I heard if you put too grippy of brakes, the tires need to be upgraded ...

Can anyone recommend a brand or pads/rotors all the way around? Thanks!


PS. Tried to do a search to grab some old results, but it didn't yield much.

rlx101

slotted/drilled brakes for our cars are useless. just a cosmetic thing with pretty much 0 benefit.

jus get a OEM quality set from eBay or amazon, there are plenty of options - go by the reviews.

1eyedjak

no why on earth would you say that?

jagtoes

The ES350 is a mom and pop cushy driver so any consideration other then OEM is overkill. As a tail drag'er there is no performance benefit to high performance components . Almost all buy these cars for comfort , mileage and reliability and not for track usage. Any adaption of performance type parts would be only for cosmetic purposes . This being the case almost any aftermarket set of pad/rotors would be OK. Regarding so called soft peddle or hard peddle the stopping ability is pretty much the same and the difference is insignificant. The type of pad material is based on whether you like clean or dirty wheels. Buy what you like.

ThumperPup

Its a personal prefrences me i like to be able to stop on a dime because i have a heavy foot yes it is a mom and pop car and if you don't drive it like you would a GS or performance model then a Aftermarket good Quality OE replacment brake rotor and brakes would be fine Me

however i prefer a Brake brand called EBC but they are not cheap
I have a Slotted rotor in the front because i like to be able to stop when i want it to stop but on the rear i have Solid Rotors OEM the reasons i went with OEM was because i wanted to be able to have the rotors machine after brake pad replacements and not some cheap quality rotors that would have to be replaced.
there are many differnt ideas of brake pads our 07-2012 ES350 came stock with a OEM Semi Metallic pad not a ceramic pads but all brake shops will try and upset saying oh its a lexus it came stock with ceramic and thats not true for the 07-2012 ES350
i have read and understand that ceramic is great if your going to be in hotter weather climate areas semi metallic is best if you want stopping power and our in cold weather cliamtes but dont mind a little bit more noise and harsher pads on your rotors
because a semi metalic bites harder and stops quicker but its harsher on the rotors
and ceramic takes a bit longer to stop in cold weather but is easier on the rotors so it comes down to weather you want quiet or are ok with a grip bite and a bit of noise

I just ordered front and rare replacment pads for my ES and i got my usual EBC red stuff pads for the front these are supper exspensive normaly 165 for front EBC red stuff pads but amazon had them for 75.00
and i got some cheap good reviewes Power Stop ceramic rear brake pads for 22 bucks.
Id say another thing to look for when getting rotors is deside if you want some that are coated and will hold good against corosion cause all diffrent coatings and materials

jagtoes

EBC makes a good set of pads and for the correct application they are good. The difference in stopping distance between EBC and OEM is insignificant to the normal driver and in either case both would be similar in stopping distance. If you like them then great and you should continue to buy them I have used them on my fun cars in the past. As for rotors all are now made in china. The gimmick is the raw rotors are shipped to the US and they are final machined here by some after market sellers. This give them the made in USA label.
I use EBC red stuff on my fun car.

ESh

I have OEM rotors and Bosch pads all around, happy.

ThumperPup

the first car i ever used EBC was on my Cadillac Seville 2000 i will say that EBC rotors are either made in their factory in the USA from British steel importat or USA steel and when they are not from the USA Factory that they have or atleast they used to have then they are shipped over compelted and already directly from the UK not from China thats what i like msot about the EBS brakes i had them on my 2005 STS-V and my 2002 Eldorado and my 2000 and 2002 seville SLS and STS i find that brakes are just like tires in some peoples mind they will never ride on anything other then a specific tire brand thats what people trust and sometimes people have the same safe feeling for brake from specific companys.






This was the very first set of EBC brakes i have ever used

igzy

I usually get Centric, Advics or Akebono from Rock Auto, those are OEM equivalent. I get them from Rock Auto and with delivery, taxes and duties it comes to the same as aftermarket parts when bought locally...

jagtoes

OK car for you wife's grocery getter but still think the brakes are overkill. Hey you bought what you like so that's what life is all about. Enjoy the ride.

1eyedjak

Overkill is a 700hp dodge hellcat. or a 850 vette. but at the same time if I were designing a car and it was too meet the majority of people then having a motor with 300hp is way better than having one with 200hp. sure 200hp will get you there eventually but 300hp will do it easier and with less overall stress on the car and the life of the engine will most likely be longer.

so I dont understand why a person wouldnt wish to have better brakes on the car if possible. if oem brakes can stop a car in 25ft but aftermarket can stop same car in 20ft both with the same amount of braking then why wouldnt i wish to have the shorter distance if all other things considered were same.

every single car i have ever had was improved by me to run better and faster than it did when I got it. that doesnt mean I took the car to the track. I didnt . I did the same things with it I would have done if I hadnt modified it. everything I have ever done to my cars is to improve the performance of it wether it be braking or cornering..its not all about speed.

most cars now have disk brakes all around. not only are they better than disk drum brakes but they are easier to work with. was it necessary ? no but I sure wish my 76 camaro had had them at the time when I was 15 and working on it.

that doesnt mean the drum brakes didnt work. they did. and it seems that some here might have said it was overkill back then to install disk brakes in the rear of that car. .....

jagtoes

That's great and we all have the opportunity to do what we like . If you're having fun and enjoy mods then great.
By the way my daily driver is 510HP and still stock. It works for me.

1eyedjak

if we all could have purpose built cars then there would be no need to say, modify, our vehicles from what they were from factory. something that maybe the rest of us do not have so that makes a difference in the choices we make with what we have.

you have a 510hp car and with that kind of power i am sure they provided the upgraded parts needed from something with half that.

to say better brakes is overkill is like saying synthetic oil is overkill. oil 40yrs ago is not the same as it is now. you can go 10K these days with some oil...changing at 3k is not always needed ...synthetic is not needed but it can be considered better so some use it. nobody has too

jagtoes

510 is stock factory off the show room floor. Car has very little performance parts available as there isn't a need for them. As for syn oil it's ok and I uses it in my other cars. As for the old man Lexus I still run 5W-30 dino oil every 5K miles. It came with it in it so I just keep using it. Try not to justify everything and enjoy the ride.