LS - 1st and 2nd Gen (1990-2000) Discussion topics related to the 1990 - 2000 Lexus LS400

91 LS400 Brake repair upgrade on rotors

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Old 01-24-13 | 11:21 AM
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Default 91 LS400 Brake repair upgrade on rotors

I have a 91 LS 400 with about 194,000 miles on it. My front rotors are badly warped. I have not tried to pull them and have them turned.

But I am thinking of replacing with new rotors, and also going to ceramic pads.

So I have questions.

I see kits on eBay starting at 70.00 and going to over 100.00. What should I look for? Also does going to Drilled and Slotted help?

If I go to ceramic should I do all four wheels at the same time? Back brakes are good.

Also anyone know a good place to order the two screws that go onto the rotors? I need to replace mine. And the closest dealer is over 100 miles away. I have seen them online for as little as $0.80 each, but then they want like $12.00 shipping!

Any recommendations on who to buy brake parts from?

As always, thank you all !
Old 01-24-13 | 12:54 PM
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I have seen some of those kits on Ebay and it's kinda hard to tell whats legit and what isn't. I would suggest trying to find the brakes on the LS classified section on this forum, or RockAuto.com. Most people on here aren't going to try and sell you crap parts. As far as slotted/ crossdrilled, it's mostly for looks. Don't expect huge reduction in braking distance, especially if you aren't driving the car hard and getting those brakes really heated up, but for the same price or less than OEM rotors, you will notice some improvement. As far as the pads, just get the fronts if the backs are ok. Fronts do about 85% of the stopping anyway, so wait till the rears need to be replaced, then upgrade to different pads if you like. I'd check a hardware store for the rotor screws. might find them for same price as online, and avoid those ridiculous shipping prices. Hope this helps, and goodluck.
Old 01-24-13 | 05:52 PM
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I do not generally brake hard.. In fact I am not sure how I warped the rotors. I only put about 20,000 miles on the car over the last 3 years. But a lot of that is driving on empty rural highways, and more then once I have had to brake some what hard from going 90-95.....

The speed of the LS can get away from you on straight dark long highways... Especially when Simi Tractor-Trailers are going 85-95 themselves....

But that would not be a repeating thing... Like one would get from driving hard on a road with a lot of twists and turns to it.
Old 01-24-13 | 06:06 PM
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i heard very good reviews on centric rotors. why not just resurface the old rotors?

you can do ceramic pads but doing both front and rear is not critical. i would take care of the front only, with the stock "blank" rotors, and good pads. going slotted or drilled rotors is not really ideal unless you car sees heavy braking all the time. you will not notice any performance gain from daily driving.
Old 01-24-13 | 06:24 PM
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IMO drilled and slotted rotors are useless on the street. You may actually brake slower because there is less surface area making contact. Your brakes never really get hot enough during daily driving to need the extra cooling. I think ceramic are OEM on the LS (may be confusing it with somethig else) so ceramic pads will be fine.
Old 01-24-13 | 10:00 PM
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Quality (Centric or comparable) Rotors, plain, will be fine. Basic rotor upgrades don't really affect performance. Replace both front and rear pads together if you're changing pad compound. Buy a well known aftermarket pad if you want an upgrade. Centric Ceramic, toptech, Hawk, and Akebono are all good choices. I'm a big fan of PBR Deluxe Ceramics but they've been purchased by Centric.

I'd recco buying parts from vendor Carson Toyota, they generally won't mind sending a couple screws like that via USPS envelopes.
Old 07-03-13 | 12:35 AM
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Originally Posted by 914lps
I do not generally brake hard.. In fact I am not sure how I warped the rotors. I only put about 20,000 miles on the car over the last 3 years. But a lot of that is driving on empty rural highways, and more then once I have had to brake some what hard from going 90-95.....
since i have frankensteined my celica from various toyota cars so i am on many different forums. i found this on the supramania front page and it definately makes sense to me. i dont know how factual the information is but it can definately explain your 'warped' rotors.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/con...raking-System&

personally i have never had warped rotors on any of my cars but i have experienced it on other peoples cars.
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