Anyone try Monroe brakes from Canadian Tire?

[nobb]

I have about 90 000 kms on my 02 Protege and I am still on my OEM pads and shoes. There is still a fair bit of material left on the brakes, but I think I want to get all four brakes replaced before school starts, because I have some time. I will be doing it myself and this will be the first time Ive ever done any brake work.

So when it comes to brakes, I am just wondering if anyone has any experience with the Monroe stuff they carry at Canadian Tire? Or should I just go to the dealer and spend ~$100 more for the OEM stuff?

[Billa-786]

Dunno about monroe. Best aftermarket pads for the price : Wagner ThermaQuiet.

Having said that, if you are more than satisfied with your OEM brake pads and you have been able to get almost 100K outta them, just pay the extra and go with the dealer.

[ShadowVlican]

Dunno about monroe. Best aftermarket pads for the price : Wagner ThermaQuiet.
i've got those on my car... i don't hear much about them though....

[nobb]

^Good reviews on those brakes. Any idea where to get them?

Now that I think about it, maybe I should stick with OEM. I dont hear any noise from them and they will probably last 100k, which seems to be unusually long for brakes.

[THINKPADT61]

I have been using mine for 25000km... seems ok!

[bobby5]

I have been using mine for 25000km... seems ok!

Mine's on its 40k+ km.
I don't speed to the red lights and then brake hard, so that could be why it's still ok :)

[deep]

I don't speed to the red lights and then brake hard...
Then you sir, are not my father in law. Never met a guy who went through brakes like him.

I will have to try the Wagner ones mentioned above....I had both rear drums and both front calipers and pads done this year, and a week hasn't passed that I haven't heard a new and interesting noise from my brakes. I hate it.

[Azxster]

Do not cheap out on brakes and tires... it could save you from rear ending another car. I'd go with Hawk HPS, PBR Ultimates, etc... w/ Brembo blank rotors or OEM rotors (which are higher quality than your typical $20 rotors as they do not warp as easily).

[danns]

Do not cheap out on brakes and tires... it could save you from rear ending another car. I'd go with Hawk HPS, PBR Ultimates, etc... w/ Brembo blank rotors or OEM rotors (which are higher quality than your typical $20 rotors as they do not warp as easily).

x2, but where can u buy them in canada or GTA for cheap?

[pontiac_driver]

monroe are average at best. funny its the top of the line @ cdn tire. definitely go with something else.

oem are great, but aftermarket has better cheaper alternatives

you should get new rotors too while you are doing brakes.

i'd recommend a set of brembo blanks along with hawk hps, you would be very surprise how much more responsive your brake are.

[ES_Revenge]

Monroe pads are actually pretty decent I have to say. There are actually two different types though (perhaps three now).

I remember that if the part number begins with a CX they are Monroe Ceramic pads, if they begin with a DX they are Monroe "Dynamics" pads which I believe are either semi-met or NAO.

NAO of course is never a great idea, but they can do the basic braking job.

Semi-met is always my pad of choice as I couldn't care less about dust and noise--I'm concerned with stopping power. Provided you buy a quality semi-met pad, the dust will not pit wheels or paint either (but if you buy el-cheapo ones they will).

Ceramic are "fad pads" IMO, people just buy them for "low dust" and "low noise" because that's fashionable I guess. Of course auto-makers have only followed suit and tons of cars come with ceramic pads from the factory too :(

That said the Monroe ceramic pads are pretty good as far as ceramic pads go as well. Most (if not all?) Monroe pads are Canada or US made I believe, so you're definitely better off there than made in China junk that seems to saturate the more mainstream parts market these days.

There are better pads but there are probably a lot more pads that are far worse than Monroes.

Problem with brake parts (and all auto parts really) in Canada is it's tough to find much else than the stuff you get at places like Cdn. Tire/Part Source, NAPA, etc. People usually decide to do brakes "right now" as well so they don't want to wait for parts to ship or find some out-of-the-way small shop that sells other stuff either; so if Canadian tire is your main choice for buying brakes, you aren't really going to go wrong with Monroes.

[gheart008]

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224273

[rchong]

What about Monroe vs NAPA brand?

[bembol]

I buy Hawk Pads from Billy/tires23...

Canadian Tire has a special, that you get 50% off your second set. I'm guessing I can get Rear Pads? Doesn't make sense to get 2 Fronts. They have the Monroe (Front) Ceramic for $56 plus taxes for my Coupe.

Any reason not to get these?

[ES_Revenge]

I buy Hawk Pads from Billy/tires23...

Canadian Tire has a special, that you get 50% off your second set. I'm guessing I can get Rear Pads? Doesn't make sense to get 2 Fronts. They have the Monroe (Front) Ceramic for $56 plus taxes for my Coupe.

Any reason not to get these?

Back from the dead!

Nope (don't see any reason to not get them), but the Hawk pads will likely offer better braking performance (speaking of HPS pads).

[CdTriX]

holy thread necromancy!

btw, i need to get my hawks hps installed.. started to squeek int he front from the oems... damn only lasted 20k... maybe i brake too much :)

the monroe's are okay,

i went through them pretty fast on my truck.

i think they are "guarenteed" for 50k but i only get 15-20k out of them. i go went through 2 sets a year.

[xdragus]

Yea you must do some heavy braking to run them up at 20,000 esp if it's only daily driven...Hawks you may experience more dust and low bite when it's cold (well actually any pads when they are cold unless you get the pads that are track-only pads -_- that have crazy bite and shred your rotors). Though when warmed up they are pretty decent.

cdtrix...if you get tired of your hawks you can try out EBC - those were pretty decent for low dust and similar price. ACtually how much did you pick up for your hawks front/rear? I'm using carbotech atm but they are quite pricy. Almost no dust and bite's pretty damn good for their non-track line.

[Phantasm]

I put the Monroe ceramic pads on my car a little over 2 years ago. So far I've got about 35k on them and they work well and still have a fair amount of life left in them.

I was being cheap and got the Jasper rotors at CT and they are junk - do yourself a favour and get quality rotors or you'll end up with warpage and vibration in your brakes.

I recently put Monroe pads and rotors on my other car and they only have about 2k on them right now but they work great so far and absolutely no vibration at all. Time will tell if these Monroe rotors stand up better than the cheap Jasper ones.

One thing about these Monroe rotors is they seem to be more resistant to rust. The Jasper ones were completely covered in brown surface rust within a couple days of installing them.

[CdTriX]

i got my hawks hps from heeltoeauto from the states for 100 bucks CAD just for the fronts which is 20 bucks cheaper than JRP. i also got a rear sway bar from heeltoe 200 bucks cheaper than JRP.

i have those sweet nascar ones in the back. found out one of my rear discs were warped.

the problem with brakes is that, you don't hear it unless someone tells you...