[jblackburn]

I've done that same thing before a couple times.

The Cruze has great stopping power for such a heavy car. I see no need for rear discs, though I would like to upgrade my front brakes to something that don't overheat and shake like crazy during repeated braking.


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[jblackburn]

Drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic brake pads from r1concepts.com...Perfect combination. This is my personal experience btw.

Better pads and larger rotors will be my attack plan. The Cruze's rotors are small and the brake pads don't handle heat well (but they are quiet).

I will never use drilled rotors again - I cracked one. Slotted rotors just chew up brake pads. They're really both just to look "cool".

 

[jblackburn]

X2 on that and just going with a high quality set of blanks. Cyro treated rotors are out there. That's what I'll be doing as well.

Drilled or slotted? Nope, nope, nope. Useless. I don't care what anyone says or what they think they noticed when they change their brakes, slotted and drilled rotors are just plain useless. No benefit whatsoever, and the next person who tells me that they "clean the pad" better or "eliminate water" will get a virtual smack.

They make funky noises too. My car shouldn't sound like a lifted Jeep on mud tires coming to a stop.

 

[jblackburn]

I suspect it will be more like my Montana because of the manual transmission.

Wouldn't count on it. Twisty mountain roads overheat mine pretty easily.

That, and every auto I've driven offered a LOT better engine braking than the Cruze does.

 

[jblackburn]

I have 4 discs on the Mazda 3 I just bought. The brake pedal is spongy and there is a lot of play before the brakes activate plus they are just as notchy as my Cobalt when slowing down to a stop.
If discs are supposed to be superior to drums I ain't seeing it (or feeling it).
On the other hand the Buick Encore I test drove had really nice feeling brakes (I believe they are all disc), so there's more to brakes being good than just being disc.

Yes - there's a lot to a good brake setup. Pads/rotors are only part of it.

I had a Gen 5 Camry with HORRIBLE 4-wheel disc brakes - really had to stomp on them, and it was that way from the factory. OTOH, the girlfriend's 7th gen isn't half bad.

The Cruze's brake pedal has a little more travel than I'm used to with other cars, but it stops well.

I was going to wait to try this myself, but Smorey noted that Amsoil Dot3 brake fluid actually provides very significant improvements in braking. I wonder if that has anything to with it.

I'm planning on bleeding mine some time this year to get the Amsoil fluid in there. Never would have thought it would make a difference but he says it was pretty big.

I could usually boil standard Dot-3 fluid when I used to run track days. If the Amsoil provides anything, it's simply a higher heat resistance and raised boiling point.

ATE Super Blue was some of THE BEST fluid I've used. However,
Braking News: ATE Super Blue Deemed Illegal for US Distribution*|*Hooniverse
Frown.

Also, seems a lot of Sonic owners have the same complaints I do. I have already had my rotors turned once (at 8k miles), but they will shake under hard or repeated braking on a hot day (repeated stops in heavy Interstate traffic; back road shenanigans). I'll have a bit of fun with it, but don't really drive this car like a race car on a day-to-day basis.
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...uspension-discussion/7461-brake-rotors-2.html