Hi
Needing to replace the rotors and pads on my wife’s CX5 2018 GT.

Can anybody recommend some decent quality rotors and brake pads that have a better bite than OEM?

Not looking to upgrade to some massive brake setup, just original rotor size.I am aware of the process of replacing the rear pads with the automatic parking brake.. I read that aftermarket pads have fitment issues?

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum

I would simply get OEM replacements and not alter from what there is for a stock replacement. Your braking system is set up for the OEM material and while there are some upgrades to pads unless you fully understand what you are getting they may not be in your best interest to get them.

You are going to see a few responses about what DIY or general owners of various vehicles use on their Mazda or other of their vehicles which should never be compared. but I have yet to see anyone do a comparison 60mmph to 0 stop test. LOL
Your braking system also has anti locking control that are effected by brake pads that tend to be more aggressive. then OEM

So before anyone recommends anything other than a OEM replacement perhaps you might explain better what you mean by better bite???
See you Mazda specification and I am sure you will understand what I am talking about?
Look at Rock Auto for some good brake rotor and pads choices at a good price point . Read the information supplied by the manufactures of the pads.


Rotors or discs choice unless you are going performance have little effect on brake performance in a daily driver with few exceptions which are mostly how you drive your vehicle or use it i.e. sport driving ,towing, mountain or hill driving etc.

 

Thanks for the comment.
I drive a 2016 VW GTI with 105,000km on OEM brake rotors and pads, the braking is 15x better than my wife’s Mazda.

So by better bite, maybe the cx5’s brakes are just worn out but I really have to stomp on that brake pedal to stop the car. Are OEM brakes for the cx5 considered good? On my GTI it is very common to get a better pad that upgrades the stopping quite a bit. If OEM is fine, I’ll check out some prices on that.

 

Like Cal posted, different pads could affect your performance and systems.

That being said, i was originally gonna stay with OEM but just switched to Raybestos Element 3 pads and rotors on my 2018 GT which I'm happy with. They're very similar on feel to the OEM but seem to have a little more bite and a little less dust and more cost efficient than OEM. They're supposedly a proprietary ceramic and semi-metal mix. But again, they may be too soft for you.
if you want alot of bite then look into EBC red stuff pads or some of the other recommends on the different Mazda forums/sites.
Rockauto has the best prices.

 

You can not compare your VW GT to the Mazda CX5 2018 GT, the braking system and the pedal actuation is totally different!
Mazda actually incorporated in a few model because of customer feed back went and actually engineered into the brake system a softer "FEELING" (not performance related) brake actuation feel!
There is a great technical artical how they did that and also adjust the brake bias to h
give a creature comfort brake feel but not reduce braking power!
That why I recommended and suggested to help you better understand things go read the 60mpg to 0 specification.
Might as well look at the other spec as well like the weight GVW and what it was for the testing?

 

I have had good luck with Power Stop performance kits, which I installed myself, on multiple vehicles.
I also believe the pricing is good for the quality you get and product you get.
I would expect the same performance enhancement when I upgrade on my CX-5 (probably next year) though I'll be having the shop install them.
As with anything, one's "personal opinion/bias" does play a part in recommending any product.
Brake Upgrade Kits - All Products | PowerStop Brakes

 

I like and have used Power Stop products.
I believe that I even used them once on my Mazda? can't remember now because I have changed out about 6 brake rotors and pads trying different parts out. (its great to have connections from distributors and manufactures want you to try their parts out and hopefully mention their use on forums ) I do know that for the time I went back to MAZDA on both the rotors and pads because of our frequent 4 day weekend trips and found them to be the best overall comparing the other aftermarket OEM replacements .

 

I've been running the Raybestos Element 3 EHT (hybrid - not just Element 3 non EHT) pads for the last three years on my 2014 CX-5 and they've been great. Never liked ceramics and these definitely improved bite over the OEM. Have a nice linear feel and bite reminiscent of semi metallic . Wear well and are rotor friendly. A lot cheaper than OEM Mazda pads too. Factory rotors are lasting well also.
I tried Akebono Proact on my previous car. They sucked. An expensive mistake. The Element 3 EHT are much better in my experience.
Check out the 'mazdas247' forum if you haven't. Even though there is a lot of information on this site, these items get discussed there too.