Hi Folks,

I am new to the forum so hello to everyone. I am also new to Mazdas so bear with me. I just purchased a 2003 Protege5 for my sons 16th. The brakes function fine (the pedal is a bit soft) but the pads and rotors look as though they will need to be replaced soon. I went on Ebay and there is a rather ridiculous number of rotor and pad sets available not to mention what is available at my local parts store. Can you folks give me any advice on brands to steer toward or away from?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

Welcome to the forum and congrats to your first Mazda.

Stay away from the real cheap stuff. The rotors will cause pulsation of the pedal in short order.
I have had good experience in all our vehicles using Wagner products. Wagner is my 'go to' brand in brakes. I had not so good experience with store brand brake parts.
It appears that AC Delco makes some good brakes too. However I have not yet enough miles on them to be totally confident.

RockAuto.com is a good place to find quality at low prices.

I would stay away from slotted and cross drilled rotors. They look cool but cross drilled rotors can develop cracks and slotted rotors eat the pads.

 

Thanks for the quick response. I was going to buy slotted/drilled for the very reason you mentioned, they look cool. I guess that is not such a great idea. I will look into Wagner and rockauto. Thanks again.