Popped on some front Centric brake rotors this afternoon, together with Duralast Gold brake pads, not the premium stuff I know, but I am on a budget, trying to catch up with the last owners neglect, hey, he was selling it, so why should he care ( Though some of us would ).
Well everything went ok, but after a little run to bed everything in, about 40 mile of steady rolling stops and such, it still feels a little spongy, but does stop well, nothing overheated, and my old teeth fillings are not being shaken out any more !, so I will give an update on these budget rotors and pads after they are properly bedded in. If the sponge is still present I will bleed the system which I was going to get round to anyways.
Next I need some front shocks, so any budget minded suggestions are welcome, and I have a little play and knock in the steering which I have pinned down to the intermediate steering shaft, which as I understand cannot be cheaped out on, and I will be asking advise on this soon.
Just an update, I dont post here that much, but have gained loads of great info just through searching, so "Thank you" to all that take the time.

 

neilb,

Even on a budget, there is nothing wrong with the Duralast Gold pads. They are pretty good actually. As for the Centric rotors, never heard of them. If you have issues with warping, next time trust the same pads and get something better on the rotors.

Good luck with the Durango!

IndyD

 

KYB shocks are a very good value.

 

Thanks, I did a little homework researching the rotors, and Centric are supposed to be respectable, so hopefully all will be well. Thing is, I have had a lot of work to do on a budget, but trying not to put rubbish on here, so we will see, and after a lot of shopping around, and trying not to cheap out safety wise, so I will post much later on my front hubs, radiator, and brakes, and maybe help someone else keep their Durango on the road, or steer them away from some rubbish, had to shell out many $$$,s for a front diff though, they dont work too well without oil !!!, but that was a short time after driving it off the lot, so the guy who said, "Yes its all just been serviced" was not completely truthfull, oh well, I should have checked it myself.

 

Yeah been looking at KYB. they are on the short list. Anyone using Gabriel Pro Guard from autozone ?, I would like better, but cheap working shocks are better than knackered shocks imho.

 

Nothing should go on the D other than Bilstiens.

Others use the OEM spec to make their aftermarket compatibles. Problem is, OEM spec is WAY WAY WAY undersized.

In this case, it is a situation of you get what you pay for.

IndyDurango

 

+2 Bilsteins +2 Duralast Rotors and Ceramic pads. Second Choice for pads/rotors would be Bendix though.

No seconds for shocks. Bilstein all the way.

 

nielb, you should be fine w/ KYB shocks if that is what you can afford, indy has his favorite obviously, but it is NOT the only acceptable option and is NOT the only shock that exceeds OEM specs, yes the OEM shocks are lacking, but the pricey bilstiens are more than the average driver needs so if you cannot afford them right now you can use something else. Myself and Whitewidow00(i believe) both use monroes with 0 issue and great performance and iirc(im not home to check right now) they have a lifetime warranty on their shocks too.

 

Yep, I have Monroe Reflex on the front (LOVE THEM) and Monroe Sensa-Trac Load Adjusting shocks (Coil-Over Shocks) on the back and they are awesome. The only issue I can say about them is on the back with that coil-over spring it rides very tight on the back when not towing but they have been on there a little over a year and no problems.

Also, they Monroe is not as expensive as others and YES there is a Limited Lifetime Warranty on ALL of their lines of shocks!

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, and yea, I would love to put Bilsteins on all four corners, together with EBC brakes and the best tires money can buy, but at the moment anything that keeps me on the road without compromising safety is good enough, and a few months down the road I can look at replacing my budget options with some upgrades.
Thanks shrpshtr and WhiteWidow, I will take a look at the monroes, we dont off road or tow, so they wont be living such a brutal life.