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| Brakes |
| Summary (as at April 2002) Front Brake Pads Geniune Pads (set) @ $145 Keystar Motors, Rothwell, Brisbane Aftermarket Replacement @ $155 Goodyear Auto Tyre & Service, Kedron, Brisbane (2001) Performance Replacement n/a Rear Brake Shoes Genuine Shoes (set) exchange @ $ 48 Keystar Motors, Rothwell, Brisbane outright @ $126 as above Aftermarket Replacement n/a Other Recommendations < $150 DBA replacement slotted front disc rotors www.dba.com.au Anyone that has found other suppliers or brands of brake pads, shoes etc suitable for Kia's (Sportage or other) then drop me a line at admin@ozkia.com |
| The Kia Sportage has always used a front disc and rear drum brake system at least here in Australia and works reasonably well as I suppose it has to. I am told that some earlier Sportages had a rear wheel only (??!!) ABS system as an option but was still a drum brake set up though some overseas markets received ABS on all wheels. A source from a US Kia chat site also mentioned that some Sportages had disc rear ends though nobody has been able to confirm if this is definitely the case. Many will argue that discs front and rear are better (and on road they certainly are) but off-road drums have long believed to be a far better proposition. The jury is still out on that one and everyone will argue the subject I'm sure. The fact remains that sooner or later they will wear out the pads and shoes. My first set of front pads were replaced at around 30,000km though they weren't worn out; this may sound strange but since I was having aftermarket slotted front discs fitted it was as good a time as any to throw a fresh set on. What I wasn't prepared for was the cost of front pads. At the time (mid 2001) I was quoted around $190 for genuine Kia pads (+ fitting) which was a considerable shock since my old Ford Falcon sedan could be fitted with $39 pads from just about any corner shop ! The only other pads I could find were quality Ferodo branded pads which were subsequently supplied for around $155 plus labour. The rear shoes were inspected at the same time but were found to be in excellent condition so they were left on. Nobody could source aftermarket rear shoes and is still the case to this date as far as I'm aware. Something that also surprised me was the fact that just about every parts dealer I visited had absolutely no listing of any Sportage brake pads or shoes which I find strange and very dissappointing. The lack of sources (therefore competition) for such 'everyday' consumables obviously keeps the prices unreasonably compared to other relatively common vehicles. At the time of writing (April 2002) my Sportage has passed 60,000km and is about 21 months old, and the brakes are wearing both front and rear; this isn't bad since I've never touched the back shoes and the front have done 30,000 hard kilometers on slotted discs which are a little harder on brake pads than standard rotors. Taking into consideration the fact that heavy inner-city stopping and starting takes its toll on 2 tonnes Sportages on almost a daily basis then it falls into perspective. Surprisingly enough, Kia genuine are the least expensive I've found so far for pads though they seem to be the only supplier of rear shoes though front pads aren't much better with only one aftermarket (Ferodo) brand available. Genuine fronts were $145.65 (ouch !) though the non-genuines are about $10 dearer. Rear (genuine) shoes are $48.00 exhange or $126.25 outright. |
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| Stopping 2 tonnes or more of 4x4 is no mean feat especially considering the diversity of conditions that can be encountered on and off road; mud, sand, dirt, water and heat all do their part to accelerate the wear and degrade the performance of your brakes. Whilst the rear drum brakes are relatively well protected against the elements they don't disappate the heat as well and will fade faster than the front disc brakes as the temperatures rise. Not a great deal can be done to improve the factory drums except to clean them from time to time and adapting the rear axles to a rear disc set up in prohibitively expensive. The front discs can be improved upon quite cheaply and with a more than worthwhile effect. After investigating the benefits of slotted and drilled disc brakes used in racing I found an Australian manufacturer of over the counter front discs for the Sportage. It seems cross drilling is not necessary and has no real benefit in 4x4 application (its purly a weight saving measure when kilo's count !) but the grooves serve a huge purpose in the application we're looking at. The disc rotors are manufactured from superior quality metals to enhance the life and effectiveness of the rotor. The grooves cut into the face of the disc wipe the face of each brake pad as the brake disc rotates continually wiping the surface of the pad free of contaminants therefore keeping maximum contact between the pad and rotor and preventing scratching and scoring of the disc. Repeated hard applications of the brakes will cause a heat build up and will 'fade' with each application which isn't good news particularly if you have a heavily loaded vehicle. A layer of superheated gas builds up between the pad and rotor which prevents proper contact therefore promoting brake fade and overheating. The process will also eventually glaze the face of the pads further reducing their stopping efficiency. The grooves let the hot gas escape promoting better contact and cooling in a process known as 'outgassing'. In real world practical terms it really does make a difference. I was having severe brake fade problems with the Kia heavily loaded and grossing at over 2.5 tonnes. Several hard brake applications on steep slopes saw a severe and noticable loss of brake performance. With the DBA (Disc Brakes Australia) rotors fitted there didn't seem to be any difference in 'normal' driving until it rained. The brakes were 'biting' far better with almost no loss of performance even in heavy rain. Even more noticable was the consistantly good stopping power with the Kia heavily loaded and minimal fade even after long descents. The best news is that the rotors are a direct replacement for the factory originals and only take a few minutes to fit, and are not expensive at all; in fact I paid less than $150 AUD for a set of two. Its the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy. This was over a year ago but get in touch with DBA via their excellent web site which has comprehensive selection charts and some excellent information thats certainly worth reading. DBA export all over the world and are available just about anywhere. Send them an email via their web site at www.dba.com.au for your nearest dealer. |
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