So I've been looking around to get new brakes for my 05 S-Type 4.2 but I can't seem to find out which brakes are the best solution. They tell me that no Akebonos are made for my car and for the EBC brakes I can't find any red stuff or am I just not looking right? Can someone please help me find good brakes for my car? Thanks

 

Hang tight. Vance580 and others will be here shortly to the rescue.

 

Since you have a V8 S type I would just try and find some quality ceramic pads to eliminate brake dust. If you are doing rotors also Centric seems to be a good brand. Thats what I'm running right now. According to a site I look at here is the EBC red stuff part numbers for an S type 4.2 V8
Front: DP31220/2C
Rear: DP31221/2C

Here is Akebonos.
Front: W0133-1655825
Rear: W0133-1655376

And then depending on how nasty you want to get on the rotors there are these

Front: USR950
Rear: USR951

Or something just standard like Centrics are
Front: 120.61077
Rear: 120.61062

Now the site I use said these all fit an 05 Jaguar S type sport 4.2 V8. But you should be able to find out more with those part #'s. Hope that helps you start. If you have any other questions let me know.

 

Not sure if you just need pads or rotors too. I got my rotors at brakeperformance.com and I picked up all four red stuff pads for less than $200. I can dig it up if you're interested.

 

Holy c$%p! Can you say: "That was the best brake info. in the shortest time"? Vance580 and Pushing_Tin to the rescue dude! I love this forum and hope to see/party with these dudes in three weeks.

 

I ordered rotors from Brake Rotors Discs Pads Brakes Cross Drilled & Slotted

Very happy with them. I got the free pads upgraded and they have exceeded expectations. I took my Jag to a mechanic I know and he said he was impressed with the quality of the rotors.

Been on the car for over a year now and they are great.

 

I've also been very pleased with the rotors I got from them. I got the cross-drilled set for all four wheels. The only issue was that they were sold out and on back order for 3 weeks.

 

All above is good advice, and all of those products mentioned are top line. Unless you're driving aggressively or the car is supercharged, I wouldn't bother with getting the drilled and cross slotted rotors.

When I'm looking for brakes, I look online at Autozone, OReilly and Advance Auto Parts to get a relative feel of what's in the market and the cost. I recently purchased Wagner's top of the line semi-metallac pads at a big discount from OReilly's. Every professional mechanic I've talked to swears that Wagner's to have less installation problems and "comebacks."

On street cars, I prefer ceramic brakes to minimize disc dust. When in doubt, go back with the same kind of brakes (i.e. semi-metallac) that came on your car. Any of the good brands previously mentioned will do fine.

 

Centric makes quality stuff, never been disappointed with them.

I put the Akebono's on the front of my STR and the reduction in brake dust over OEM is insane - the wheels hardly get dirty at all. Meanwhile the OEM rear pads slather the wheels in dust constantly. Looks like I forgot to wash the back wheels all the time. Need to remedy that.