daeron Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 allright everyone, I am here to admit that I am clueless about brake pad materials. In the past, prices have always ALWAYS dictated my selection, and I have never really been able to notice much difference between any pad materials I have gotten... but now, I am delivering pizzas for a living. 100 miles a day makes a fellow want to know whats stopping his car, yanno? The front pads on the GL-10 are starting to chatter a bit, and I figure its time for new pads and brake hardware now, before they start digging into the rotor at all. So, when I came to this conclusion, I realized that I really have no clue what the difference between semi-metallic, organic, and all the other compounds actually IS.... I have heard snippets here and there, but I was wondering if anyone had a good link to a page that broke it all down. While price is not THE object here, it is still AN object.. so I am not looking for a "recommendation" at ALL, I want to know the difference. I am tired of my buddies asking me this question and having to admit complete ignorance on the matter; most of my "car guy" friends don't know as much as I do, so they kinda look up to me for answers in many regards. In this matter I have utterly failed them and I want to put an end to that. I tried searching wikipedia, but I didn't want to wade through the flood of results that a google search would turn up. a minimal google search turned up this from partsamerica.com: Choosing the Right Material brake pad Organic materials were originally used on many older vehicles. Brakes made of these are softer than others, tend to wear out faster, and do not offer comparable performance. Look for "organic" in the product description. brake pads Semi-metallic materials are made with a combination of organic materials and metals. They offer superior performance and last longer than organic pads. Most late-model vehicles require semi-metallic pads. They can often be installed on older cars and trucks that originally used organic materials. Look for "semi-met" in the product description. brake pads Ceramic pads represent the latest in aftermarket brake pad design. They offer excellent performance and superior service life while minimizing brake dust and noise. If your vehicle requires semi-metallic brake pads, you can often upgrade to ceramic materials. which is a decent primer... but it is a bit simpler than what I was looking for. I will continue to search a bit, but I thought I would ask my compatriots for some assistance on this one. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awesomedude Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Shame on you daeron!!...I know you are also a member at hybrid-z and you know as well as i that that site contains more info than any of us ever need,brake material info is no exception. not:Flame: ing just sayin:grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 The difference between the $12 set of pads and the $30 set of pads can be impressive. My wagon, which I run oversized wheels on, couldn't lock up the front wheels under any conditions with the cheap pads. I found a box of new wagner pads kicking around my garage, and threw them in. I can now lock up the front wheels on dry pavement if I stand on the pedal. So big difference. Cheap pads really suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Being a 6 year X newspaper delivery driver ( now thats hard on your tranny and brakes) I found that your cheap softer compounds seem to actually save you some headaches..if you are going to be going through brakes quick...They wont eat up your rotors like the harder compounds will...and I am talking about ...I used to be changing pads around every 3 months. I tried the more expensive harder compound pads thinking I would get more life out of them..and I did..around a month and ate away my rotors at the same time. I mean I was going through brakes so quick I kept the tools and an extra set of pads in the car and would change them on the side of the road at 4 am in roughly 10-15 minutes a side ( not in the subarus though.) Just a thought for you since you are hard on the car too being a delivery driver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reveeen Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Simple is good. Your choice depends on your rotors. If your rotors are not what they should be (eg. pitted, stepped, or otherwise marked up, maybe even el-cheapo Chinese) then you want a softer pad, as not to eat your soft rotors (Chinese) or to conform to irregularities rapidly to provide effective braking (full organic). Metallics require a bit better rotor (good steel and a near perfect pad surface) to be effective. Even a hard, or quality, steel rotor will be eaten by a high metal content pad, but you are trading rotor life by more effective braking. I would consider a ceramic pad to not be much use on a daily driver, as they do not work cold, and will eat your rotors. Here is where it gets complicated. Different manufacturers do different things to their brake material compounds, as it is the nature of the thing to give different braking characteristics between the product lines and the manufacturers themselves. So, really there is not one answer for you (other than noted above, if your rotors are crappy). What I do: New rotors get el-cheapo organics to break them in, or "season" them, once through that set (6 months) I go for a mid grade Axxis pad: http://www.axxisbrakes.com/ Of course crappy rotors get full organic pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted November 13, 2007 Author Share Posted November 13, 2007 Thanks for all the advice so far. The picture is beginning to fall together. Its amazing how many little gaps in your knowledge hoard the "shadetree" training method leaves sometimes. Experience can only teach you so much.. without having someone to answer questions for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reveeen Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 The Axxis page here: http://www.axxisbrakes.com/techdata.htm gives a pretty good comparison between their lines One other thing to consider is heat. The "better" your brakes work the hotter they are going to get. To my way of *thinking* the softer the lining you can get away with (without adverse effects) the cheaper overall this is going to be in the long run. Having to change rotors frequently is not only boring, it can get expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 When parts stores label a pad "OEM Replacement" quality, they tend to be a good compromise between all factors: Cost, wear, stopping ability, noise. I haven't had any luck with the Wearever brand from Advance Auto(especially the Silver). They don't work particularly well, and caused shuddering in my Tacoma("oem replacement"). Rear drum brakes aren't picky. Get the cheap ones. Bendix, Raybestos, even NAPA i feel are good quality. OEM are good quality. I bet OEM's aren't even that expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted November 17, 2007 Author Share Posted November 17, 2007 Being a 6 year X newspaper delivery driver ( now thats hard on your tranny and brakes) I found that your cheap softer compounds seem to actually save you some headaches..if you are going to be going through brakes quick...They wont eat up your rotors like the harder compounds will...and I am talking about ...I used to be changing pads around every 3 months. I tried the more expensive harder compound pads thinking I would get more life out of them..and I did..around a month and ate away my rotors at the same time. I mean I was going through brakes so quick I kept the tools and an extra set of pads in the car and would change them on the side of the road at 4 am in roughly 10-15 minutes a side ( not in the subarus though.) Just a thought for you since you are hard on the car too being a delivery driver What kind of noise/dust did these softer pads wind up giving you? I have to deal with this ASAP, before my pads get too thin and my rotors get damaged.. I don't want to go through all that. Thanks for the advice, I don't think I would have really gone in this direction but after thinking about it for a few days, it only makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 What kind of noise/dust did these softer pads wind up giving you? I have to deal with this ASAP, before my pads get too thin and my rotors get damaged.. I don't want to go through all that. Thanks for the advice, I don't think I would have really gone in this direction but after thinking about it for a few days, it only makes sense. noise was nothing..until you got the " its time to change them" grind or squeal (if you put the squealers in)...brake dust was what you would expect..but I washed my cars frequently and would just blow it out. It was never a mess when I went to change them though. Shawn, you may be able to go with a mid grade pad also..you are hard on the car being a driver but not as bad as newpaper delivery...I was running 3 routes and doing 100 miles..Sundays I would have 360 papers ..weekdays it was around 180 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 I bet OEM's aren't even that expensive. I got a qote from a dealer for $78. That was for just the pads, nothing else. So I went and bought the dirt cheap pads, which sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Oops... Anyway, I'd get a set of Bendix or Raybestos OEM quality replacements and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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