Ceramic or Semi-Metallic?
 

I have been wondering which is better?? and why.. I have been told that ceramic brake pads tear up your rotor? I don't know.. but was just curious as to what people have to say, if they have experimented with either..

What is more annoying to you? Brake dust? Squeeky brakes? Having to replace pads at 50k instead of 75k? Cost?


There are trade-offs with everything. I personally usually just go with the ceramic. I've had less dusting and less noise. The rotor wear isn't enough to be worried about, especially if you do your own brakes.

Try Porterfields.

http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/

Carbon-kevlar. They aren't much more expensive than regular pads, and they last FOREVER. They also give you much better stopping power. Do not get the R4 compound - they'll never heat up enough to be effective. Get the R4-S.

I agree with Borla. What pad is best for you depends on what you want.

For example, on my high performance car the factory stock pads and rotors are unsurpassed for normal street use in overall performance and cost-effectiveness, and even by today's "supercar" standards the braking distances with the factory stock brake system is world class. But when I drive it aggressively on a road course for a few hard laps or more the stock pads fade so much to be practically useless. So I went with Carbotech high performance pads. These don't have the great initial bite when cold but after repeated hard use, they do not fade at all; they also dust a little more than stock pads. These are trade-offs I made to achieve my ends.

The industry likes to use the term "vehicle specific friction." Technically, your vehicle was engineered to use a particular pad material. This assumes things about your driving habits, road conditions, weather and other factors.

If the car is a daily grocery-getter or commuter, you "should" get the best service and performance from the manufacturer's recommended pad material. Very few cars and trucks on the road are driven within the narrow confines of the engineer's specs, however.

Tell us what and how you drive, we can be more helpful.

I wonder if "grumpyolddude" is related to one of my local heros, Grumpy Bill Jenkins of drag racing and very hot Chevy mods?

Oh, that I were! But that's best left to another thread.

Grumpyolddude... my wife's car
 

She has an '04 Honda Accord.. she drives it pretty reasonably calm.. she has a 45 minute commute (one way) to her job, all by street traffic. But on the weekends I drive the crap out of the car. I am really serioiusly just going for the kevlar type of pads though... thanks