You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Brake pads What do you use?
- Thread starter ae111black
- Start date
seems to buy marketing gimmicks for brakes/batterys/oil.... just sayin
Yes and no. Many people by the wrong pads based on machismo. More is not necessarily better in terms of temperature range if all they are used for is regular driving. Many people buy various degrees of racing pads for their street car, pay too much, never get them hot enough to be effective, and need ear plugs just to drive to work, but it makes them feel good.
If you are towing heavy loads, down large grades etc than a higher temp compound can help because they resist fade. If all you do is drive with the flow of traffic, occasionally hot dog it a bit, on the way to your cubicle, oem type pads are plenty for most vehicles.
I have a buddy that owns a company that makes custom pads for racing. They make stuff for Autocross all the way up to NASCAR etc. They have many different compounds and give recommendations. They only make one that they feel is suitable for street and track (autocross) and all the rest they flat out warn customers that they will be miserable due to noise and poor performance on the street. Go figure, people buy pads designed for 600bhp raod racing applications, put them on their V6 Mustang and then complain about the noise and how it takes 10 panic stops in a row just to get the pads warmed up.
I haven't used them, but ceramic pads are supposed to push less dust so your wheels stay cleaner.
Then there are some cars that won't stop no matter what pads you use because the brakes are just too damn small. My Intrepid 3.5 was like that. Jump on the brakes at 130MPH and it would shoot right down to 60 no problem, then it would another mile with both of my feet on the pedal and the doors open before it would finally stop. By then, it smelled like a burning tire recycling center and you could see the smoke pouring out of the fenders. That's why you almost never saw an Intrepid police car. They were big, fast, cheap, handled like a slot racer and WOULD NOT STOP. Chrysler did everything but make the brakes bigger trying to get police contracts and with the exception of one local dept that had maybe two, I never saw an Intrepid in police service.