JMortensen Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 I was at the auto parts store and the guy behind the counter was trying to sell some ceramic brake pads to a customer with a new Chevy truck. He was saying the ceramic was in the pad lining itself. I've heard of a ceramic insulator between the back of the pad and the lining to limit heat transfer, but never ceramic in the lining itself. Is this some new thing? Was the parts guy wrong? Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdsk8r Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Jon, I have these on my Grand Cherokee. They totally eliminate brake dust on my wheels. I do believe that the ceramic is in the lining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 25, 2003 Author Share Posted September 25, 2003 OK, so I would assume that they are selling these pads for light trucks so that they don't overheat the brakes when towing. Sounds like that could be very useful in performance brake pads. I wonder when we'll start seeing them... Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 i've heard nothing but bad things about ceramic pads... Various sources have told me that they crack easily and are very noisy... - can anyone confirm this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 If you really want bullet proof brake pads use Kevlar - get it - bullet proof? - Kevlar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 I bought them for our Subaru wagon. They do not seem to dust, the braking is OK, I can't glow about them, but they do seem to function. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afshin Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 The ceramic brake pads are marketed for low noise (less prone to vibration) and very low dust. they are not meant to provide better braking or increase fade resistance. I believe the braking performance is similar to good quality standard street pads. I have them on the family car and they are quite nice for that purpose as well as Sleeper's wagon, but certainly not for my Z I also spoke with one of the chief technicians at precision brakes (they deal with professional race and high performance brake applications). He said that the ceramic pads (wilwood) were not as good in terms of braking performance than the other high performance street pads and recommended against them for a "street rod" type of use and said that they would definitely not be suited for even mild track use. He confirmed that they are quiet, very low dust and otherwise good for NON highly aggresive driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cowboy6280 Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 I had dust/squeal problems like you wouldnt believe on my '97 Z28, and went thru the pads pretty fast. I switched over to the ceramic pads and virtually no brake dust, and no squealing now. They do fad a bit when they are hot, but overall they are way better than the other pads, and seem to be lasting much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 26, 2003 Author Share Posted September 26, 2003 Hmm, now that you mention that they last forever, I did see a sign outside a parts store the other day "Ask us about our new 100,000 mile brake pads." The consensus is that these are not performance pads. Guess I'll stick to my Porterfields. Really I was just curious as to what they were. I'm not in the automotive loop anymore, and the idea of ceramic pad lining sounded interesting. Thanks for all the replies. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumo Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 I have ceramic brake pads and have noticed not as much dust, braking seems about the same though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Perry Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 Are yall suggesting that the family wagon doesn't get driven hard? I've faded the brakes in our minivan more often than our sports cars. Carbon metallic seems to be working well for me. they need a little warming up but stop very well. lots of dust though. I get the performance friction pads over the counter from autozone. Perry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afshin Posted September 27, 2003 Share Posted September 27, 2003 I would strongly suggest that one should avoid the temptation and not drive the 'family" car hard . I can't say that I would ever push my minivan hard enough with my kids wife or anyone else in it fade the brakes, way to irresponsible (unless you are joking and I missed the sarcasm). I have the Z to prove my skills and have fun with .Everything has it's place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. G. Olphart Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 I've found it is much more enjoyable if one gives in to temptation on occasion... I had a LOT of fun at Thunder Hill in our 72 Chrysler T&C. It wasn't the slowest car there, and I was told it was the only car in the group with sound effects. To stay somewhat on topic, I did run out of brakes in the afternoon when we were allowed to run the full course. That back half eats brakes like you wouldn't believe. Run what'cha got when you get the chance- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 I have never used ceramic pads, but the logic in my head says that they would be very hard on rotors. Ceramic is harder than steel (that is why it is used to sharpen knives) and it seems to me that they would simply grind away the rotor surface. Side note, I have faded the brakes on my truck and the wife's pathfinder a number of times on the mountain roads near my house. They are not that steep, but if you are not paying attention you will have to stand on the brakes to slow down for some of the curves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Perry Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 I live in western PA, where you'd have to drive around all day to find a flat straight piece of asphalt more than a couple hundred feet long. most drives are winding hilly roads at relatively low speeds. it doesn't take too much hard driving to fade the brakes. I avoid the temptation with the kids in the car, although my 2 year old absolutely loves a spirited ride in the sports car yelling weeee and vroom vroom... My wife is more aggressive than I am in the van and does pretty well at autocross so I don't worry about it when she's in the car. I generally agree about your point on safety, but basically driving a windy road course all the time with big elevation changes etc just gets too tempting every once in a while. All that being said I ALWAYS leave at least a small safety margin based on how far around the corner I can see etc.. I would never do a full limit autocross style turn on the street unless I have everything in plain view and plenty of runoff and no kids in the car. Hey guys, can we get good pads for the toyota 4-runner calipers? anyone got something they like better than the carbon metallics? I just use them because their the best performing thing in stock at the local parts store. But I wonder if there's enough improvement when using the aftermarket ordered performance pads to warrant the trouble to get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 29, 2003 Author Share Posted September 29, 2003 You can get Porterfield pads for Toy 4x4. The come in R4S (hipo street), R4 (race), and R4E (endurance), and maybe a few others by now as well... Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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