Which brake pads are better? Semi-Metalic or Ceramic?

Is one better than the other?

Which is better for drilled and slotted rotors?

Thanks

 

The easiest way to tell the difference between disc and drum is to take off the wheel and if the braking surface is a thin flat semi shinny surface on both sides it is disc brakes.

If it is drum brakes, there is a "big" cover slides off "not easilly" and the shoe brakes are behind the drum.

Drilled and slotted are definately the better of the two. They cool and release the gases better than standard disc rotors.

 

Get ceramic pads. They don't produce as much dust. I've got Raybestos ceramics on my crew and they have been on there for 34,000 miles with very little wear and they never dust up my rims. No noise either.

 

I have put ceramic lining fram advance auto on two of our fords, they are excelant smoth quite and no brake dust. They seem to give better pedal feel and better braking. A very important part of pad instalation especially in corosion prone areas is to remove the stainless steel antirattle clips and clean the pad holders until shiny lube with antiseize and re install. this lets the pads float and elimanates rotor drag and therefore heat.

 

I just received my EBC 7000 Series Greenstuff.

They are suppose to be 90% dust free. They are Kevlar so they are easy on the rotors, stop well and very dust free.

$99 pair and work with slotted rotors.
Here is a link:

http://www.ebcbrakes.com/automotive.html

 

I just replaced Rotors and pads yesterday, The inside pads on both sides were very tight. Tight enough that I had to persuade them in. Outside pads went in by hand. I did clean up the clips, but didn't polish and lube. I was sure they shouldn't be that tight, so I'm glad you brought this up Chucks bp. I will pull them and do a little more work to try and free them up abit.

Btw, i was dreading trying to get the old rotors off. They actually came off fairly easy concidering some of the posts I've seen here.

 

Just wanted to thank Chucks bp again. Pulled the clips off and wire wheeled the clip holders. Considerable corrosion there, which wasn't that noticable when I wire brushed them the first time. The pads then slipped in with ease. The pads i took off only had approx 10k and were worn to the squeelers on one side. I am sure they hadn't been cleaned properly when the dealer replaced them last, and were bound up in the clips. Fortunately pads and rotors weren't that expensive, but this will definately become one of my regular maintenance items. Expect good service from this set.

To keep this on topic I went with OE rotors, and Napa ceramic pads. So far I'm happy.