what is better for the front brakes ceramic brake pads or Semi-metallic brake pads. what are the pros and cons of both

 

Semi-metallics are way better in my opinion. Do yourself a favor and buy Carquest "blue" semi-metallic pads. I'm certain I had ceramics, the "gold" ones, worked the same till I put 10 000 km's on em, then they squeeled and dusted everywhere. Blue pads and don't look back.

 

JBLUE20004X4:
Do you happen to know the price for the Carquest "blue" semi-metallic pads? I am in the military and deployed and I am trying to get my brother(back in TX) to replace my pads with these. I have a 05 F150 4X2 and 22' rims, I am planning or replacing the rotos as well with the BAER Eradispeed rotors. Thanks...

 

Hard to say, after all I'm in Canada and I get a good rate on my parts. I paid like 70 bucks for the front set, but whatever the price they're worth it. they are I think around 70 USD's for you guys. Keep up the great work overseas

 

Read these......
http://www.akebonobrakes.com/company...ers/index.html

 

My experience after installing tens of thousand of brakes....organic...semi-met....met....carbon-met and ceramic composite.

In my experience most noise is caused not by the pad but by poor practices when serviceing the brake system. For example: Not lubing sliders or contact points. Incorrect finish on rotors or not washing them after turning. Not beveling leading and trailing edges of brake lining surface.

Dust is caused by the pad...some do...some don't. Usually the more carbon the lining has...the more dust it will create. This carbon dust will also usually indicate a long lasting lining. Enough said.

Semi-met vs. Ceramic
Each has it's own pros and cons.

The major difference between the 2 pads is that ceramic is an insulator and as such pushes the heat generated when braking into the rotor making the rotor take the brunt of the effort. When extended or heavy braking is required such as in a performance application or towing regularly this is a bad thing as it can cause the rotors to over-heat...warp or fail. Ceramic benifits are that dust is almost non-existenet as well as initial and sustained braking pressure is usually more efficient than other forms of linings. Additionally lining life in non-performance/towing applications usually far outlasts traditional lining materials as well.

I think I've covered most of the pro's and cons of ceramics, semi-mets are pretty understood and I don't think need to be covered.

For daily drivers and light towing applications I belive ceramics are an excellent choice. For heavy towing or performance applications there are better options.

Keep in mind that application has a lot to do with it. For example '88-'98 Chevy C/K1500 and light 2500 trucks were poorly designed with a 10" rear drum and inappropriate propotioning due to the ABS design. This meant that by design the front brakes are supposed to do 90% of the braking...with poor proportioning the rear was doing less than 2% causing premature break wear and needing front lining and rotor replacement every 8-14,000 miles. Because most owners would not completely replace their brake system with a different master cylinder and disconnect their ABS systems, as well as installing larger rear brakes....a longer lasting more aggressive pad was the answer....bringing carbon-metallic to the masses. Most replacement pads for these vehicles are now only available as carbon-metallic.

My point is that if you know automotive parts people...ask them what is working for your application...most will know more than your average joe.
I'm not referring to your discount auto parts places. Most of these folks are not as knowledgeable as the guys who deliver parts to the auto repair industry such as NAPA or CARQUEST.

 

I dunno man, according to the chart, it pins semi-metallics as fair mostly. All I know is when I bought the $180 front set of Carquest "gold" colored ceramics, all was good till the noise happened. They squeeled like a pig slaughter house for a while too. Wanting a solution to the madness I switched and never looked back. The ceramics looked to wear less or the same as OE, but the noise. There was a fair bit of dust week to week. It will be a long time before ceramics will win me back to paying twice as much. They at the parts store wanted to know my experiences and thaughts because they heard alot of the same. In all fairness, my brakes always worked well, OE and replacements. I don't drive road course with my truck so many wear under heat, fade etc are non issues. Noise and life plus $$$ is all I worry about. The fact that I get like no dust was a huge bonus. Plus, as far as installation practises, my dad has taught me (licensed mechanic for 35 or so years) and I have even taught him a few things I learned. The time I did not machine the face actually got me more km's before noise happened. I thaught that was the problem, got new pads, turned rotors, same exact problem, only sooner. I'm not bad on brakes either. I even bought the "gold" pads for the rear and same crap exactly. I'm Carquest "blue" front, back and e-brake and no looking back now. The e-brake shoes are actually AC Delco. I even like the fact that they paint the pads light ford blue, cool huh!

 

I am totally happy with my Wagner Thermo Quiets. Did not turn the rotors, they stop great, no noise, and are lasting much longer than the factory pads. They are a high quality semi-metallic and cost around $45 per axle. After reading info in the threads, i see no reason to ever try ceramics. If I could not get the Wagners, I would not hesitate to go with the CarQuest Blues.

 

Hawk performance brake pads kick butt too. I had them on my 2001 SCrew 4x4

 

The wagners are just raybestos pads with a different name. They are good pads as long as you bevel and bed them in.

 

Ive always used ceramics and been more than happy with them.. absolutely no dust or noise and they always lasted what seemed for ever..

 

Seconded. Akebono's are fantastic ceramic pads.

 

Ceramic pads are great as long as the rotors used are designed to handle the extra heat of the pads.