Ceramic brake pads good / bad?

[Greg_B]

My brakes had been sqeaking for a while and getting on my nerves. So I asked the parts guy what is supposed to be good pads that will not squeak... He sold me some Wagner pads that say ceramic on them.

I installed them today and they dont squeak but they feel different... like they dont grab and hold as well at the cheap ones I took off. The pedal feels almost mushy... I bled the brakes again but it makes no difference.

It stops ok but I feel like it takes more effort...

Is this typical with ceramic pads or do they just need time to break in? I only drove it around the neighborhood.

Greg

 

[bknbronco]

usually i stay away from ceramics because all they did was squeel! But the last set i bought for my caddy from napa have a different compound on the inside pad than the outside pad so they wear even. These are the only ceramic pads i have ever liked. And no brake dust!

 

[Broncobowsher]

Ceramics are often harder. By chance are they "lifetime" pads? Those tend to be such hard material that the rotor becomes the consumable wear item. You also get the crappy brake feel you describe since the pad material is so hard.

 

[broncnaz]

Thats kinda typical with ceramic they are mostly made for high speed stopping where you build some heat. Many times those high dollar pads are not a good choice for broncos. your mustang maybe but not a bronco.

 

[Apogee]

The term "ceramic" actually means very little in terms of brake pad performance since friction materials are not regulated by any single governing body. Any amount of "ceramic" material means they can write it on the box along with any of the other 30 or 40 ingredients, however most low-dust/noise/wear ceramic brake pads are geared towards the luxury SUV and sport/touring markets and use a NAO (non-asbestos organic) matrix.

Regardless of the compound, the manufacturing code laser etched or stamped on the pad, it should have two letters like "FF", "EE" or "GG" to designate the hot and cold coeffiecient of friction (CoF) range with E = .25-.34, F = .35-.44 and G = .45-.54. Due to differences in testing between manufacturers, you can't completely rely on the CoF ranges between brands, but they serve as a decent way to get an idea of how a pad might perform. They don't necessarily have to be the same as most CoF's are somewhat non-linear with respect to temperature, or in the case of the Napa Adaptive One pads mentioned above, they run a more aggressive/dustier pad on the inside and less aggressive pad on the outside to basically try and offset the issues you're experiencing now.

"Ceramic" in and of itself doesn't really mean much seeing as how all of the pads of some well respected friction manufacturers (Carbotech, Satisfied, etc) would be considered "ceramic". In general, I wouldn't run a "EE" pad on a Bronco unless I was running hydroboost and killing it with gain = high caliper pressures. On the opposite end of the spectrum, manual brakes will prefer a higher CoF pad for obvious reasons, so I would not sacrifice brake torque for low-dust/noise/wear.

Tobin

 

[BG's 68 Bronco]

Holy cow Apogee! That there is some great info that I did not know about brake pads. I will remember this when by pads for any of my vehicles in the future. Cheers!

 

[Greg_B]

Wow... thats a lot of info...

Here is what I installed...

http://www.federalmogul.com/en/Afte...ads-Shoes/WagnerPassengerVehicle/Thermoquiet/

Called Wagner Thermo quiet Ceramic NXT... I am sure the part store would let me take them back if I said I didnt like them. It isnt like it takes more than 20 minutes to swap them out.

Greg