Brake Pad discussion

Its time to change brake pads and re-surface rotors on some of my cars, pro- cars and vans. What are your suggestions with the various brands and grades? I want quiet brakes and cleaner wheels and of course good true braking. Thanks in advance.
 
Today, you have a choice of organic, metallic, or ceramic brake pads. Depending on the vehicle age, will determine what you should use, since the system components might not be matched to some of the later technology braking materials. The commercial chassis cars of the 1960's used primarily an organic / metallic mixed material that was riveted to the brake pad, and by the late 1970's, they went to a fully metallic type of brake pad. I don't know exactly when they went to the ceramic brake pads, however, they are used on all the new cars. As for brake dust, the organic are the dustiest, and the metallic and ceramic are not much better. The best way to combat brake dust is to keep up the removing it before it becomes a problem. Once it stays on the wheels for an extended time, it is next to impossible to remove it. It seems to bond with the coating on the wheels as a result of heat transfer from the brakes to the wheel rim.
Today, the rotors for modern car are so inexpensive, it doesn't make sense to have them cut, so I would recommend replacing them. I have found that there is a wide price range for the same rotor depending on where you purchase it. As an example, the local NAPA store was double the price of the local Advanced Auto Parts store just down the street from the NAPA dealer. Both came in an unmarked box that was identical, and both were made in China. Rotors for a late 1960's commercial chassis car are very expensive, and you should be careful to replace the pads before they damage the rotors. They are also larger in diameter than there counterpart, the standard Cadillac automobile. The rotors on my 1978 Superior Cadillac are an inch larger than the 1978 Cadillac passenger car, and as a result, they are harder to find and also more expensive.
Both my 1969 and 1978 commercial chassis ambulances use the riveted semi metallic brake pads, and they are extremely difficult to find today. Delco discontinued them about 10 years ago, and the only thing that you can purchase today are the bonded brake pads. In theory, the riveted pads are supposed to transfer the heat to the pad shoe for improved cooling. Since we no longer use these cars they way that they were originally designed to be driven, fast and hard, I don't think that riveted or bonded pads will make much of a difference in stopping power / distance. As for brand, today, you have mostly store branded pads... i.e. Carquest, NAPA, etc. to choose from. If you are trying to duplicate the original braking characteristics of the vehicle, the I suggest you purchase the pads and rotors from the dealer that sells the brand of vehicle you are using them on. If the vehicle is more than 7 years old, you are pretty much stuck with aftermarket parts, since the manufacturers usually no longer support the older vehicles with maintenance parts, unless they are still used on their later products.
Hope that this answers your question..
Paul
 
tip of the day

The tip of the day here is to buy parts when you see or find them. Not when you need them. More and more parts are being dropped every day from inventories. Then your choices are the specialty stores/shops. This can easily translate into a high price because now your part is "RARE"!
Not just brake parts but just about any antique or procar part should be on your spare parts shelf.
Of course we can't store every part for our cars but the ones that get used up should probably be first on the list to get for the shelf.
 
My mechanic just installed rotors and ceramic pads on my 95 Superior Chevy last month, so too early to help you much, but I have been told the white walls willl stay clean.
 
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