When you are replacing your disc brake pads, you have a few options to consider. Disc brake pads come in many brands and varieties such as riveted, bonded, organic, and metallic. There are a lot of things to consider when choosing your disc brake pad.
If you want the quick answer for choosing your brake pad, look at what you already have: organic, semi-metallic, or ceramic. If you have semi-metallic or ceramic, you can interchange the two, but never replace these brakes with organic. If you have organic, you can keep the same brakes or exchange them with the other types.
Riveted vs. Bonded
If you want to choose the best brake pad, you will come across the terms riveted and bonded. These terms refer to how the friction material of the brake pad is affixed to the backing plate.
This does not affect the brake’s performance but can mildly affect the lifespan of the brake pad. These brakes have different qualities as described below.
Riveted pads: Riveted friction pads are connected to the backing plates via rivets. This means when the brake pad starts to run thin, the rivets can become exposed and cause the brakes to squeal.
Bonded pads: These pads use an adhesive agent to bond the friction material to the backing plate. This lacks exposable rivets, so it could theoretically be used for a longer time. However, in practice, the pad should probably be replaced at the same time anyway.
Types of Friction Material
Disc Brake pads have been manufactured out of many materials over time, including fully metallic, ceramic carbon, and asbestos disc brake pads. However, the brake pad industry has primarily settled on three varieties of friction material. These are organic, semi-metallic, and ceramic.
Organic Disc Brake Pads
Organic disc brake pads are made of organic fibers, including carbon and rubber, among others bound by resins. Organic disc brake pads are a common choice for small, lightweight vehicles because they are soft with less than 20% metallic material. This leads to less wear on your brake rotor and quiet performance. However, metal conducts heat well, and less of it makes for poor conduction of heat away from the rotor during braking.
Also, the softness of the material makes for less noise, less durability, and much more brake dust. These pads will not last as long as semi-metallic or ceramic options, but they come at a lower price.
Semi-Metallic Disc Brake Pads
These disc brake pads are made of several types of metal fibers suspended in graphite lubricant and hard resins. These are the most common disc brake pads in use today. Therefore, they are popular for use in heavy and difficult braking applications.
These brake pads are durable due to their metal content but are also very loud and produce dust. These disc brake pads conduct heat away from the rotor well, making them very effective at maintaining braking power during frequent stops and starts.
These brake pads are frequently trusted for racing applications and tow vehicles. But for everyday driving, many would favor quiet braking and will not push their brakes at all.
Ceramic Disc Brakes
Ceramic disc brakes are made of an extremely durable ceramic similar to those in non-stick coating, then intertwined with copper wires. The ceramic material like the one on your stove can withstand considerable heat, and the copper wires are effective at conducting heat away from the rotor.
One of the most significant flaws with ceramic disc brakes is that though they are more effective at holding and dispersing heat from the brake pad, they are far less effective at removing heat from the rotor than semi-metallic brake pads. This means that though they retain the feel of good braking, they can cause rotor damage from overheating and higher abrasiveness than semi-metallic disc brake pads.
Despite these flaws, ceramic brake pads do last a long time, produce little sound and dust, and slow your vehicle faster than organics and, under some conditions, even semi-metallics.
I Know the Materials Now How do I Decide?
This comes down to how and what you drive. A small subcompact used for relaxed driving can almost certainly get away with using organic disc brake pads and save some money. This even has the benefit of quiet braking.
But maybe you want to build a performance car or do some heavy towing. If you’re going to trust your brake pads to work their best under extreme conditions, then go with semi-metallic.
If you have a car that you want to relax in, but organic disc brake pads just won’t cut it, ceramic brake pads offer quite effective braking. It can also help prevent brake dust that causes discoloration to tires and other nearby components.
The Best Disc Brake Pads
Now that you know your brake pads, these are some manufacturers who produce a good set of brake pads for each disc brake pad material.
Best Ceramic: A list of the best ceramic disc brake pad manufacturers would have to include Akebono. These pads are expensive, typically hovering about fifty dollars for a set of 4 disc brake pads. However, Akebono is certified to provide quality equipment, and their brake pads are some of the quietest out there.
Best Semi-metallic: Wagner is one of the most respected brands out there. This company lives up to German engineering. They have long manufactured brake pads, and they are an excellent choice for quality semi metallics.
Best Organic: When you shop for organic brake pads, you are typically concerned with getting the best brake pad you can afford cheap. Bearing quality vs. affordability, the best brand of Organic Disc Brake Pads is Duralast. AutoZone’s private label brand. Their brake pads are known for decent quality, and they usually are pretty affordable.
Related Questions
Are Expensive Brakes Worth the Cost?
Expensive brake pads are only worth the cost if they add something, and this is often not the case. All brake pads must meet government regulatory standards ensuring quality. However, look for options that are different in some way. Some brake pads use more expensive metals to better conduct heat away from the brake rotor.