Brake Heat, Rotors, Pad Types

[BTR]

I tow a trailer, and have had my front rotors develop heat islands and warpage. What type of brake pad should I use in order to minimize heat buildup in the rotors? Asbestos? Metallic? Semi-metallic? Ceramic? Semi-ceramic? Something else?

 

[my98nnj]

I run the Wagner Thermoquiet ceramic pads. I've had them on my Nissan and now on the Ex. Never had any brake judder (as it's called) since I've been using them.

Hawk makes great pads too, I've run their street pad which has great bite, lots of dust though.

 

[techieman33]

I would look for a set of cryogenically treated rotors, they'll put up with more heat, powerslot and many others sell them. You can get a hawk superduty pad that is designed with towing in mind, it is really dusty though. I've had good luck with a couple different kinds of hawk pad though. Another thing you can do to help is flush your brake fluid at least every 2 years if not more, it really makes a big difference.

 

[alohamonte]

+1 ceramic

 

[jlsparky7]

Ceramic pads with slotted or drilled rotors. Thats the way to go!

 

[RomeovilleIL]

If you are getting that much additional stress on the vehicle brakes your trailer is probably heavy enough to warrant trailer brakes, either surge or electric.

 

[BTR]

Semi-Metallic or Ceramic?

My trailer is not that heavy. But, all it takes is one hard stop (an unintended, sudden stop) followed by sitting still, and heat buildup can be an issue. I've had one parts house tell me to use ceramic pads, while another parts house told be to use semi-metallic pads.

So, which one... ceramic or semi-metallic?

 

[sport97]

I'm going with ceramics. I dont know enough to tell you what is best for your application. But, if you have advance auto around your area, they have 40 bucks off 100 dollar purchase online, and you can pick up at the local store if they have in stock so you dont have to deal with shipping. And if you are spending a lot you can probably split it into 2 orders to get the discount twice. I would just call the local advance to double check part numbers, as their site seems to show some discrepancies from another site I checked. The code for the discount is "ccabin". There is also a 30 dollar mail in rebate on the wagner thermo quiet pads(the wagner rear ceramics are the ones with a part number discrepancy)