Ceramic Brake Pads?

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Has anyone tried ceramic brake pads on their Explorer? I'm considering them for the next pad change, thinking they may shed less brake dust than the carbon/metallic that I'm using now.......

After about a week after a wash job, my front wheels are absolutely black from dust.

 

[410Fortune]

You should not have dust with carbon metallic, stick with Raebestos.
Forget the ceramic pads, I tried them, stopping was great but they tore up the rotors and they would fade once hot.....


I have never had brake dust issues with semi metallic pads.

 

[CDW6212R]

Look at EBC pads and/or rotors. They last a long time, check the Tire Rack. LOL,
DonW

 

[Brock94]

I get lots of black dust from my Performance Friction carbon/metalic (bought at autozone). Maybe Raybestos is a lot better. I don't know if it's the pads or rotors, but they also get really sticky for the first few applications after sitting out in the rain for a night-- more than I ever experienced with the oem pads and rotors on there before.

They do their job though and I haven't noticed any fade.

 

[410Fortune]

Reabestos or Bendix fleet grade only for me
Never had any dust

 

[V8Exploder]

Raysbestos are great pads, that is all I use.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

I get lots of black dust from my Performance Friction carbon/metalic (bought at autozone). Maybe Raybestos is a lot better. I don't know if it's the pads or rotors, but they also get really sticky for the first few applications after sitting out in the rain for a night-- more than I ever experienced with the oem pads and rotors on there before.

They do their job though and I haven't noticed any fade.

They're from AutoZone, there was your first problem.

 

[thewishkah]

I have ceramic pads and they have great stopping power but once there hot they make alot of squealing noise and make some dust not as much as others but they are kind of rough on the rotors.

 

[Creager]

my experince with any brake pads taught me you get one of two things...

noise, or dust... your pick

Benidix pads all the way man. Advanced Auto carries them.

 

[97BlackX5.0]

second the advance auto bendix pads.... wont install anything but them on my cars....

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

OK guys, thanks for the info. I think I'll forget about ceramic; don't want to wear out the rotors prematurely. Probably will stick with a good brand of the semi-metallics....

 

[gish]

Ceramic pads

I just went through my first set of ceramic pads(installed on the front only). I drive in a lot of stop and go traffic just about every day.I got about 80k miles out of the front pads.It was really nice not having to clean the wheels every week and I never had any stopping problems. I wouldn't worry about the rotors if they are OEM. By the time you replace the pads, it may be time to replace the rotors anyway. I used semi metallic on the rear since there isn't much stopping emphasis on those as are the front.

 

[Brock94]

They're from AutoZone, there was your first problem.

True. Fluids, RTV etc are cheaper there. They have a good tool lending program, but I've been disappointed with the quality of their parts-- even so-called "premium" parts they sell. I've been using NAPA, CarQuest and RockAuto for parts. Live and learn.

 

[TSTONE]

I use the Wagner Thermal Quiets on all my vehicles and love em.

No dust / No noise / No noticable fade (and i'm a hard braker)

 

[stubborn1]

I've also heard not to use ceramic pads if you tow on a regular basis. Since the ceramics tend to fade under heat, the additional braking load from the trailer just adds to the problem. I can't confirm this from personal use, but it has made me think and that's why I stick with semi-metallic.

I use ceramics on our car and love them. A lot less dust. They do tend to make more noise than a semi-metallic pad though.

 

[A Wise Guy]

I'm the odd man out here. I'm running ceramics. No dust, no noise, no fade. I love them. I especially love the clean wheels.

 

[yosh18981898]

I got a set from autozone. For $8.00 a pair with a lifetime warranty who can argue?

True they do make more dust than OEM, but since I'm daily dragging my X down gravel roads, the gravel dust covers up the brake dust

On the other hand they are very quiet, lasting pretty good (20,000 miles and they are still better than 0.25"), and they seem to be nice to the rotors.

I'm happy

 

[mrboyle]

Take it from someone that has installed more brake pads than I care to remember (I do it for a living), ceramic pads are not worth the trouble. Most of their problems have been pointed out already, but let me explain WHY they act the way they do.
The origional intent of the design was to create a pad that could withstand a lot of heat without fading, dusting out or making noise. To a point they succeeded with the design, but the problem is, they can only take so much heat. Once the pads have exceeded the amount of heat they can handle they become hard, fade, begin to dust out and get very noisy. The other problm is that the pads have a tendency to warp and wear rotors due to their ability to resist heat. This is why they aren't recomended for towing since the added demand on the braking system will cause the pads to over heat faster.
For the average customer the ceramic pads are fine, but for anyone that does any hard driving, towing or mountain driving they are not recomended.

 

[jordan23]

I just had new pads and rotors put on the front of my Ex Sport. The Ford shop put in ceramic pads as they couldn't get their OEM pads to stop squealing. I don't tow with my Ex, and I enjoy having clean wheels and a quiet ride!

jordan23