Ceramic brake pads are popular with car owners that want that like-new brake performance, they are quiet, long lasting, low dusting and provide safe sure stops. They handle heat much better than most nonasbestos organic (NAO) friction materials, and are quieter and kinder to rotors than most semi-metallic friction materials.
Ceramic brake pads first appeared in the early 90s. Some vehicle manufacturers began using ceramic-based disc brake pads in place of conventional semi-metallic pads to address customer complaints about brake noise, dust and wear. Many of these ceramic pads were supplied by Akebono Automotive Disc Brake Pads)
. Following the OEM lead, Raybestos Brakes, and other major aftermarket brake suppliers introduced their own ceramic-based friction materials. The aftermarket ceramic pads are designed to replace OEM ceramic disc brake pads and to upgrade brake performance on vehicles that were not originally equipped with ceramic-based pads.
HOW CERAMIC PADS DIFFER FROM ORDINARY PADS
CERAMIC PADS REDUCE BRAKE DUST
LONGER PAD LIFE
CERAMIC PAD APPLICATIONS
Ceramic pads can be installed on any vehicle that is originally-equipped with OEM ceramic pads, or on vehicles that are equipped with Nonasbestos Organic (NAO) linings. Ceramic pads are NOT recommended to replace semi-metallic pads, especially on larger, heavier vehicles. On trucks and large SUVs, semi-metallic linings are typically needed to handle higher loads and braking temperatures.
It seems that almost every major aftermarket and original equipment brake supplier these days has some type of ceramic-based friction material in one of their product lines. Raybestos, one of the first aftermarket suppliers to offer a ceramic product, uses ceramics in their "Quiet Stop" line of premium disc brake pads. Akebono, a pioneer in the development of ceramic friction materials and leading OEM supplier of ceramic pads also sells an aftermarket version of their ceramic pads under various product lines. Bendix, who is best known for their "TitaniuMetallic" pads (which do not contain ceramics), also introduced a new line of ceramic pads a couple of years ago called "CF3." So is Bosch. Bosch Premium Pads have become Bosch Ceramic Pads. NAPA also sells ceramic pads under various names, including "Ceramix". ProMaster "Certanium" linings use a blend of ceramic and titanium fibers.
Why so much emphasis on ceramics? Because the aftermarket follows the original equipment market, and the domestic and Japanese OEMs have been using ceramic linings for years on many vehicles. One supplier estimated that some type of ceramic pad is now used on 50 to 60% of all late model vehicles. If you count only those applications that use "real" ceramic pads (those where ceramics are a primary ingredient), the figure drops to about 40%, but is still a significant portion of the new vehicle fleet.
The only domestic vehicle manufacturer who has not used much ceramics is Chrysler. They have not used ceramic pads on their domestic-made cars and trucks, but have been using ceramics on their Mitsubishi-made vehicles. However, starting in 2004, Chrysler switched to ceramic pads on certain models.
Interesting… I have heard of using ceramic brake pads rather than the traditional metallic ones. I haven’t really researched on it, but you pointed out significant differences that would definitely benefit every driver out there. I usually change my brake pads every 2000 km, which is just around the corner. Maybe I’ll do an in-depth research about this and try to assess them firsthand. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteEnoch Ross