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Ceramic brake pads

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Old 06-14-2009, 08:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Richie O
One episode of hard braking can cause warped rotors.

Yeppers. Me got some warped rotors. One also has a flat spot of here the tire fell off down down the Baltimore Beltway... Wheres a good place to get new rotors?
Old 06-14-2009, 09:15 PM
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Where ever you like to buy parts. I deal with NAPA and sometimes Carquest. Just remember you get what you pay for.
Old 06-14-2009, 09:30 PM
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Y'all may think I am crazy, but if the rotors are warped, I say don't bother turning them, they were already too thin to absorb all the heat you wanted them at least once . . .

If you don't always get what you pay for, you pretty much never get what you don't pay for, if you catch my drift.
Old 06-15-2009, 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 77machomopar
Yeppers. Me got some warped rotors. One also has a flat spot of here the tire fell off down down the Baltimore Beltway... Wheres a good place to get new rotors?
Anywhere but China!! I tried and tried to find U.S. or even Mexican made rotors (I consider Canada U.S., eh!) The best ones I could find were Taiwan. Taiwan has MUCH better steel and Iron than China (IMHO) I even tried the dealer, CHINA! I am about to give up on Dealer parts. My Truck is a 2WD Dually, so the rotors are different than most, so perhaps that is why I cannot get U.S. made?
As for the ceramic pads, I tried them, in my opinon they dont stop as well as the metallic, or semi metallic pads, but they are VERY rotor friendly, and hardly dust at all, like zero dust! That said, I put Hawk "Ferro-Carbon" pads (about a hundred bucks!) on with new TURNED rotors and the difference is significant. Much better pedal feel, and much shorter stops.
Old 06-15-2009, 04:55 PM
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Ya know I kinda thought they didn't feel as good as the ole pads but havn't had much in the way of "good miles" on these pads. I was really hopeing they would stop a bit better considering they weight I am pullin. Well once I can get this problem corrected maybe they will be a bit better.
Old 06-15-2009, 09:29 PM
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Originally Posted by thumbs
Ya know I kinda thought they didn't feel as good as the ole pads but havn't had much in the way of "good miles" on these pads. I was really hopeing they would stop a bit better considering they weight I am pullin. Well once I can get this problem corrected maybe they will be a bit better.
The pedal seemed very firm, but it was like I kept pushing harder and there was no difference in deceleration. I dont buy cheap parts, ever, so that was not it. It was a little unnerving at first, but I just gave myself more room to stop, hoping they would get better. They did not. I contacted several manufacturers of performance pads and Hawk was the only company that I felt would give me what I wanted. I can now threshold brake the Truck, and it feels very linear to the point of lockup. (the rear wheel antilock is functional) I could not lock the Ceramic pads on a bet. Of course, I now have to clean my is wheels much more often, however, I find that easier than cleaning my shorts!
Old 09-04-2009, 10:05 AM
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Question Where to purchase ceramic pads?

I searched our forum and found several occurrences of “ceramic brake pads” but never found mention of a brand.

Who makes ceramic pads for our trucks and where can they be purchased? (Rock Auto does not have them.)

Thanks,
Old 09-04-2009, 10:22 AM
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After I replaced and turned the rotors they have been fine. I got mine at NAPA.
Old 09-04-2009, 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted by thumbs
I got mine at NAPA.
Part number?

Thanks,

Jim
Old 09-04-2009, 03:43 PM
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It has been my experience that if you are going to use ceramic pads, you have to get some sort of cross drilled/slotted rotors for advanced heat dissipation. Semi/full metallic pads soak up a lot of heat whereas ceramic ones repel it so the rotor gets hotter quicker leading to severely decreased rotor life. This is all common knowledge but I thought I would post it just in case someone read this thread and didn't know......
Old 09-04-2009, 06:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Ramrod90
It has been my experience that if you are going to use ceramic pads, you have to get some sort of cross drilled/slotted rotors for advanced heat dissipation. Semi/full metallic pads soak up a lot of heat whereas ceramic ones repel it so the rotor gets hotter quicker leading to severely decreased rotor life. This is all common knowledge but I thought I would post it just in case someone read this thread and didn't know......
X2... Those pads are hard on rotors.
Old 09-04-2009, 06:11 PM
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Question

Originally Posted by Ramrod90
It has been my experience that if you are going to use ceramic pads, you have to get some sort of cross drilled/slotted rotors for advanced heat dissipation. Semi/full metallic pads soak up a lot of heat whereas ceramic ones repel it so the rotor gets hotter quicker leading to severely decreased rotor life. This is all common knowledge but I thought I would post it just in case someone read this thread and didn't know......
Interesting. My daily driver, a Chebby SSR, has ceramic pads on all four corners and neither front nor rear rotors are drilled or slotted. And it's actually a fairly heavy vehicle (4000+ lbs).

The scuttlebutt I have read suggests that ceramic pads are the optimum blend of pad life (wear) and stopping power.

If others would weigh in with their opinions of ceramic pads I would appreciate it.

TIA.
Old 09-04-2009, 06:28 PM
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I put then on a few months ago. Haven't had much weight on them yet but so far so good.
Old 09-04-2009, 07:44 PM
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Originally Posted by james1
Interesting. My daily driver, a Chebby SSR, has ceramic pads on all four corners and neither front nor rear rotors are drilled or slotted. And it's actually a fairly heavy vehicle (4000+ lbs).

The scuttlebutt I have read suggests that ceramic pads are the optimum blend of pad life (wear) and stopping power.

If others would weigh in with their opinions of ceramic pads I would appreciate it.

TIA.
My Brides 2007 malibu has them. We have "some" fairly steep mountains out here. 2nd set of rotors with the stock brake pads..Drive them hard aka towing or BIG hills the rotors are going to warp...This is a fairly light car by truck standards...When they start to go, it will shake the front end. I'll send pics to Madhat, of our part of the world...
Old 09-04-2009, 11:29 PM
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Originally Posted by james1

The scuttlebutt I have read suggests that ceramic pads are the optimum blend of pad life (wear) and stopping power.


TIA.
I agree, but did it say how it affects the rotor, the pads are excellent and don't wear nearly as fast but they are much harder on a solid plate rotor. As far as the ones on your SSR, there are a slew of variables between the braking systems all the way down to the possibility of a different steel compound used in the stock rotors. As far as or old rigs go, I will never use a ceramic pad on a stock rotor.


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