Akebono pine block feel?
2020 Ranger Rear Pad/Rotor Replacement Notes (Quality is job....whatever)
- Thread starter ctechbob
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“Pine block feel” is how I would describe the sensation under the brake pedal. Like if you wedged soft pine under the lever arm - it’s not linear at first. It’s especially noticeable if the vehicle is under-braked and more pressure is required to stop it.
Wouldn't that be the opposite? Soft pedal feel?
I generally think of wooden feeling brakes as those that don't have any initial feel and don't really get progressively more grippy as pedal pressure increases. If you've ever had some severe fade you'll know the feeling. There's pedal there, but not a lot of stopping going on no matter how hard you're pushing.
Well now that I am done with breaking in my Akebono's ultra performance I understand the wooden feelings. You dont have that initial "grab" feel it just smooth progressive force. At least in my Ford Flex which is an under braked car (even with the optional heavy duty brakes). I think that smoothness fools people, I felt my nose dive pretty well as I was coming to a stop.
Just an update on the Fleet Metlok's.
Very good all around pad for my use. Good initial bite, better heat resistance than the Motorcraft pads. Don't know or care about dusting. No squealing at all.
I'll be paying attention if they hold up over time. I've come to the conclusion that the rear brakes on this truck are a little short on cooling, so that could be the reason some of us have problems with them.
Very good all around pad for my use. Good initial bite, better heat resistance than the Motorcraft pads. Don't know or care about dusting. No squealing at all.
I'll be paying attention if they hold up over time. I've come to the conclusion that the rear brakes on this truck are a little short on cooling, so that could be the reason some of us have problems with them.
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What do you mean by blown brake jobs?
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I've experienced it too, it's why I switched away from Akebonos. They have little bite and poor feel. The Raybestos Element3 has way better bite and feel while still maintaining the low dust level of the Akebonos.
JHZR2
Staff member
I’m curious about this too. I have a set of those element 3 pads that I picked over the fleet metlok (my other top choice), because of the GG friction rating… wondering if I should just unload them and get the bendix?
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Run the Element3's with confidence. Great pad.
@cheesepuffs2 , @JHZR2
I’m a diy guy, not a pro. I take care of my cars, kids cars, a school teacher friend and two boys whose parents live out of the states, so I do more than the average homeowner but am not a pro, and can fall out of touch with best techniques, etc.
Eht/element3 were my goto and I’d done several sets of them. Idk how many - maybe 5-6. At worst, if I did everything carefully, they’d squeal once, first back-out of the day, and were flawless after. If your windows were down, you might pick up a tad more noise by ear, but you had to listen.
This year I did 2 sets in early January. Both vehicles ended up attrocious. 3 wheels on my wife’s vehicle squealed and howled. Everything was well-lubed, I added CRC anti-squeal, and also belt sanded all the rotors on both sides, which is the power-hitter over here for resolving squeal if it gets to that point. 3 wheels, and after all that still had squeal accelerating from every light. I gave up after several redos and put on something else, which worked better.
The other vehicle is my son’s 4R. Squawked like a school bus. This one also had brand new centric rotors on it. He’s impatient and didn’t want to redo it and it has settled down some, but still gets really obnoxious parking.
I’ve gone back to akebono with 2 brake jobs since then. Unfortunately, one took very well, but the other, a Toyota, is exhibiting some pulsing after 3 months of driving, and I remember now that when I had a Toyota, for some reason I could never get it to avoid pulsing until going to hawk pads.
I really liked it when EHT pads just worked. They were really good.
I've got a 2021 GMC Canyon AT4 and just did my front brakes. Bought Raybestos Element3 rotors and Raybestos R-Line ceramic front pads. Not very impressed with the pedal feel. Good initial bite but I have to put some pedal effort to get it to stop the way I like. Nice firm pedal but just not enough grip from the pads.
I was thinking of going with semi-metallic. The semi-metallic Fleet Metlock and ceramic PowerStop Z36 towing pads are at the top of my list.
I was thinking of going with semi-metallic. The semi-metallic Fleet Metlock and ceramic PowerStop Z36 towing pads are at the top of my list.
I know some japanese sedans had problems with elemnt3 due to rust and clearance. Apparently these pads rust relatively fast or something to do with the backer material separating and causing issues.
