What's good, and not so good, in brake pads these days?

[ctechbob]

I'll say, I never used a Bosch product I didn't like. Haven't tried their brakes yet though.

I've got a set of the Quietcast ones waiting to go on the Ranger. We'll see how well those hold up to towing duty.

I do like the free blue shop rags/shipping material as well. I like their thinking with that whole idea.

 

[Shel_B]

Raybestos Element3 are really good. Here recently my go to has been the Napa Silent Guard. They have a blue strip on them. Excellent pads. I’m actually installing some this weekend on at least one vehicle maybe two. We haven’t had any complaints on them at work and they appear to be low dust as well. Great pads. I recommend ceramic as long as your rotors are rated for them.

I’m my opinion it’s hard to go wrong with any brand these days. Every parts stores pads are good as long as you buy at least the mid tier or higher.

What are some of the differences between the tiers of brake pads?How does one know what the pad quality is ... is price really a determining factor?

 

[AutoMechanic]

What are some of the differences between the tiers of brake pads?How does one know what the pad quality is ... is price really a determining factor?

Usually they will have like 3-4 different lines regular, gold, platinum, maybe professional. I’ve found usually the lowest one doesn’t include hardware. And also sometimes the lowest one is made from a different material but not always. Price can be very different depending on which one you choose sometimes it’s only a few dollars and sometimes it’s $15-$20 or more different.

 

[Dave_T]

Have had great results overall with the Akebono ProACT, but this time around I'm gonna try Brembo pads/rotors as they read to be quite good and no more costly.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

The Raybestos Element3 pads and PowerStop coated rotors I put on my Accord work great with lots of grab when cold and heat doesn't seem to affect them much, and very little dust. But I've noticed that even after bedding them in properly, and even doing it again a few weeks later, they seem to have transferred a lot of pad material to the discs causing a lot of brake shudder at low (under 10mph or so) speeds. The OEM pads did this near the end of their life, the Centric Premium Ceramics I replaced those with never did this, and now the Element3s are doing it right from the get-go. I'm not real happy about it, but going by sheer braking performance they work great.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The Raybestos Element3 pads and PowerStop coated rotors I put on my Accord work great with lots of grab when cold and heat doesn't seem to affect them much, and very little dust. But I've noticed that even after bedding them in properly, and even doing it again a few weeks later, they seem to have transferred a lot of pad material to the discs causing a lot of brake shudder at low (under 10mph or so) speeds. The OEM pads did this near the end of their life, the Centric Premium Ceramics I replaced those with never did this, and now the Element3s are doing it right from the get-go. I'm not real happy about it, but going by sheer braking performance they work great.

I've been using the Element3 pads and rotors on a few cars over the past few years with good results.
A year ago May I put a set on my nieces 2015 Oddysey. Well, May of this year and about 20-25K there's a brake shudder. Had the rotors trued; shudder came back in 2-3 months. @The Critic advised me to use a higher carbon rotor and Honda pads. The brakes are really good right now. I am hoping for the best; unfortunately hope is a lousy strategy.
I doubt I will be buying the Raybestos anymore, especially for heavy vehicles.

 

[cheesepuffs2]

The Raybestos Element3 pads and PowerStop coated rotors I put on my Accord work great with lots of grab when cold and heat doesn't seem to affect them much, and very little dust. But I've noticed that even after bedding them in properly, and even doing it again a few weeks later, they seem to have transferred a lot of pad material to the discs causing a lot of brake shudder at low (under 10mph or so) speeds. The OEM pads did this near the end of their life, the Centric Premium Ceramics I replaced those with never did this, and now the Element3s are doing it right from the get-go. I'm not real happy about it, but going by sheer braking performance they work great.

Interesting! When I was running DuraGo rotors with Akebono ProACTs I had this problem. I switched to the Raybestos Element 3 rotors and pads, it's been 15,000 miles and I haven't had it since. Weird.

 

[thescreensavers]

I've been using the Element3 pads and rotors on a few cars over the past few years with good results.
A year ago May I put a set on my nieces 2015 Oddysey. Well, May of this year and about 20-25K there's a brake shudder. Had the rotors trued; shudder came back in 2-3 months. @The Critic advised me to use a higher carbon rotor and Honda pads. The brakes are really good right now. I am hoping for the best; unfortunately hope is a lousy strategy.
I doubt I will be buying the Raybestos anymore, especially for heavy vehicles.

Rotors are not at fault to brake shutter, it's the psds. If you have issues with these pads chances are ceramic type pads are not for you. Buy a semi met with a higher temp rating.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Rotors are not at fault to brake shutter, it's the psds. If you have issues with these pads chances are ceramic type pads are not for you. Buy a semi met with a higher temp rating.

The pads and rotors were Raybestos Element3; supposedly matched. I think it was the rotors. Or both.
Regardless, I am hardly satisfied with them.

 

[thescreensavers]

The pads and rotors were Raybestos Element3; supposedly matched. I think it was the rotors. Or both.
Regardless, I am hardly satisfied with them.

Rotor matching seems to be a new buzz word these days. I'm saying that the pads are your issue, and would recommend non ceramic pads for you that can handle higher heat.

 

[John105]

My buddy asked me to recommend parts for his 2016 AWD CR-V. He can actually take the internet parts to his Honda dealer and they will install them. The one right by his condo will, in Jacksonville, they will not.

He said he has a church "friend" who's a tech in JAX who told him they routinely do brakes at the dealer and do not use OE parts but charge the customers for them. WTH! Buddy was livid but kept it to himself.

Anyway, I was really surprised how affordable the parts are. I had recently read I think here that Raybestos Element3 are less than ProACTs yet good.

Anyway, I recommended the PowerStop Geomets, and Akebono ProACTs, so affordable.

pads $37 rear, $43 front

rotors $29 rear, $39 front--the Geomet coating "looks" great online. Reminds me of how a BMW OE rotor looks when new, at least from pics. The idea is that the pads will wear away the coating, but the coating remains everywhere else, eliminating rust. I'm sure for $39 and $29 it's not the same as a BMW OE, but worth a try (my BMW rotors are now 7 and no rust, but low miles).

 

[97prizm]

I haven't bought brake pads in a long time. I'll soon need pads for my 2016 Mazda CX-9. OE pads are expensive, and I'd like to go a step above OE quality to get clean, quiet, great performance, long lasting, easy on the rotors, but not high performance with its limitations. Price isn't a limitation if I'm getting my money's worth. I don't drive in a winter salt area often. Rotors look OK, but I'll take a closer look at both sides soon. These cars wear the rears faster than the fronts (had that on a Volvo years ago, also), but I'll change then all to keep the characteristics the same on all 4 corners.

I looked at the Raybestos Element3 EHT web page, they sound great, but the price is suspiciously low. I looked closer...made in China. Bendix is a grand old brand. Cheap, made in India. Wagner OEx seems to be a good choice. NAPA Adaptive One sounds great, but they're pricey (any idea who makes these for NAPA?). I know, there are a hundred others out there.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

EBC yellow or red brake pads?

 

[willbur]

The EHT pads are popular on here.

Of course, Akebono makes good pads that are well-liked for being quiet, practically dust-free, and dependable.

Another good choice is EBC Ultimax2 (Blackstuff). Those pads are awesome. Quiet, great pedal feel, dust similar to OE.

Agree on EBC

 

[willbur]

I'm curious to know if anyone has tried Akebono Performance instead of the ProACT? Looking at them vs the Raybestos Hybrids

I did not have good luck with the Performance pads- little bite and fade. Just my experience on one car. YMMV

 

[willbur]

Rotors are not at fault to brake shutter, it's the psds. If you have issues with these pads chances are ceramic type pads are not for you. Buy a semi met with a higher temp rating.

Install high carbon rotors with the semi mets. Great performance but dust.

 

[nthach]

I’m debating DFC pads and rotors for a Hyundai Genesis.

 

[4WD]

Put these front ceramics on the 2017 Tahoe today - first surprise was how good the OEM’s looked at 84k …
(O’R’s made by Bosch) …

 

[vavavroom]

EBC yellow or red brake pads?

Red for the street and yellow for the track. Red pads grab better when the brakes are cold, are less noisy, produce less dust, and don't eat rotors the way the yellow pads do.

 

[mclasser]

I've had no issues with Akebono pads across several vehicles. In the past, I've also had good luck with AAP (now Carquest) platinum pads.

Rotor-wise, Centric premium is now my go-to. I'd regularly get pedal pulsation from parts store rotors starting at around 30k miles, whereas the Centrics are still smooth on two of my vehicles at 50k.

 

[meep]

Just pad-slapped all 4 corners on our CRV with the element3. Took plenty of time with cleaning, greasing and all. Very pleased, and more important, my wife is happy with it (her DD).