Raybestos PG Ceramic vs. Wagner Thermoquiet

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A friend's '98 Eclipse Spyder GS needs front pads and rotors.

I am trying to decide between the Raybestos Professional Grade ceramic pads (PGD484C) or the new Wagner ThermoQuiet ceramic pads (QC484). I will be pairing them with a set of cheap Raybestos Professional Grade rotors (96723R).

I don't have any experience with either pad since I usually use high-end stuff, not the mid-grade brake parts. But obviously, not everyone is willing to pay for high-end brake parts.

It seems like the Wagner Thermoquiet pads are quite popular with both this forum and with the local auto parts stores, so they must be pretty good. Aside from the Les Schwab service centers, which tends use top-quality products, no one else uses Raybestos brake parts. Any idea why?

So, does anyone have any experience with either of these pads? The price difference between the two choices is $5, so it isn't significant. One thing I did notice though, is that the Raybestos pads use floating shims, which is more similar to the OE design. I just want something that offers decent stopping power and won't give me a noise-related comeback.

Thanks!
 
One shop I was at used the Raybestos pads and they are good quality. The Theromquite are great pads also. I've used them a lot, and NEVER had any noise problems, and they are pretty clean also. If I had the choice and the price was similar, I'd go with the Wagner. I have Adaptive One pads from Napa on my Eclipse and they have also been very good for me. They are more expensive than the two you mentioned though. I also have Thermoquite on my Camry and Ram.
 
You could also look at the AutoZone DuraLast Cmax Gold ceramic pads. They are quiet and stop my LeSabre quite nicely.

I don't have experience with those other two, sorry.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
You could also look at the AutoZone DuraLast Cmax Gold ceramic pads. They are quiet and stop my LeSabre quite nicely.


I would, but those pads are very expensive ($55).

The Wagner ThermoQuiet pads are $33/set. The Raybestos ones are the same. But when you order them with the rotors, differences in shipping locations causes the total to be different between the two-- $86 vs. $91.
 
I know alot of folk on this board like raybestos products but i personally think they are junk. I would not use a raybestos brake pad if given to me.
I would go with the wagners tq and probably be problem free.
 
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My vote goes for the Raybestos PG. I've used them several times before and they always worked well.
 
I was going to go with the Raybesto's PG rotors/pads in the next couple of weeks but autozone just came out with the cmax pads for my car. They are 6 bucks more then the PG but the fact that i can take them into any autozone and get new pads for free when it is time did it for me. I am still getting the PG rotors
 
I put duralast rotors and the wagner thermos on my suburban two years ago and they are holding up very nicely. On my 01 blazer i bought new duralast rotors and wearever silver pads and the pads were very poor quality. I have used them in past and did not have problems with them. My brake dust was terrible with the wearevers. I went to AZ and bought duralast gold ceremics for 35 dollars and they are awesome. Quiet,smooth,and clean. I will say they dont grip quite as well as the semimetallics i usually use. This worked out for me though becuase my blazers brakes were always very touchy. They are perfect now. To your question though, i think both pad mentioned are very good quality. I have heard some people say that cheap rotors and ceremics should not go together. I believe the rotors you listed are pretty good so either pad will work. good luck
 
I've used both, on my personal vehicles, and customer's vehicles, and NEVER had a problem, or a comeback.
I currently have Carquest Blue Ceramic (Raybestos PG) in my '03 Windstar, and they are quiet, and seem to stop better than the OEM pads that were in it before. The also have 2x the miles that the factory pads had (50k on the ceramics, the OEM's were done at 25k), and still have plenty of meat left.
I also have the Thermoquiet's on my Camry. I've had them on there for about 10k and they are nice and quiet. Stopping power is good, and they have very little dust. I've also used the Raybestos PG Ceramic on my uncles 2000 Celica with no problems, and the Thermoquiet's on my aunts 2003 Sonata with no problems.
It's a toss up, both are great pads. If you are ordering from rockauto, try both sets with raybestos, and wagner rotors in the shopping cart. Many times I've found that it charges $10-12 per rotor for shipping for the Raybestos, and only $3-7 for the Wagner rotors. Use which ever is the cheapest combo, and you will be happy.
 
I've used ceramic pads on 3 cars thus far and love them. I have used Satisfied, Akebono, Bendix, Raybestos and I think Centric. I've even used a combo of different brands(F/R). Love them all thus far. If my cars came with ceramic, I replaced with ceramic. The cars that didn't come with ceramics, I installed them when the OEM's wore out. I'll be converting my daughters 06 Mazda3(purchaced Aug 09) over to ceramics when the time comes. Maybe the 3 came with ceramics but, the dealership that installed new brakes prior to delivery, had installed "I don't know what"! They're loud and dusty(probably something cheap).
 
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