Just like the Mercury, I'm going to be doing some brake work on the Mitsu. I'm going to be rebuilding the calipers, replacing the brake hoses, slightly resurfacing the rotors to remove pad material, and installing new pads. I think 13 years and nearly 225,000 miles on the original components is pushing it, and this is cheap insurance so to speak.
There are two grades of brake pads available from Mitsubishi - the Value offering and the OE pads. I've always used premium grade OE pads on the truck, which are semi metallic. I could be wrong, but I beleive the Value pads are organic. Not too sure on this, but I think Sumitimo supplies pads to Mitsubishi.
I've occassionally had some squealing, but that wouldn't happen too often. Performance is decent, but not exactly outstanding. My only major complaint is I have shiney aluminum wheels on the truck that get coated in brake dust, and it is a major pain to properly clean off.
Anyhow, I decided I would go with Akebono ProACT Ultra-Premium Ceramic pads this time round, so I started doing a bit of research on them. I'm not sure if this was a bad idea, but I ended up reading countless pages on semi metallic vs. ceramic and that has me completely confused.
You had people mentioning "special" rotors are required for ceramic pads, and that ceramic pads last longer because they "eat" the rotors. Apparently, the rotors "lose atoms faster" and wear down. To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any rotors made specifically for ceramic pads, but I could be wrong. I've also read something about semi metallics not being able to hold heat as well as ceramic, causing the rotor to absorb all the heat.
I'm basically after a set of pads that are an upgrade to OE, be it semi metallic or ceramic. Brake dust is a concern, but if better pads will decrease stopping distance and improve braking performance, I have no problem continuing to clean the wheels like I have done for the past 13 years. I realize you get what you pay for with pads, and brakes and tires are two areas I refuse to save money on.
I've looked at many different brands, including Hawks and EBC, but one major concern with this application is pad material. The fronts are easily available in a variety of different compositions, but the rears aren't. So I don't want to end up getting ceramics up front and semi metallics in the rear. Some suppliers, like Hawks for instance, only have front pads available for this application and I don't want to go with two different brands. The Akebonos seem to have some pretty decent reviews, and have the advantage of being able to stick with the same composition material front and rear. They are slighly more expensive than other offerings, but I have no problem with that.
I was just after some BITOG opinions on ceramics "eating rotors" before I go for the Akebonos. Thanks in advance!
There are two grades of brake pads available from Mitsubishi - the Value offering and the OE pads. I've always used premium grade OE pads on the truck, which are semi metallic. I could be wrong, but I beleive the Value pads are organic. Not too sure on this, but I think Sumitimo supplies pads to Mitsubishi.
I've occassionally had some squealing, but that wouldn't happen too often. Performance is decent, but not exactly outstanding. My only major complaint is I have shiney aluminum wheels on the truck that get coated in brake dust, and it is a major pain to properly clean off.
Anyhow, I decided I would go with Akebono ProACT Ultra-Premium Ceramic pads this time round, so I started doing a bit of research on them. I'm not sure if this was a bad idea, but I ended up reading countless pages on semi metallic vs. ceramic and that has me completely confused.
You had people mentioning "special" rotors are required for ceramic pads, and that ceramic pads last longer because they "eat" the rotors. Apparently, the rotors "lose atoms faster" and wear down. To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any rotors made specifically for ceramic pads, but I could be wrong. I've also read something about semi metallics not being able to hold heat as well as ceramic, causing the rotor to absorb all the heat.
I'm basically after a set of pads that are an upgrade to OE, be it semi metallic or ceramic. Brake dust is a concern, but if better pads will decrease stopping distance and improve braking performance, I have no problem continuing to clean the wheels like I have done for the past 13 years. I realize you get what you pay for with pads, and brakes and tires are two areas I refuse to save money on.
I've looked at many different brands, including Hawks and EBC, but one major concern with this application is pad material. The fronts are easily available in a variety of different compositions, but the rears aren't. So I don't want to end up getting ceramics up front and semi metallics in the rear. Some suppliers, like Hawks for instance, only have front pads available for this application and I don't want to go with two different brands. The Akebonos seem to have some pretty decent reviews, and have the advantage of being able to stick with the same composition material front and rear. They are slighly more expensive than other offerings, but I have no problem with that.
I was just after some BITOG opinions on ceramics "eating rotors" before I go for the Akebonos. Thanks in advance!