Which brake pads for winter? - Cold & wet stops

[Bikeman]

I'm trying to decide which brake pads I should get for my daily driver, 2005 Toyota 4Runner Limited.
Here in Alberta Canada its winter-ish for about half the year, the brakes do not reach high temperatures during mundane driving tasks. Many of the stops may be on wet rotors and rotors cold enough that that they might as well be considered cold stops.

I have narrowed the field to two main choices (any others?):

1) Akebono Performance - Ultra-Premium (Ceramic)
http://akebonobrakes.com/performance

2) Hawk HPS – High Performance Street (Ferro-Carbon)
http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/high-performance-street

Would the Hawk HPS be gentle on rotors as they claim? Ceramic would be easier on rotors but I wonder if ceramic would have respectable bite on cold and wet rotors - I assume the Hawk HPS would be better in the cold and wet?
I have heard that ceramic pads have poor cold bite.

The Hawk HPS pads have a FF friction rating to the best of my knowledge.
The Akebono Performance pads have a GG friction rating to the best of my knowledge.

They are both respected manufacturers, I have used Hawk HP Plus pads when I used to have a 240sx set up for the track, those pads were great at track temperatures.

Price difference doesn't matter, I will buy the better choice for my application.
Brake dusting between the choices are negligible to me.
Brake noise between the choices should be negligible to me.

Its easy to say just buy OE pads from the dealership, but where is the fun in that! Also, OE is made for quietness and long lasting, I am more concerned in braking feel and performance.

Thoughts?

 

[FlyNavyP3]

I have never ever been disappointed by the Akebono pads. I had Hawk Ceramic SUV pads on my 2002 Tacome with a supercharger, I HATED the way they felt, their cold bite was terrible, took lots of temp to get them to bite, I replaced them with Porterfield Racing R4-S pads and never looked back. I'd run another set of the Porterfield pads in a heartbeat, they were incredible. I also had the Porterfield on my Z06 Vette, again amazing. But between your two choices, Akebone, all day every day, hands down IMHO.

 

[Donald]

Akebono is always my first choice. Most people think of Hawk for racing applications.

 

[Tech819]

I went Akebono up front and Advics in the rear with OEM rotors really happy with Akebono.

 

[bioburner]

I just changed a van to metallic pads but went with zinc plated drilled and channeled rotors and was pleasantly surprized at least in the rain so far. Winter is a knocking and good brakes,tires and battery are a must

 

[bioburner]

I just changed a van to metallic pads but went with zinc plated drilled and channeled rotors and was pleasantly surprized at least in the rain so far. Winter is a knocking and good brakes,tires and battery are a must

 

[bvance554]

I've never heard of winter brake pads.

 

[andyd]

Originally Posted By: bvance554
I've never heard of winter brake pads.
Me either. ????? In bad weather it is best to drive in such fashion so as not to need to brake. Slow down!

 

[WillsYoda]

Akebono is OEM for many toyotas. I'd go with Akebono for sure. It has been a solid performer for my toyota avalon.

 

[Garak]

I wouldn't sweat the choice at all. In a Calgary winter, your brake pads are not going to be your weak link in how fast you can stop.

 

[JimPghPA]

An independent mechanic I use to use once told me a story about someone who owned a fast car and had him put some high-performance brake pads on it. In everyday use, non-track temperatures performance was sooooooo bad that the car owner had him pull the high-performance pads off and put on standard pads. And the high-performance pads he had to throw away were not cheap.

So be aware that some high-performance pads only provide good braking when they are very hot.

 

[CBR.worm]

Yes, high-performance pads generally don't work great when they are cold. Pads that work great when they are cold generally don't work super well under high heat conditions.

I would be inclined to go with an OEM pad. They are engineered to always work well for that first panic stop, be it wet or dry, hot or cold. Generally at the expense of severe duty abilities.

 

[Grambo]

Hawk FTW i put them on everything just my 2 cents

 

[Doom325]

My Hawk HPS pads have terrible cold bite and horrible amounts of brake dust. They took some getting used to. I have set of VTEC Prelude brakes I plan to put on soon (VTEC Preludes have 11.1 inch front rotors compared to my SI's 10.2 inch) and some Akebono pads. I'm looking forward to seeing the difference.

 

[RoadRaceJosh]

I would not use Hawk HPS pads. I tried a set on my Neon a few years back for a track outing and got 1 more hot lap (5 instead of 4) before fading over whatever generic stuff was on the car when I got it and they were rather dusty. Hawk HP+ got the job done at the track, but the car sounded like a city bus after cold use took the transfer layer off the rotor and made dust like it was job #1.

I'm not versed in Akebono, but have had very good service from the better Raybestos lines.
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1097358&cc=1430997&jsn=440

 

[Evili]

Use OEM pads. Higher performance pads usually require a higher temperature to work decently, which is the opposite of what you experience during a cold prairie winter.

Manufacturers develop and test their vehicles in extreme conditions. The OEM pads will be perfectly fine.

 

[The Critic]

The Akebono Proact pads are very similar to Toyota's new value line (TCMC) pads. The factory original ones are a much better pad if it is within your budget. I have noticed longer service life and better bite than the Akebono ones. Advics and NBK are also the two suppliers for Toyota, not Akebono.

 

[bvance554]

Are you going to put on summer pads in a few months?

 

[Bikeman]

Originally Posted By: Doom325
My Hawk HPS pads have terrible cold bite and horrible amounts of brake dust. They took some getting used to. I have set of VTEC Prelude brakes I plan to put on soon (VTEC Preludes have 11.1 inch front rotors compared to my SI's 10.2 inch) and some Akebono pads. I'm looking forward to seeing the difference.


Thanks for the info regarding cold bite!

 

[Bikeman]

Originally Posted By: Joshua_Skinner
I would not use Hawk HPS pads. I tried a set on my Neon a few years back for a track outing and got 1 more hot lap (5 instead of 4) before fading over whatever generic stuff was on the car when I got it and they were rather dusty. Hawk HP+ got the job done at the track, but the car sounded like a city bus after cold use took the transfer layer off the rotor and made dust like it was job #1.

I'm not versed in Akebono, but have had very good service from the better Raybestos lines.
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1097358&cc=1430997&jsn=440


I'm the original poster, and I second everything said about the hawk HP+ pads. I had them on my track day car, they were excellent for a track only car, which gets driven to and from the track, not daily driver.