Which type of brake pad is the best?

While there is no clear, unambiguous answer to this question, reputable brake pad manufacturers like Bendix produce brake pads for specific applications, each of which works better on the application it was designed for than on any other. However, there are five main categories of brake pads, and while choosing the best formulation within each category for a given application is not always easy, it helps to understand that there are few, if any purely metallic, ceramic, semi-metallic, or organic brake pads on the market anywhere in the world.

Nonetheless, Bendix produces high quality brake pads in each of these main categories, but it must be understood that given the extensive list of requirements a particular friction material formulation must satisfy, it is common for brake pad manufacturers to mix and match the characteristics and ingredients of two or more categories of brake pads to obtain the best results in a particular application. In fact, it would be fair to say that brake pads should therefore really be marketed as “predominantly ceramic”, “mainly metallic”, “mostly semi-metallic”, or “largely organic”.

Having said that though, below are some details of the chief characteristics and advantages of each of the four main brake pad categories-

Metallic brake pads

• Excellent wear resistance, which is their single biggest advantage over other types of brake pad
• Outperforms most other types of brake pads at high brake temperatures

The disadvantage of metallic brake pads is that they are often not compatible with brake rotors on some high-end applications, which could result in severe brake noise and/or rapid wear of both pads and rotors.

Semi-metallic pads

• These pads offer the best possible compromise between wear resistance, performance, and quiet operation
• Most new vehicles are factory fitted with semi-metallic brake pads, even though they are more expensive than metallic pads and organic pads
• Most high quality aftermarket brake pads produced by reputable manufacturers are of the semi-metallic variety

While semi-metallic brake pads typically do not outperform competing types in any particular area, these pads offer satisfactory performance in all areas, which makes them a great choice for variable driving conditions, with the exception of track racing or other motor sport applications.

Organic brake pads

• Quiet and smooth operation, which is their single biggest advantage
• Outperforms other types of brake pads at lower brake temperatures, which makes them an excellent choice for city-driving conditions

The disadvantages of organic pads include the facts that they are not particularly hardwearing, and that due to their composition they overheat easily, which destroys their ability to withstand brake fade.

Ceramic brake pads

• Ceramic pads offer excellent performance in all the important areas; they outlast all other types of brake pads even under extreme operating conditions, they are quieter and produce less brake dust than all other types of brake pads, and they offer the best performance over the widest range of brake temperatures and operating conditions

However, both pure ceramic and semi-metallic brake pads that contain significant amounts of ceramic are the most expensive categories of brake pads for all applications, which makes them unattractive options for customers on budgets.

Film transfer brake pads

These are specialised brake pads in which the formulation of the friction material is designed to transfer some of the friction material to the rotor in the form of a thin film. In practice, these pads do not act on the rotating rotor directly; instead, the thin coating of friction material that was deposited onto the rotor forms a barrier between the pad surface and the rotor surface, but since the film and the pad consist of the same material, braking action is greatly increased. This characteristic makes this type of pad an excellent choice for drivers who do a lot of towing, or who participate in motor sports that place high, if not extreme demands on brake components.

However, the biggest disadvantages of film transfer pads are that very specific bedding-in procedures must be followed and that very high brake temperatures are required for the transfer of friction material to take place. As a practical matter though, since the required temperatures are seldom, if ever reached during normal driving, film transfer brake pads are not recommended for normal street use.

Conclusion

From the above, it should be obvious that there is no single “best” brake pad that will satisfy all the requirements of all applications under all possible operating conditions. Nonetheless, brake pads are life-and-limb components on any vehicle, and as such, it is incumbent on us as experienced technicians not only to learn as much about brake pads as we can, but also to be aware of both the characteristics and limitations of the various types of brake pads.


More information about brake pads in general, and specific recommendations for various applications in particular, is available at

To learn more about the Bendix Brakes range of products visit: www.bendix.com.au

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