Hey I am just doing a normal street upgrade. I was wondering what material should I go for? My main goal is just to have slightly better stopping power. Dust-wise, don't really matter since I have gunmetal rims.

Is ceramic better than semi-metallic? What types of material should I look for and what should I avoid?

New Car:
2004 350z base, Nismo CAI, pioneer avic-n1 (dvd, cd, navi)



Old Car:
1998 GS with hrc stage 2, HID 6000k conversion kit, AEM UEGO wideband, sfmu, ml, prokits, Greddy warning gauges: egt, boost gauge, and oil pressure, apexi tt, haydans tranny cooler, costum dp, groundwires, dynotune fp gauge. gst muff, turbo spoiler
Boostin since Aug 03.

nothing like driving with the windows down and the music low: i love hearing the turbo spool, swwwhhhttt!!!!

Organic pads have the highest fiction coefficient, but the worst pad wear (as well as the least amount of "dust"). Semi-metallic are ones that are suppose to last longer, but under the same conditions have a lower fiction coefficient.

So it basically comes down to budget...

I had EBC Greenstuff pads before I got loaded GSX calipers, and they didn't even last a year, but they stopped *great*.

Joel Baldridge, ASE Certified Master Technician, Audi Certified Expert Technician

I really like the hawk pads i have... they are fairly low dust and definately a good increase in stopping power. So far they are wearing quite well after about 10 months of actual driving.

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The wonders of 2gnt chat:

Yea, it's like tires. The softer they are the better they work and the quicker they wear out.

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four nails four corners four riders and four horses

Had Axxis Metal Masters semi-metallics and and Porterfield R4-S carbon/kevlar. Liked R4-S way better than the MM. Better braking, less dust, cleans easier, and the dust is gray/black, not a wierd purpley colour. More expensive tho. Try RRE for a good price.

For something different, am about to try KVR carbon/kevlar pads up front, to join the ones I already have on the rear.
Ordered directly from http://www.kvrperformance.com, but also try SP Motorsports http://www.spmotorsports.com/dsm_kvr_brake_pads.html

juan

Hey Juan, how noisy are those pads? my ceramics squeak like crazy

2gnt: '99 RS-T, killed by a toyota, pending rebuild...
Daily: Volt
Daily #2: '99 EVG ebike- STOLEN by PEDRO

funny you should ask. The brakes have been totally quiet for the longest time, but started to get some squealing from the rear KVRs just in the past couple weeks.

I'll let you know how they do in the fronts when I get em on (hopefully this w/e).

But never had any problems with squealing from the Porterfields. That was another thing I didn't care for about the Metal Masters. I've been through two sets of R4-S, and never had a complaint about them. I guess they didn't last as long as MM or the stockers did, but AFAIAC its a small price to pay for the benefits.

juan