Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

Pulled the boat out of storage last night......had the rotors/pads changed on the truck over the winter.......had to stop at the bottom of a big hill on the way home.......all I smelled was BRAKES!!!.....this isnt going to work.....never did that last year.....last yr it had the pads that the truck came with, dont know what they were......
the truck is a 94 3/4 ton Suburban 4x4........I know there is Carbon Metallic and Ceramic out these days......any suggestions??......was also thinking of having a few holes drilled in the discs.......doug

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

My 2002 Chevy Avalanche 2500 OEM front rotors warped BAD. I replaced them with front Brembo Rotors and Hawk Pads all the way around. I definately recommend this package. I had Ceramic on my Tahoe, and Carbon Metallic as well. I think the CM were better, but they were dirtier on the rims.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

Hawk pads are great I wouldn't have anything else!

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

Don't forget to check your trailer brakes also. You may have smoked the truck's brakes because the trailer's brakes were not working right.

Also, how dirty is your fluid? It's cheap and easy to change, and most of us don't do it very often. Not that that affects the smoked brakes, but does add to a mushy feel and decreased braking ability.

Personally, I use Ceramic pads, and like them. Never have tried the big dollar racing brakes through. Might like them too. I had 97 suburban, and it had awful brakes from the factory. Ceramic pads improved it a bunch.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

what brand of ceramic pads did you have.....?????

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

CarQuest auto parts store brand. It's all I've bought for several years now, on the suburban, the Mrs's BMW, and the Excursion that replaced the suburban. Just on the front through. Not sure if I've ever replaced rear pads on anything? Huh...? How 'bout that. Anyway, they work well on all our vehicles, and as was stated above, they also have less dust, so your front wheels stay cleaner. That's a bonus to me, but secondary to good braking. Most important, they are less likely to fade or smoke than OEM brakes. This is very important to me trailering around LOTO, where there are very steep hills that often end at the lake. Not making the stops there can get you in the news paper.

Ceramic's don't work as well the first use. But after that, they stop fine. So, expect the first stop leaving your home in the morning to be disappointing, but by the second and third you'll be great. Also, in the winter, after cruising down the highway for a couple of hours, expect to use more leg at the top of the exit ramp than normal. Or, start braking earlier than normal in that case. Those are the only downsides I've ever noticed with ceramics.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

This is the exact combo I put on my F-350 no more warped rotors :drink:

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

Right now I'm running VGX ceramic pads on my 00 Lightning (front & rear) and been extremely happy so far, and I'm getting ready to try them on my 04 S/Duty cause I'm tired of cleaning wheels.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

DO NOT DRILL THE ROTORS!!!! This will act like a cheese grater on the pads and decreases the amount of surface area that you are stopping against. The key is quality components. Use quality rotors (no PepBoys or AutoZone lifetime warranty Chinese crap) and quality pads. Performance Friction, Hawk and Satisfied all have quality ceramic and carbon metallic pads. The carbon metallic pads will dust more but will be better for tow vehicles. I am a master distributor for all of these brands but deal mainly in the race compounds.

Todd
www.outlawdiscbrakes.com

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

hmmmm.....then why do so many aftermarket brake kits come with drilled and slotted rotors.......we used to drill the rotors in my Superbike days to allow the gasses produced by the brake pads under braking someplace to go.....and from my understanding this is still the case...no?

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

Superbike and street performance are totally different. Most of the rotors that are crossed drilled are for looks and because that is what people think looks cool on their street vehicle. I refuse to produce them but many of my dealers will buy my standard rotor and drill them. Their reasoning is that is what their customers want and they sell them replacement pads and rotors twice as often.

Slotting will help with the out gassing but only a few slots are necessary. Superbikes were looking for lightweight and performance and were replacing components as needed. Performance was the main concern and lightweight also played into performance. longevity was not something that was an issue if the components would last an event.

In circle track and road course racing in a 4 wheel vehicle, we see issues with the drilled rotors grenading after extended usage and we see uneven wear patterns due to the lack of even amounts of friction surface. You will also see cracks radiating from the holes.

One of the biggest issues with the braking system is heat removal. Superbikes have excellent ventilation. Most 4 wheel vehicles have brake systems tucked behind the wheel with little to no ventilation. By drilling a rotor you remove mass and will causing overheating at an earlier point and you are taking away material in effect immediately decreasing the life span of the rotor.

The larger amount of contact that you have between the rotor and pad the better the system will work. A few slots/grooves (not completely through the rotor face) will keep the friction material faced off and will allow for out-gassing of the pads. Out-gassing is also not as much of an issue with pads today as it was in years past.

I see many pads that racers complain about bad material and the surface of the pad will look like a "Ruffles" potato chip. Every time it is because of drilled rotors.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

Well....do I ever stand corrected.......thanks for bringing me up to speed!!.....I really appriciate it.......Im not surprised about how far out of date I was......In the Superbike days brake pad technology changed on almost on a monthly basis........I think I would go with the Carbon Metallic pads......do you know if they make pads for a 94 GMC 2500 series 3/4 ton 4x4 Suburban.........should I change the rear shoes???

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

That is a common pad and they all have ones that will fit. On my 95 1500 Sub, I ran the PFC z-rated pads with very good success. I was running Hawk pads on my wifes car and am still running them on my dually. I just installed a set of the Satisfied on my wifes car to see how they perform. Sometimes it comes to personal preference. The Hawk pads have made some additional noise during braking but not offensive. I find that I have to release the pressure after I pass the initial braking during a normal stop.

I believe that the PFC pads are available from AutoZone. The Hawk pads are available in some areas from PepBoys and I believe that all of them are available from www.tirerack.com

Correct rotor finish and proper bedding (per the pad manufactures recommendation) and you should have better brake performance. I had good success from the AC Delco and Raybestos shoes for the rear.

Good luck, Todd

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

I use EGR brakes, he has complete systems from the master cyl. to the slotted rotors. The pads are carbon/kevlar. My work truck is a 3500 CTD Dodge, that weighs in at around 8700 lbs. I used to go through "lifetime warranty"front pads every 12,000 mi. and rotors at 24,000. Since I switched to a complete EGR system I got 45,000 out of the pads and 80,000+ out of the rotors. No BS just the facts.1-800-468-2279

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

anyone ever try the Carbon Metallic "Z Rated"........?????

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

Is PFC and Carbon Metallic the same company...........oooops!!

sometimes ya gotta spell it out to me :( :D

doug

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

All good info..
But...
I had a '00 3500 CCD4x4... Terrible brakes.
I think that there is a fix for that with some different Master Cyl... That was the word on the dtreet...
The stocker doesn't work the rear brakes much...

Maybe you could do a search on some GM websites and find out more..
Just a thought.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

Some people played with the masters but if you needed more rear brake, which most did, it was the proportioning valve that was the issue. I know the Sub had some TSB's about prop valves and different shoes/pads.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

We own a mighty auto parts franchise, and I don't care for all thier parts but their brakes are awsome. We offer a ceramic pad and crossdrilled vented rotor for most apps. that are AWSOME! and affordable. The rotors are the same exact composite as the nascar rotors we make for them.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

I have a 2500HD with the factory brakes on it.. and turned 54000 miles today.. they look like they have at least 20000-30000 more miles left on the pads! I Cant believe the wear im getting out of them...

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

http://www.akebonobrake.com/
Akebono ceramic brake pads are the best I've ever had. They are expensive but they last longer and leave almost no brake dust. They are supposed to handle extreme braking temps without fading. They stop my Excusion 7.3 diesel with 40" tires like a car, towing or not towing!!! I know my trailer has disc brakes as well but I have never felt out of control with them. Just my .02 cents.

Re: Pull trucks:Whats the best brake pad????
 

What year f350? I can't find brembo for my 2003 f250 4x4 superduty.