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Whenever your car stops, a number of parts translate the action of the driver into actual force, stopping the car. One of the parts includes brake pads – a key part due to the component contacting and applying pressure to the brake rotors. This pressure as well as the friction that is applied to the brake rotor slow and stop the wheel. Although the role that brake pads do in your car’s braking system seems pretty simple, the brake system is actually not. Brake pads often undergo stress whenever your car stops or slows down due to the fast rotation of the car’s wheels and the typical weight of the car. In this article, you will know three main types of brake pads and somehow get an idea of their advantages and a bit of disadvantages to help you choose the brake pad suited to your car.
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Before, brake pad manufacturers would usually use asbestos to provide for the friction of the pad. This is because of the heat that friction from brake pads produce. Asbestos provides for dissipating and absorbing heat. However, when asbestos is broken down, dust which is harmful to breathe is released. Considering this, organic brake pads are becoming popular for health reasons.
Also called non-asbestos brake pads, organic brake pads are made from glass and rubber which are natural materials that can withstand extreme heat. The high heat even helps bind the materials of the brake pad together. One important component of organic brake pads is Kevlar. Organic brake pads do not pollute the environment and can be easily disposed of, even as they are always used. They also provide soft feel as opposed to other materials. This means they are quieter but frequent use of the pads will result to faster tear.
Because organic brake pads are softer, therefore more prone to tear, trucks, heavy duty cars, or sports cars do not usually go with organic brake pads. Kevlar and organic brake pads are best for cars that do not require very aggressive driving. The car’s weight and the limited hard stop will keep these organic pads in great shape and also makes sure that the ride is safe.
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Another type of brake pad is the one made of ceramic. Ceramic brake pads offer top of the line brake performance and also tend to be deal well with wear and tear over time. The one catch to ceramic brake pads though is their price. This kind of brake pad is made of ceramic fibers, bonding agents, filler materials, and small percentage of copper fibers. Since these brake pads are ceramic, they absorb heat well and keep the performance strong even during hard stops. Additionally, ceramic brake pads do not break down with repeated usage which means less dust is produced, better than organic brake pads. To say the least, the dust ceramic brake pads produce is so much lighter than others, plus it does not stick. As mentioned, ceramic brake pads are expensive and not suited to all types of vehicles. For example, sports cars can benefit more from ceramic brake pads because of the car’s high performance. And ceramic brake pads rarely break every time the car is driven hard.
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The third type of brake pad is made of metal. Metallic brake pads are usually made of copper, steel, graphite, and iron which are mixed together to form the material for the pad. Metallic brake pads are the most common among the types of brake pads because of their efficiency and durability. Metallic brake pads are also less expensive and provide great performance especially when heat is generated by friction. However, metallic brake pads are heavy and can have minor negative impact on the fuel economy of the car. And because of the added weight, these metallic brake pads are usually not the best option for high performance driving. The materials that make up metallic brake pads make them very hard and durable which can result to more wear on brake rotors than other types of pads.
Metallic brake pads hold up just fine but can sometimes have a downside in terms of durability of other parts of the brake system. These brake pads are at their best when they are warm. If cars with metallic pads get going on a very cold weather, the stops may take longer until the pads heat up.
For most car owners, though, the disadvantages of metallic brake pads do not really matter considering that this type of brake pad is perfect for heavy duty vehicles like trucks.
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Dave explains in visual detail the differences between metallic and ceramic brake pads.
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