ceramic vs semi metallic brake pads

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Ive done the research on the pros and cons of the two common types of pads. What I'm having trouble with is related to noise or squealing. What has been your experience with noise and ceramic vs semi metal?

I am looking at replacing some brake pads on two vehicles and one squeaks pretty bad when I am braking at slow speeds so figured I'd ask this question before purchasing replacement pads.

Thank you in advance for your help.
 
Originally Posted By: Avery4
Ceramic all day for me. Quieter, stops better and less brake dust.


+1 Go with whatever the OEM was (or just use the OEM.) Ceramic technology is far superior for most applications that it doesn't make sense for a daily driver to use semis.
 
I prefer to hear real world results about specific pads because semi metallic vs ceramic are almost nothing but marketing words these days.

I've had ceramics that were great and stopped great with low dust and I've had ones that were just okay and dusted. I could say pretty much the same for semi metallic but I've never really had an issue with noise.
 
Not sure I'll ever use a semi metallic again after putting ceramics on our van.

The OEMs were complete junk. Put centric rotors and Duralast Cmax Gold on all four corners and haven't looked back.

I want to say I had put all new brakes on the van by 40k, now at 80k there is significant life still on the pads and rotors.
 
I appreciate the numerous and quick replies. I realize ceramics have their pros but what about noise? Referring to just noise, which is superior, ceramic or semis?
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I prefer to hear real world results about specific pads because semi metallic vs ceramic are almost nothing but marketing words these days.

I've had ceramics that were great and stopped great with low dust and I've had ones that were just okay and dusted. I could say pretty much the same for semi metallic but I've never really had an issue with noise.


True. My factory front SM produced about half the dust as the ceramic rears did. All varies pad to pad as you said.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Currently having good results with advance auto Wearever Platinum ceramics and next on my list is ebc Ultimax ceramics



I'm pretty sure the Ultimax are not ceramics
 
Squealing can be prevented by putting copper paste on the back of the pads. I found Brakebest metallic pads work great on my Miata. No squeal, very little dust.
 
The Ceramic pads on the market tend to have more R&D behind them so they tend to use higher quality materials. Generally, I would go with a metallic for a daily driver as they don't cost much more and produce significantly less brake dust. They do seem to stop better in my experience. By that point, I believe safety is priceless.
 
I would go with OEM pad material.

If OEM is ceramic get ceramic. If OEM is semi-metallic get semi-metallic.

On German cars I think ceramic pads don't work very well. On my car I had massive squealing, and later rotor glazing with ceramics. I like the pedal feel of semi-metallics better as well. With ceramics the pedal was mushy.

Originally Posted By: mazdamonky
The Ceramic pads on the market tend to have more R&D behind them so they tend to use higher quality materials.


I think they just have more marketing behind them.
 
The Brake Motive "Premium Kinetic" ceramic pads that came with my calipers are very quiet and bite hard with no dusting. That said, I have never had brake any brake pads make noise. I would think noise would indicate improper installation or break -in.
 
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Akebono ProACT


+1 These are great, and are OEM for some Toyotas.
 
All I know is I have Power Stop Evolution Ceramic pads on both my Frontier and the Wife's Pilot. They work good, but when cold and under light pressure, they squeal like a PIG!!!!! Only the pads on the rear of each vehicle. I won't use them again because of this. Driving around when the pads are cold, it sounds like I'm in an old farm truck! The Wife HATES it LOL.
 
Squeaky brake may not mean that you need a new brake pad.
You may need to inspect it.
Some brake pads are squeaky by nature and also depends on the condition of the pads/shoes/fluid, etc.

Also, it depends on the car model and year.
While people can recommend general pads, there are some cars/trucks that may be tricky also.
 
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I just put ceramic pads on two of my vehicles they are a afrermarket but seem decent quality. I got them off ebay Callahan brake parts sold by brake over stock a shell company really because they are actually Powerstop pads.
I got rotors too.
For the vibe 2005 it was 56 bucks for solid rotors and pads
For the sierra 2008 it was 89 dollars for solid rotors and pads
This was the front only on both vehicles because they have rear drums
I clocked the rotors using a dial indicator to get minimal run out which was about 0.0005" max on the vibe and 0.0007" max on the truck. Since less than 0.001" is the spec i shoot for. (some say less than 0.003" max ok) i feel confident i did my part to have a pulsation free brake job. They seem good so far. one reason i went with the callahans is that they made a good case for their rotors being heftier than the run of the mill junk. I must say i was impressed with the construction of the rotors. They are certainly heavy and machined well. The vibe has 90k and had warped rotors second set of pads.
The sierra has only 28k but got into some road salt and or a trip to the beach and the rotors were rusted beyond the ability to refinish.
For the price i would definately go with rotors and pads again if i ever need to do brakes on something.
I also flushed the brake system on both and cleaned and adjusted thd rear drums. I should be good to go for a while.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I prefer to hear real world results about specific pads because semi metallic vs ceramic are almost nothing but marketing words these days.

I've had ceramics that were great and stopped great with low dust and I've had ones that were just okay and dusted. I could say pretty much the same for semi metallic but I've never really had an issue with noise.
How about some real world results on oil filters instead of FRAM marketing words 24/7.
 
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