Help selecting the "right" brake pads

[Falcon_LS]

I've been doing quite a bit of reading on brake pads over the course of the last couple of days, and to be frank, it's really done my head in. I'm trying to find the best pads (for the Mercury) for my driving conditions.

I've been running Motorcrafts, and my biggest complaints are grooved rotors and brake noise. There's also an issue with brake dust, but that's not as much of a concern as the previous issues. Even though I always bedded them in after installation, I'm not at all satisfied with their stopping power either.

The biggest issue with my driving conditions is congestion on the freeway. You'd be doing 75+ MPH and will be required to slow down to a complete stop at one point or another. There's either a bunch of geniuses forming two or three lanes to take an exit, causing the congestion, or an accident.

I have to be extremely careful when slowing down, because sometimes (more often than I like) my front brakes literally lock up (no ABS). I don't jam the brake pedal all the way down either, I just brake as I normally would (smoothly at first then slowly and gradually increasing pressure without jamming the pedal). But the fronts randomly and unexpectedly lock up.

I've looked into the Ford OE brake pads, which cost at least double the Motorcrafts with the cheapest deal, but then I decided I would look into ceramics.

I first looked into EBC Red Stuff pads, but got put off after reading posts on Crown Vic forums about warped rotors and such with these pads. I then looked at Raybestos Police pads (semi-metallic) until I started researching the different materials (semi metallic and ceramic). Then I had a look at the Hawk HPS pads, followed by the Performance Ceramics. Then doing another search, I've seen people speaking highly of the Bendix CT-3 pads.

Now I'm completely confused with what to go for. The basic "requirements", if you like, are as follows:

- Ability to come to a stop from highway speeds without locking up unexpectedly
- Handle heat well
- Give the pedal a firmer feel
- Will not squeak under light braking
- Will not groove the rotors
- Give out the least brake dust

Also worth noting, I brake smoothly and am not hard on the brakes. But in the event of an emergency stop, I need something that will stop the car and not lock the wheels when I'm not jamming the brakes.

As far as changing the brakes go, I generally take the rotors off and generously spray them with chlorinated brake cleaner to remove traces of the previous pads as much as possible. Depending on condition, I may get them resurfaced. I replace my brake fluid whenever I do a brake job or every year, using DOT 4. I use Motorcraft Dialectic Grease on the caliper pins and on the backs of the pads. My brake in procedure is also as follows:

- 6 x smooth stops from 35 MPH - 0 MPH
- 4 x smooth stops from 45 MPH - 0 MPH
- 2 x smooth stops from 65 MPH - 0 MPH
- Allow the car to sit for at least 2 hours

I would muchly appreciate input on which pads would be most appropriate for these requirements. Thanks!

 

[Thax]

In my experience AKEBONO and or Wagner THermoquiet brake pads would be a good choice for you. I would forgo getting the police pads as they will be a hard formulation semi-metallic pad and will eat up your rotors pretty bad. I would suggest to bite the bullet and buy premium rotors, not Chinese made rotors which lack good heat treating. Wagner Thermoquiet pads are a favorite of mine , good stopping power, low dust , great noise suppresion and not to hard on rotors and easy on the wallet. I have yet to have a customer complain about them yet.

 

[MetalSlug]

auto zone blank rotor is my favor, and hawk brake pad. I use that combo at auto cross, and also it help slow down very fast when im at high speed 100mph + . 7k miles and still look good, no warp rotor. I do pick ceremic over metalic or wat ever it call, little dust on wheel is not a problem to me

good luck.

 

[pcoxe]

Are you just replacing front pads? If the rear shoes/pads are a different material that may account for the fronts locking first. I had a similar problem on a Monte Carlo once. I replaced the rear brake shoes but kept the fronts since they had lots of life remaining. The rear brakes started locking prematurely on me. Replaced the pads and shoes at the same time with the same type material and the problem went away.

 

[dparm]

Think of it this way: better stopping means more dust and shorter rotor/pad life. There is no secret pad that stops well, doesn't dust, makes no noise, and lasts forever.

Ceramic tries to be a jack-of-all-trades by stopping well but producing lighter colored dust that is less visible against a silver wheel.

 

[01rangerxl]

I'm going to vote for Wagner Thermoquiet pads if reasonably available to you. Low dust, no noise, good braking feel, no chewed up rotors. No complaints from me and in the US Thermoquiets are pretty competitively priced.

 

[edwardh1]

akebono (plant in kentucky I think) makes oem toyota, my 94 camry went 125k on front pads and my 04 highlander has 85k now (tho getting near replacement)
how long do bendix ct3 last or are they like the old gm days of replace every 28k miles?

 

[cchase]

I'm having good luck with the Hawk Performance Ceramic pads on my car. They stop fairly well, but I haven't had them on long enough to comment on rotor wear.

 

[flwxman]

I also vouch for the Wagner Thermoquiet Ceramics. I have them on both my cars, and have been awesome.

 

[PZR2874]

Your brakes are only as good as your tires.

Rule of thumb

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Think of it this way: better stopping means more dust and shorter rotor/pad life. There is no secret pad that stops well, doesn't dust, makes no noise, and lasts forever.

Ceramic tries to be a jack-of-all-trades by stopping well but producing lighter colored dust that is less visible against a silver wheel.


Extremely 'on-the-money'.

Add to that the ceramic is a marketing buzzword and may have very little actual ceramic in the formula.

Pads are like ice cream, over a million flavors.

We use a ton of Wagner TQ's in our fleet, generally a great pad.

 

[mechtech2]

That 'locking up' with the front brakes is very unusual.
This is really rare.
Brake pads are unlikely to be the real cause.

Tires? Proportioning valve? Master cyl?

 

[Falcon_LS]

Thanks a lot for all the input, muchly appreciated!

Now I suppose that brings the choices down to the Hawk PC and the Wagner TQ ceramics. Leaning more towards the Wagners though. Can I ask where you guys get the Wagner pads? I've been looking on RockAuto and couldn't find them there for my application.

I'm going to be replacing both front and rear pads, and will be getting the rear rotors resurfaced to remove traces of the Motorcraft pads.

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
That 'locking up' with the front brakes is very unusual.
This is really rare.
Brake pads are unlikely to be the real cause.

Tires? Proportioning valve? Master cyl?


It's extremely worrying and hazardous. I always maintain a safety distance of 20 feet or 4 seconds, and when some genius decides to cut in, which they do, that makes it even more worrying. Accident laws here are pretty messed up - if some idiot cuts in, and I can't stop when they do, I'll be penalized for NOT maintaining a safety distance because I rear ended the idiot. Nobody will consider the fact that they cut in.

As for tires, I've got Goodyear Assurance ArmorGrips (non-directional) that are just shy of a year old and have 24,300 miles on them. Pressures have been checked/adjusted at every fillup and they have been rotated religiously every 3,000 miles (cross at one interval, back to front the next). They're wearing pretty well.

Is there a way I can get the master cylinder and proportioning valves checked?

 

[Falcon_LS]

Alright, found the Wagner TQ Ceramics on RockAuto...guess I wasn't looking hard enough last night.

There are two options - you've got one described as "OE Ceramic" (part number starting with MX) and one described as "Ceramic" (part number starting with QC). Anyone know what the differences between the two are? Thanks!

 

[dparm]

OE Ceramic likely means the pad compound is similar to or identical to the factory ones. Mercury doesn't make their own pads so you might just be buying the original ones anyways.

 

[NateDN10]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
That 'locking up' with the front brakes is very unusual.
This is really rare.
Brake pads are unlikely to be the real cause.

Tires? Proportioning valve? Master cyl?

I was thinking this, too. Typically the rears lock up first because they've got less weight over them and thus less traction. I suppose it could be overly grabby brake pads, but like mechtech said, it seems unlikely.

Is it only the fronts that lock up, or do the rears lock as well? Or maybe you can't tell for sure from within the car.

 

[badger05]

Don't think you can go wrong with the Wagner TQ's. I recently replaced the pads on my milan with them. I believe they started with the part number QCxxxx and the box I received them in said Made in USA. I am very pleased so far with the results, much better/firmer pedal feel and stopping power.

Also, there was a $10 MIR for each set, but I don't recall how long it went or if it's applicable given your location.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: dparm
OE Ceramic likely means the pad compound is similar to or identical to the factory ones. Mercury doesn't make their own pads so you might just be buying the original ones anyways.


Thanks for the clarification.

I'm not sure who makes pads for Ford, but it could very well be Federal Mogul, considering they supply things like suspension components already.

Originally Posted By: NateDN10
Is it only the fronts that lock up, or do the rears lock as well? Or maybe you can't tell for sure from within the car.


Definitely only the fronts, the rears have never locked. When it happened at one point, I even got out the car to look around, and there were no skid marks behind the rear tires (car swerved slightly to the hard shoulder on my left).

Originally Posted By: badger05
Don't think you can go wrong with the Wagner TQ's. I recently replaced the pads on my milan with them. I believe they started with the part number QCxxxx and the box I received them in said Made in USA. I am very pleased so far with the results, much better/firmer pedal feel and stopping power.

Also, there was a $10 MIR for each set, but I don't recall how long it went or if it's applicable given your location.


Thanks for the info! I'm looking forward to trying these pads out. Suppose I can benefit from the rebate on RA, but as long as the pads are good, then I'm a happy camper!

 

[Falcon_LS]

Just back with a quick question regarding the brake pedal.

When I apply the brakes, I need to push the pedal almost to the floor, and need to keep increasing pressure on the pedal to stop.

Whilst I was waiting at a set of lights this morning, I pumped the brake pedal a good couple of times. When I had to apply the brakes afterwards, just touching the brakes was sufficient to significantly slow down the car and I didn't even need to push the pedal past the half way mark to stop. Does this mean the master cylinder is failing? Thanks!

 

[yonyon]

Well, you've said you don't have ABS. I'm going t assume you don't see any brake fluid leaking. Yeah, you need a new master cylinder yesterday.