Rank NAPA brake pads

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
I worked at repair shops where numerous NAPA brake parts were kept in storage. The majority of the pads were basic ones made in China, a few were made in India, and an tiny number were made in places with a high standard of living.



Napa sources from BPI, which is the parent company of Raybestos brakes. They used to make their pads in the US and Canada. Now it's made in China or India. Roulunds does the same as well.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: Zako2
Can someone explain the difference between all the brake pads available from NAPA stores? For my car they have (some on special order):

Adaptive One
Ultra Premium Ceramic
Ultra Premium Semi-metallic
Safety Stop Ceramic
Safety Stop Semi-metallic

I really wonder, are at least some of these simply re-badges


I would expect all of them to be rebadges.

 

[nthach]

I would suspect Adaptive Ones are Raybestos EHT, the Ultra Premium line would be Advanced Technology, Premium is PG Plus and Proformer/Safety Stop is Service Grade.

 

[RyanY]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
In my experience Akebono's are just fantastic, but the ThermoQuiets are 90% as good for half the price.


ThermoQuiets are hit or miss. I currently have them on my Ody. The fronts are great but the rears make a lot of noise in reverse. Others on ody forum report similar.

 

[beanoil]

I just removed a set of Adaptive One from a 2012 Chrysler T&C.
They lasted as long as OEM, and in the end pulsed during braking the same way.
I keep looking for the magic combo that will just work through their life without pulse, but haven't found it on this vehicle.
OEM, DuraLast Gold, Adaptive One, all similar.
Went with Centric rotors and Bosch pads this time.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: Zako2
Well, I believe that Adaptive One is a decent pad. I just had the issue with NAPA charging premium price for a "made in china" brake pad set. These will go on a 2005 Lancer OZ, also with new NAPA premium rotors.

My Honda's front Adaptive One's were made in Canada. They have exactly 30K on them now, and are smooth and quiet and produce less dust than the OEM's. When I put them on I got the rotor runout down to nearly nothing, but not on the first try. I had to really clean one hub and refit the rotor multiple times. On the other side I had to grind off the remains of the retention screw, before that runout was crazy like over 0.030". Not visible to the human eye but very obvious on the dial indicator.

I expect to get 85K out of them just like the first two sets of Honda pads.
Originally Posted By: beanoil
I just removed a set of Adaptive One from a 2012 Chrysler T&C.
They lasted as long as OEM, and in the end pulsed during braking the same way.

What was the as-built runout and runout when taken off?
Originally Posted By: alexyon
NAPA Premium ceramic pads after 20k km made car to shake above 100km/h, replaced under warranty same thing.

What was the as-built runout, and the runout when taken off?

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: Knox
There's a 90% chance that their just different suppliers.
Ceramics are generally better then semi-metallic. There suppose to make less noise, but i haven't found that to be true on the vehicle that i've owned. Another benefit is that they should stop better then semi-metallic, this has been true for me. In theory semi-metallic don't grab as good when cold.

That is neither my experience nor many others using ceramics, especially performance oriented ceramics that require warmup to function at their best. My understanding has always been than semi-metallics grab under all conditions. They are hard on rotors and produce asbestos dust, but generally work very well.
Originally Posted By: Knox

I've had good luck with Wagner Thermoquiets, on other peoples vehicles, they do tend to make less noise. I haven't used many set's, but so far so good.

My Thermoquiets require annual regreasing to stay quiet. They have 70K on them but I'm not overly impressed. The NAPA Adaptive Ones on my Honda Pilot for 30K now are impressive in every way. Feel, dust, braking power, and quiet.
(I don't find 70K overly impressive because since I started measuring runout on install, all my pads last 80-100K without the warped rotor feel that drives most people to do brake jobs early).
Originally Posted By: Knox

FYI: In my experience, the ceramics last longer and brake better, but dig into the rotor more. Cheap brakes (off brand) don't touch your rotor, but don't last long either.

That is not my experience. Semi-metallics were always harder on rotors for me, as per their reputation. I only use ceramics where the OEM calls for them.

Please explain "Cheap brakes (off brand) don't touch your rotor"

 

[cronk]

Originally Posted By: nthach
I would suspect Adaptive Ones are Raybestos EHT, the Ultra Premium line would be Advanced Technology, Premium is PG Plus and Proformer/Safety Stop is Service Grade.


I think you are correct.
BPI/Raybestos makes most of NAPA's brake parts, and the marketing literature and features lines up pretty closely between all these lines.