Brake Pads

Transient · February 18

I'm seeking advice. I understand it's a dangerous thing to do on an internet forum, but I'm torn on which way to go and possibly just need affirmation. I will soon need to replace the brake pads on my truck. I'm doing my searching now. I'm currently torn between what has worked for me in the past and what something looks even better today.

In the past I've used Wagner Thermoquiet brake pads on my vehicles. I've had no problems with them. However, I cannot find any Thermoquiet options for my 2020 Trail Boss. They do have a product line called OEX that I'm not familiar with. It looks like it might be Thermoquiet rebranded. They are ceramic brake pads.

On the other end of this is PowerStop carbon- fiber ceramic pads. Carbon-fiber ceramic pads are used my some higher end performance vehicles because they dissipate heat quickly and are more engaging at the initial pressing of the brake peddle compared to ceramic. What's holding me back on these is lack of familiarity and experience with the brand and material.

Any input would be appreciated. Brake dust is a concern, but not a big one due to still having the OE black 18" wheels. I use my truck for daily driving/kid taxi and the occasional weekend offroad adventure. I also have larger tires than offered by GM as OE equipment. The difference in cost is only $3, so it's not a big difference. Thank you.

Edited February 18 by Transient

HistoryTeacher2020 · February 18

I have always used Akebono brake pads ( previous Yukon). They work well.

HistoryTeacher2020 · February 18

I use Akebono brake pads. They work well.

Transient · February 18

4 hours ago, HistoryTeacher2020 said:

I have always used Akebono brake pads ( previous Yukon). They work well.

Thank you, but that wasn't one of the pads I'm considering.

silveradosid · February 22

what do you have on the truck now and mileage on the pads

Transient · February 25

On 2/22/2025 at 7:25 AM, silveradosid said:

what do you have on the truck now and mileage on the pads

I'm still on the stock pads the truck came with when I bought it new. I now have over 77,000 miles on the odometer and the brake life monitor says there's 18% brake pad life left on the front. Doing the math, the current pads should wear out after I cross over 90,000 miles. I don't trust the brake life monitor for 2 reasons. 1) I've never had one before, so I have no first hand experience to pass justment. 2) I've done plenty of brake jobs on my previous vehicles. I have seen pads wear unevenly. The rotor will start grinding on the outer side before the squeaker on the inner pad makes contact. I just did the brakes on my wife's 2017 Traverse a few days ago. This was the case with her car. When I surfaced the rotors I discovered a very slight warp on the outside of both rotors. She said she never felt anything in the brake peddle. If I can't trust squeakers then I don't feel I can trust brake life monitor sensors. I also don't trust she's being honest about the brake peddle. I felt it and even made comments to her in the past, including as recently as late November. Nonetheless, I still don't trust brake pad life sensors.

silveradosid · February 27

i don't trust the sensors either, last year i had my truck at the dealership for an oil change and they said the brakes were fine. a month later i get the service brake message, so i decided to take my winters off and put the summers on. the left rear inside pad had worn down to the point it wore through the sensor, and yet the dealer said the brakes were fine. at that time it said 65 on the front and 60 on the rear. with the mileage you got why not just stay stock

Edited February 27 by silveradosid

PunchT37 · February 27

I was just washing my truck yesterday. It`s only got 3200`ish miles. I was noticing almost no brake dust/black on the rims. I don`t know what they`re putting on the 25`s but, I thought, man, the rims are clean, even though the low miles.

Transient · February 28

17 hours ago, silveradosid said:

i don't trust the sensors either, last year i had my truck at the dealership for an oil change and they said the brakes were fine. a month later i get the service brake message, so i decided to take my winters off and put the summers on. the left rear inside pad had worn down to the point it wore through the sensor, and yet the dealer said the brakes were fine. at that time it said 65 on the front and 60 on the rear. with the mileage you got why not just stay stock

There's always something better. GM suppliers provide what is "good enough" for as cheap as possible. I knew a guy who use to be a GM supplier but decided to get out of the business because he was tired of GM coming back after giving them his best bid and they would say, "Sharpen your pencil." I demand more from my vehicles. As such, when they break I fix them. Once the warranty expires nobody ever touches my vehicles. I use what I believe to be are superior parts. I'm not the easiest on things. That includes my vehicles. In my case, I currently have tires that are larger and heavier than OEM. That should warrant looking into obtaining better brake pads. The PowerStop Z36 carbon-fiber ceramic brake pads say they're designed for vehicles using larger tires than supplied by OEMs. This might be the direction I go, but hesitant due to lack of experience with the brand.

BIGDOGx · February 28

I need to do brakes all 4 corners on my truck as the backs have over 80k on them. I have had not so great experience with power stop rotors, lasted around 3 years before rusting out. I would avoid any drilled or slotted rotors. Looking around i found that Brembo makes oem type brake rotors and pads and have been thinking of giving them a shot, i know their big brake kits are top notch and the pads look pretty nice.

DenaliSS · March 2

Force of habit with me, is to visually check the brakes with rotation of the tires. At least with that schedule, it helps me keep the brakes and other components on a regular maintenance check. Don't use the monitor.

I bought my truck pre-owned, which had some performance parts already installed, with one being GM's front "Brembo" brake option. I mention that, because that option has the sensor disconnected, so the monitor is of little use anyways, when it's just the rears.

Last year when looking for those front pad replacements, I decided to replace the rear pads at the same time to pair with the fronts. Sort of a baseline of reference for me for maintenance. Anyways, I ended up staying with the ceramics, deciding the carbon-fiber ceramic pad wouldn't get up to temp to be an effective alternative, even if I had been buying for the front OE and considering my at times, spirited driving. I only see that choice for race, track or police package, imo.

On a side note, looking at SS braided hoses to get that pedal feel I had with my previous truck.

My choices of brands are from a checklist of what I'm looking for in pad construction and components that I've used in the past and while Wagner would have been to look at, it seems the Wagner (with a few other brands) line of pads have suffered in quality and performance lately. Something to look at and consider also.

DenaliSS · March 9

Since I posted about replacing the rear pads, I wanted to add to, that's worth mentioning and indeed easier than read -

Transient · March 10

10 hours ago, DenaliSS said:

Since I posted about replacing the rear pads, I wanted to add to, that's worth mentioning and indeed easier than read -

Thanks for the link. I read all the posts. There seems to be some misinformation on how to do the brakes on in that thread. Via YouTube, I think I found better info. To avoid messing up your master brake cylinder module, start by holding down the the parking brake button for 10-15 seconds to enter the truck into brake service mode. This allegedly backs off the caliper pistons, so be sure to have the wheels chalked. You can also reset the brake pad life monitor via the steering wheel buttons and the DIC.

Transient · March 10

On 2/28/2025 at 9:38 AM, BIGDOGx said:

I need to do brakes all 4 corners on my truck as the backs have over 80k on them. I have had not so great experience with power stop rotors, lasted around 3 years before rusting out. I would avoid any drilled or slotted rotors. Looking around i found that Brembo makes oem type brake rotors and pads and have been thinking of giving them a shot, i know their big brake kits are top notch and the pads look pretty nice.

I'm not worried about rusting rotors. My truck is my daily driver. It's hard to rust rotors when they are constantly being used. As for slotted and drilled rotors, imo it pays to be very selective. I've had nothing but good experiences with them on previous vehicles. I can't go with Brembo's big brake kit because I'm still using the OEM 18s on my truck.

Transient · March 10

On 3/2/2025 at 10:07 AM, DenaliSS said:

Force of habit with me, is to visually check the brakes with rotation of the tires. At least with that schedule, it helps me keep the brakes and other components on a regular maintenance check. Don't use the monitor.

I bought my truck pre-owned, which had some performance parts already installed, with one being GM's front "Brembo" brake option. I mention that, because that option has the sensor disconnected, so the monitor is of little use anyways, when it's just the rears.

Last year when looking for those front pad replacements, I decided to replace the rear pads at the same time to pair with the fronts. Sort of a baseline of reference for me for maintenance. Anyways, I ended up staying with the ceramics, deciding the carbon-fiber ceramic pad wouldn't get up to temp to be an effective alternative, even if I had been buying for the front OE and considering my at times, spirited driving. I only see that choice for race, track or police package, imo.

On a side note, looking at SS braided hoses to get that pedal feel I had with my previous truck.

My choices of brands are from a checklist of what I'm looking for in pad construction and components that I've used in the past and while Wagner would have been to look at, it seems the Wagner (with a few other brands) line of pads have suffered in quality and performance lately. Something to look at and consider also.

No mountain driving? My truck has been coast to coast. I know riding brakes is a big no-no in the mountains. It's best to downshift the trans. However, braking is inevitable. As an economics professor is to say almost daily in a class I took in college, "Rational people think at the margin." Ceramic pads are the ones that require a little bit of heat to function optimally. Carbon-fiber is suppose to solve that issue. At least that's what I read on the internet. And, as you surely know by now, they can't put anything on the internet that isn't true.