Brake Pad Question

csheatz · March 31, 2009

I searched and could not find what I am looking for, Front pads are getting replaced and I want to go with the ceramic no/low dust pads but on advanced auto parts website as well as napa there are just to many options..... how the hell do i know what ones I need? they show severe duty or HD brake, single piston or dual. My head is spinning!

I have dual piston, and rear drum, ext cab. What ones????? HELP

MikeInCtown · March 31, 2009

if you have an autozone near you they seem to be better priced on a lot of stuff. Their website also shows a menu on the right that helps you sort through option codes and such for your truck that results in a managable 3 or 4 selections for brake pads. IIRC the pads for mine that are ceramic/low dust are like $59 and change.

Norseman · March 31, 2009

I searched and could not find what I am looking for, Front pads are getting replaced and I want to go with the ceramic no/low dust pads but on advanced auto parts website as well as napa there are just to many options..... how the hell do i know what ones I need? they show severe duty or HD brake, single piston or dual. My head is spinning!

I have dual piston, and rear drum, ext cab. What ones????? HELP

Call your local Carquest. They will make sure you get the right pad. I use the Carquest blue ceramic. Great pad and low dust!

Maybe Trey (C&A's Dad) will pop in and give you more info about all the pads that they offer.

But, in my opinion get your pads from the best get'em from Carquest.

Norseman · March 31, 2009

if you have an autozone near you they seem to be better priced on a lot of stuff.

There is a good reason for it.

MikeInCtown · March 31, 2009

if you have an autozone near you they seem to be better priced on a lot of stuff.

There is a good reason for it.

The big chains all carry parts from the top manufacturers. I used to work in auro parts and know that one maker can have 10 different names for the same stuff and private label. heck, he could just order up some high performance $120 pads too.

Norseman · March 31, 2009

if you have an autozone near you they seem to be better priced on a lot of stuff.

There is a good reason for it.

The big chains all carry parts from the top manufacturers. I used to work in auro parts and know that one maker can have 10 different names for the same stuff and private label. heck, he could just order up some high performance $120 pads too.

That is true but, there are diff levels of quality built in to some private lable parts.

csheatz · March 31, 2009

Although helpful, what is all this severe duty/HD braking stuff???

I dont think of quality when I think of Autozone, its like a quantity over quality thing with them.

MikeInCtown · March 31, 2009

Although helpful, what is all this severe duty/HD braking stuff???

I dont think of quality when I think of Autozone, its like a quantity over quality thing with them.

And you think quality when you think of Advance? (even NAPA has a lot of crap)

Severe duty annd or HD is most likely their term for an option package that was available. On the autozone website they show the option codes and what will work. For example on my truck they always show option codes for shocks as they are all different but on other sites they would just show With high rider package, Z71 or something else.

if in doubt get two sets and return the one you don't need.

csheatz · March 31, 2009

dont get me wrong im sure Autozone has good parts, but all i see from them is their brand name, i dont see such brands as reybestes, or wagner. I have never used duralast brand, have not heard anything good about them either........ Although people dont tend to complain about somthing if nothing is wrong with it, i guess i dont know anyone that uses them. My friend works at napa and has always pushed their parts on me, the "at cost" discount he gets me usally makes the choice a no brainer.

tahoe00 · March 31, 2009

good info

NFSGamerUSA · April 1, 2009

Get Akebono ProACT Ceramic pads, they're the best ceramic pads sold by Carquest (I think they're sold as Carquest Gold Pads). I have them and I've never heard a squeak out of them, plus they build up brake dust a lot more slowly than semi-metallic pads.

Bmart · April 1, 2009

i just installed some ceramic pads from carquest on the rear today, like em so far.

C & A s Dad · April 1, 2009

Some good info going back and forth here. I will add my .02 on the pads.

Raybestos is our (CARQUEST) primary supplier and they supply us with our Economy line of Red pads and our mid grade Blue series. Both available for most applications in Organic, Semi Met and Ceramic. The Blue Ceramics (BCD series) are our best sellers by far. Great pads, very good longevity, very quiet and low dust. Raybestos builds these pads application specific for us meaning that the actual friction material formula can be different from vehicle to vehicle. We also offer our Gold Series in Semi Mets (GMD) supplied by Raybestos or Ceramic (GCD) supplied by Akebono. They do cost more but are the premium of the premium in my opinion. Akebono has been supplying us with the GCDs for about a year and our Installer Customers love them. This is the pad that Graham (K1500 Cheyene) mentioned. If cost is not you primary concern, I would recommend the GCDs hands down. I have a set sitting in my shop for my Yuk XL just waiting for the OE pads to wear down far enough to replace them. On the other hand, you would not be dissapointed with the BCD Blue Ceramics. We sell a boat load of them everyday.

One last thing about Akebono. GM used them as their OE supplier for several years on some vehicles, left them for a few years and came back to them because they were simply problem free and did a great job.

Concerning the "big chains all carry parts from the top manufacturers" . This is true in many cases but also very far from the truth for many of the suppliers we use. There are some common mfgs between us all but there are also many lines that are very different. I will not single out anyone but the brakes from one chain in particular are not considered a quality product and are not well received with the Professional Installers. Some of the other products from this same chain may be fine, just not their friction products.

As far as the "HD" or "Severe Duty" listings. We offer this option for some applications. I do not recommend them to anyone for normal driving. They are much harder on your rotors, make more noise, more dust and offer very poor cold stopping power. They are designed for Taxis, Police Cars or any similar vehicle that is on the brakes constantly. Once heated up, they stop very well but when they are cold, not good at all.

I am certainly no brake expert but it is one of our major product lines and we sell a lot of pads to people who make their living repairing vehicles and to the public as well.

NFSGamerUSA · April 1, 2009

Some good info going back and forth here. I will add my .02 on the pads.

Raybestos is our (CARQUEST) primary supplier and they supply us with our Economy line of Red pads and our mid grade Blue series. Both available for most applications in Organic, Semi Met and Ceramic. The Blue Ceramics (BCD series) are our best sellers by far. Great pads, very good longevity, very quiet and low dust. Raybestos builds these pads application specific for us meaning that the actual friction material formula can be different from vehicle to vehicle. We also offer our Gold Series in Semi Mets (GMD) supplied by Raybestos or Ceramic (GCD) supplied by Akebono. They do cost more but are the premium of the premium in my opinion. Akebono has been supplying us with the GCDs for about a year and our Installer Customers love them. This is the pad that Graham (K1500 Cheyene) mentioned. If cost is not you primary concern, I would recommend the GCDs hands down. I have a set sitting in my shop for my Yuk XL just waiting for the OE pads to wear down far enough to replace them. On the other hand, you would not be dissapointed with the BCD Blue Ceramics. We sell a boat load of them everyday.

One last thing about Akebono. GM used them as their OE supplier for several years on some vehicles, left them for a few years and came back to them because they were simply problem free and did a great job.

Concerning the "big chains all carry parts from the top manufacturers" . This is true in many cases but also very far from the truth for many of the suppliers we use. There are some common mfgs between us all but there are also many lines that are very different. I will not single out anyone but the brakes from one chain in particular are not considered a quality product and are not well received with the Professional Installers. Some of the other products from this same chain may be fine, just not their friction products.

As far as the "HD" or "Severe Duty" listings. We offer this option for some applications. I do not recommend them to anyone for normal driving. They are much harder on your rotors, make more noise, more dust and offer very poor cold stopping power. They are designed for Taxis, Police Cars or any similar vehicle that is on the brakes constantly. Once heated up, they stop very well but when they are cold, not good at all.

I am certainly no brake expert but it is one of our major product lines and we sell a lot of pads to people who make their living repairing vehicles and to the public as well.

This guy knows brake pads! C & A s Dad is the one that pointed me towards the Akebonos.

C & A s Dad · April 1, 2009

Thanks Graham, but the knowledge I have comes from talking with Professional Techs who feed their families by repairing vehicles. Most will not perform "economy brake jobs". They want to do it once and they do not want the Customer back in their shop complaining of noise, harshness or excessive dust. These guys demand quality and for a good reason.