Which brake pads to choose for your car and not go wrong?

I discovered an interesting question - which brake pads are better. You can change the pads on passenger cars yourself. The main thing is to buy quality pads. The criteria for their selection depend on driving style, manufacturer and characteristics. Let's look at this question today.

Types of brake pads

Brake pads are a working part of the brake system. It is this part that presses the wheel disk drum and creates resistance to the wheel.

The design of shoe brakes in all passenger cars is approximately the same. The main braking element on the block is the lining. The lining material is a friction material that can withstand strong friction and high temperature.

The lining materials differ, so four types of brake pads can be distinguished:

• Semi-metallic.
• Organic.
• Pads with low metal content.
• Ceramic pads.

Which brake pads are better and what you need to consider when choosing.

To choose good brake pads, you need to understand what driving style they will be used for and what car they will be installed on. For example, if you only use your car for city driving, you need to choose pads that can withstand small but regular loads well. For sports cars, when selecting brake system elements, it is important to take into account the operating temperature: the pads must work effectively even at 900 degrees Celsius. Also, when purchasing, you should remember that a tempting and inexpensive price (with the exception of a number of domestic brands) indicates either poor quality of the product or a fake, which also does not shine with technical characteristics.

Semi-metallic brake pads

The materials of this type of pads are ferrous and non-ferrous metals with inorganic fillers and graphite. The metal content in them is up to 65%.

Pros:

• high heat transfer;
• high wear resistance and durability.

Minuses:

• due to the fact that the linings of such pads have a long service life, gradual wear of the brake disc or brake drum occurs;
• in cold weather their effectiveness is low;
• high noise level when braking.

Which foreign company is better to choose brake pads: rating

If you are wondering which brand to choose brake pads from, pay attention to our rating.

5th place. Hankook Frixa: reliability and quality.

Passenger cars produced in South Korea are now equipped with brakes produced by this company. To successfully compete in the market, the manufacturer introduced innovations to the lining formulation by adding Kevlar fibers. As a result, the abrasion resistance and service life of the pads have increased. This brand also produces pads for the Russian automobile industry and foreign cars in the budget segment. A typical example is Renault Logan.

The advantages of these products:

• production quality;
• long service life and abrasion resistance.

However, there is a minus:

• considerable cost.

4th place. Allied Nippon: will ensure safe driving in the city cycle.

The company is a repeated leader in ratings among auto product manufacturers in Asia. The manufacturer's range of brake pads is quite large. The needs of not only cars produced in Asia are covered, but also products are produced for the European automobile industry. A distinctive feature of Allied Nippon pads is the presence of ferrocarbon - a mineral additive. Thanks to it, the linings work for a long time and remove heat well. Front and rear brake pads from Allied Nippon are recommended for drivers driving in rough city traffic.

Advantages:

• a large selection of pads for many car models;
• optimized for city driving with frequent braking;
• use of ferrocarbon.

Flaws:

• For high quality, the consumer will inevitably pay a considerable price. However, this is typical for all Japanese auto parts.

3rd place. ATE: legendary German quality.

Brake pads from the ATE concern (Germany) are certainly a high-quality product. The company is quite conservative; its brake production technology is time-tested. Alloys of titanium, chromium or nickel are added to the composition of the pads. Ceramic pads are generally incomparable, they work completely silently. Such brakes are usually chosen by owners of premium cars. However, you need to choose German quality, implying the corresponding costs.

Positive sides:

• a rich product line for many car models;
• excellent quality thanks to a skillful combination of traditional technologies and innovative solutions.

Flaws:

• very impressive cost;
• There are many fakes on the market, which once again emphasize the quality of the original, but increase the risk of deception for the consumer.

There are signs by which you can identify the original products of the ATE concern:

• The packaging must contain a holographic company logo.
• The block itself contains a lot of technical data.
• The cover material is not painted.
• Often fake pads leave a strong mark on your hands. Original products hardly get your hands dirty.

2nd place. TRW Lucas: the most extensive range of pads.

Cooperation between the British Lucas and the American company TRW has allowed us to flood our market with quality products from Europe. Moreover, this brand produces brake consumables for almost all brands and models of cars. At the same time, we managed to balance the quality/price indicator. That is, from the company’s line it is possible to choose products with good quality at very affordable prices. Lucas products can be found in almost every auto store. As always in our time, such popular products are often counterfeited. That is why a thorough check before purchasing will not be superfluous.

Advantages:

• affordable price;
• quality is good;
• The owner of almost any car will be able to choose suitable pads from this brand.

Minuses:

• A huge amount of counterfeit goods.

1 place. Ferodo: quality for affordable money.

It was no coincidence that the first place went to the English company Ferodo. The company managed to correctly understand the desires of consumers in the Russian market, where most of the cars are used. The FERODO SL and FERODO TARGET lines were released especially for such machines. With a radical reduction in price, the quality did not suffer significantly. Adding to this fact a diverse model range, we get first place in our rating.

Positive traits:

• squeaking occurs very rarely;
• brake disc wear is minimal;
• For almost every car model in the product line, you can choose a decent option.

Disadvantages found:

• none.

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Selection according to brake pad characteristics

When braking, the temperature of the rubbing parts rises to 350 degrees. This is if you drive calmly. And if you drive in sport mode, the temperature rises to 900 degrees. Therefore, if you like high speed, then you need pads that will not wear out after several hundred kilometers.

There is such an indicator as the friction coefficient. For good pads, the coefficient of friction is in the range of 0.35-0.5. The original pads meet these standards.

For cheaper options, that is, not the original ones, but alternative ones offered by cheaper sellers, but from an unknown company, the friction coefficient is 0.25-0.35. For normal quiet driving, these pads are quite suitable.

If you find super cheap brake pad options, most likely they will have a very low coefficient of friction. Such pads may not provide high-quality braking of the car.

The service life of original pads is 20-25 thousand kilometers.

The service life of alternative pads is 5-10 thousand km.

The best manufacturers of brake pads in terms of price/quality ratio

TRW

Rating: 4.9

American corporation TRW, operating in Russia and Europe under the Lucas brand. Its feature, as well as its most important advantage, is its adherence to classical production methods with step-by-step quality control, which naturally affects the brake pads and their performance characteristics.

In TRW's research departments, engineers focus on the weakest performance indicators, regardless of what affects them: the configuration or geometry of the friction plates, the composition of the working mixture, or any flaws in the metal. According to consumers, all the most popular pads from the American company (and the original plant) show a surprisingly even result in terms of wear in use. Their working resource is limited by division into segments, and at a maximum reaches 80-100 thousand kilometers without a decrease in efficiency. But the main nuance is that the quality indicators of the pads greatly depend on the country of manufacture, since the corporation’s factories are scattered all over the world. This explains the presence of negative reviews and ongoing discussions, which, however, does not negate the fact that TRW is cool.

Advantages

• excellent performance of original pads;
• the company’s cooperation with the grandees of the automotive industry, including sports;
• reasonable prices for a range of products;
• introduction of DTec technology, which significantly reduces dust formation;
• active “spot” development of new pad models.

Flaws

• The quality of consumables depends on the country of production.

Manufacturers and ratings

The seriousness of the manufacturer is determined by whether this manufacturer supplies pads to an automobile plant on an assembly line or simply sells to stores. According to international terminology, this is called OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Genuine parts are tested at the factory under loads greater than those stated for the part. Usually the load is given 1.5 times more during testing so that there is a margin of safety.

Analogue spare parts, which are made in small companies, are sold twenty percent cheaper.

Simple brakes are very easy to bleed. How to bleed brakes with ABS?

Brake pad rating:

1. ATE - country of origin: Germany. According to online reviews, ATE pads perform well at high temperatures, which means they are suitable for high-speed sports cars. Ferodo and Brembo pads are also suitable for sports driving enthusiasts.
2. TRW is a large corporation consisting of pad manufacturers Lucas (Lucas) and Remsa (Rems). Their brake pads are also suitable for sporty driving.
3. Akebono and Nibk are manufacturers located in Japan. The linings on their pads are high-quality friction materials.
4. Samko (Samko) - country of origin: Italy. Suitable for different driving styles.
5. Bosch is a famous German brand that produces many products.
6. STS - Russian STS brake pads. Suitable for normal driving style.

In 2021, the American publication Ranker compiled a rating that looks like this:

The most popular brands in the USA include Wagner and EBC brakes).

What to look for when buying brake pads

The recommendation for purchasing pads is this: do not take the cheapest ones, unless you drive at a speed of 50 km/h. Powerful cars and fast driving require high-quality brake pads. These are exactly the kind of parts that you shouldn’t skimp on, but you shouldn’t buy them at exorbitant prices either.

You should look at the following details:

1. The pads must have markings stamped on them. If the letter E is in a circle, it means it complies with European standards. After E comes the R90 or 90R certification mark. Then comes the approval number. Then there are the production batch numbers.
2. Manufacturer logos are also embossed. On some fake brake pads you can find one manufacturer's mark on one side and another on the other. Either they do it in a hurry, or due to inattention.
3. The boxes of original pads contain a product passport, a certificate of approval, a warranty card and sometimes installation instructions. If there is no certificate, sellers are required to provide it.
4. On the official websites of some manufacturers, product codes consisting of letters and numbers are indicated. The pads should have the same codes.