Keep Your Drive Safe! Complete Product Review For The 5 Best Brake Pads Available In The Market
Your car or truck needs proper care and maintenance. You have to be very careful when you consider the parts that wear out regularly. Brake pads are among those parts that wear out frequently but are crucial for car safety. Brake pads are the most integral part of the car's or truck’s braking system. Braking pads are required to produce friction against braking rotors and thus resulting in deceleration of the vehicle. Therefore, it should always be in top working condition.
Brakes (more precisely the brake shoes or brake pads) are a very crucial item when we have to consider your safety. There are lots of choices available for brake shoes or brake pads in the market. Therefore, it could be very difficult for you to choose the right one or best brake pads for your car. Here in this guide, we have listed the top five brake pads available in the market. You can find the best one that meets your requirement and budget.
There are so many important automobile parts that make your vehicle work and race effectively. Car breaking system is very crucial for the safety of driver and passengers in the car. You should always look for best brake controllers or best brake fluid that ensures proper maintenance and functioning of the braking system of your car.
Product | Brand | |
|---|---|---|
  | Akebono | |
  | ACDelco | |
  | Raybestos | |
  | Wagner | |
  | Motorcraft |
What is a Brake Pad?
Brake pads are the most important part of your braking system. A brake pad provides the friction to stop or slow down your car. It has to undergo exceeding temperature without losing its effectiveness and structure to create proper friction level required to slow down a vehicle. It is attached to each side of the brake caliper. Brake pads clamp against the rotating discs and slowdown the rotation motion of your vehicle’s wheel. This is a consumable component of a disk braking system. They are crafted out of different materials including ceramic, organic, semi-metallic and much more.
A branded new car always comes with the full braking system to ensure its effective performance. With time, the breaking system gets worn out, and it needs to be replaced. If you boost horsepower of your car, you will have to upgrade braking system to match powerful engine. Brake pads always require replacement after a specific period. Brake pads are an important part of your car and should be installed or replaced timely.
The 5 Best Brake Pads Available In The Market
1. Akebono ACT914 ProACT Ultra-Premium Ceramic Brake Pad Set
Sometimes your car makes annoying noise or shifts to apply brakes sideways. This is the clear indication that your brake pads are worn out and need to be replaced. You can buy Akebono ACT914 ProACT Ultra-Premium Ceramic Brake Pad Set to experience highly effective and safe braking system.
You can handle all sorts of situations on the road with the help of this brake pad. It works on vehicle optimized formula (Ceramic Formula) for superior performance of the braking system. This is a rotor-friendly item that ensures longer rotor life. It also offers extensively improved pad wear performance as compared to traditional brake pads.
Major Features:
- Ultra quite: It offers the ultimate solution for pedal pulsation and dust. It reduces noise, vibration and harshness levels
- Superior initial effectiveness
- Rotor friendly
- Designed with Ceramic formula and vehicle optimized friction formula
- Superior performance and offer ultimate braking experience to motorist
- An excellent upgrade for organic, semi-metallic and low metallic brake pads
- Suitable for almost all sorts of motorists
- It offers more smooth and consistent stopping power over various driving situations such as Panic Stop
- It helps to minimize dusting
Pros:
- Highly upgraded as compared to conventional brake pads
- Smooth braking
- Low dusting
- Compatible with open or aluminum wheel designs
- Increased durability
- Unique ceramic formulation to reduce vibration, groaning or brake squealing
- Rotor friendly
Cons:
- These pads do not fit into few of the most commonly used cars.
2. ACDelco 17D785CH Professional Ceramic Front Disc Brake Pad Set
These brake pads are very popular among all sorts of the motorist. They are suitable for most vehicles and offer effective braking system. Semi-metallic, ceramic and organic formulas offer reliability and safety for various vehicle applications. This is tested using SAE J2784 standards for noise, harshness, vibration, durability, and braking effectiveness.
It works on an organic formula that ensures safety and reliability for a wide range of vehicle applications. It comes with stamped backing plate that protects brakes from premature wear.
Major Features:
- It comes with chamfers, slots and premium shims that help to minimize vibration, noise and braking harshness.
- It has stamped backing plate that permits you for proper pad movement within brake pulsation, vibration, and noise.
- Solid construction and designing formulas
- Its universal design is perfect for various kinds of vehicles
- Designed with effective formula delivers instant stopping power without chirping or squealing
- Made up of ceramic that ensures durability
- You need not any curing or machining while installing them
Pros:
- Easy to install
- Excellent upgrade for conventional brake pad
- Offers you a noise and vibration free riding
- Vibration free
- Provides exceptional performances
- Comes with noise dampening shims
Cons:
- These brake pads start squeaking very badly on moderate or light stop after a month.
3. Raybestos ATD923C Advanced Technology Ceramic Disc Brake Pad Set
These brake pads are designed to offer excellent braking system. They are built up of excellent quality formulations to minimize dust, noise and brake fade while delivering increased braking power. It works on an advanced formula that helps minimize dust and noise.
It works on modern technology that helps to maximize the overall performance of the braking system. Nitrile polymer coated clips and quite coated hardware help to maximize noise suppression. This is best fit for older vehicles.
Major Features:
- Advanced technology brake pad
- Designed with highest quality ceramic/semi-metallic formulations
- It features integrally molded design for excellent strength
- It features OE compliant standards that ensure durability and strength
- The basic slots, shims, and chamfers offer the reliability and safety you expect from an excellent set of brake pads.
- Advanced friction formulation to maximize performance of overall braking system
- Abutment Clips (Nitrile-polymer coated ) to maximize noise suppression
- Perfectly coated hardware helps reduce noise
Pros:
- Corrosion free
- Easy to install
- Safe, predictable and consistent product
- Good quality
- Right fit for almost all vehicle
- Comes with extra hardware
Cons:
- It starts making noise after 7-8 months
4. Wagner ThermoQuiet QC1391 Ceramic Disc Pad Set With Installation Hardware, Rear
This can be the best option that comes with solid construction. You can find an effective set of brake pads that help your vehicle balance on the road. This is among the most popular brake pads that come with lots of amazing features. These brake pads don’t expand easily and work effectively. These brake pads cannot lose gripping power even in extreme heat.
It has 15% more stopping power and 35% quieter than traditional or conventional brake pads. This is setting a new benchmark for Ceramic brake pad performance. It fits perfectly in vehicles and comes with all the extra metal parts that require for the caliper.
Major Features:
- It is formulated in a way similar to semi-metallic pads
- It is designed excellently and work on advanced technology to withstand extreme heat
- Nice fit
- No noise
- Works effectively
- Perfect braking power
- Suitable for one pair of wheels
Pros:
- Work in wet or cold weather
- Durable and cleaner
Cons:
- Annoying noise when starts driving on cold brakes
- People also find it difficult to install as per usual practice and instructions
- It does not come with any noise stop or lubricant at all.
5. Motorcraft BR-1414 Brake Pad
If you are looking for a complete kit with new shims, this can be the perfect choice to pick for your vehicle. This is specially designed for your requirement to ensure durability, performance and optimum friction. This set of brake pad is tested to some standards for reduced dust and noise. This is well suited for various types of vehicles and is easy to install. This can be the excellent product. You can go for it.
Major Features:
- Specially formulated, so as to ensure optimum friction which results in great performance
- These pads produce reduced noise and dust and are durable too.
- The material quality is as per the Friction Materials Standards Institute (FMSI) standards
- It comes with hardware
- You will get complete kit with new shims
Pros:
- Easy fit and direct installation
- Great quality material
- Fit good
- Brake pad looks good
- Stops good
Cons:
- These pads are a bit noisier
- These are not as durable as stated.
How to Choose the Best Brake Pad for Yourself?
There are many brake pad choices available in the market claiming to offer the best performances. You may find it difficult to choose the best brake pads for your vehicle. We have mentioned some factors that you should look into before choosing any brake pad. The choice of brake pads depends on the purpose for which the vehicle is utilized.
1. Commuting
Those car owners who just drive around town, they can go for OEM quality brake pads. These are Organic and Ceramic pads which offer smooth and quite stop and let you enjoy driving. These brake pads are suitable for vehicles which are used in city commuting as there is not much heat produced in these conditions.
2. Towing
When you tow heavy loads on your vehicle, it generates extra heat. You should look for heavy duty brake pads that are resistant to that heat. You can choose semi-metallic brake pads as these are highly effective in such conditions.
3. Off-Road Trips
If you go for adventurous off road trips, then you should get the best possible braking pads for your vehicles. Off road trips are full of rough roads, steep inclines, muddy passages, etc. It is very important to have highly efficient braking pads in such conditions.
In such scenarios, semi-metallic are best suited as these are tough and heavy duty pads. Besides, this one can also go for mid racing braking pads.
4. Street Performance
The vehicles used for street motorsports or performances are very powerful. Performers need an engine with great power, and so they make various modifications to the engine to get the powerful engine. But, at the same time, it is also very important to have equally strong braking system as well. Semi-metallic, organic or select ceramic braking pads would be the most suited for such purposes.
5. Racing
As we all know that racing cars are equipped to be driven at top speeds for a longer duration, this causes great friction of tires, and as a result, great heat is generated. There is also a large amount of heat generated by the engine.
Therefore, one cannot use normal braking pads in these cars. The braking pads that are used in racing cars are heat resistant and therefore can withstand the great heat. These braking pads are made of semi-metallic heavy duty materials.
It is very important to have a good quality brake pads installed to ensure safety. Brake pads are made up of various materials so that they could be used in various conditions. In few cases such as racing vehicles or those used for off road trips, there is a large amount of heat generated. So, in such conditions, one should use the brake pads that are made of heat resistant materials. Out of the above-mentioned brake pads, we would recommend you to have Akebono ACT914 ProACT Ultra-Premium Ceramic Brake Pad Set installed in your vehicle. These brake pads are highly effective and durable.
