Here's a tip for cleaning off brake dust in between car washes.

I use a California Type Dash Duster on my wheels, quick, easy and effective. Of course I label it for wheels (because I use another for my dash).

 

Been running the same GM ceramic for 6+ yrs now.
No issues, low dust, no sounds.

Love them !

Toque

 

My experience...

I had ceramic pads installed when I had my Eradispeed rotors installed. I wasn't planning on new pads, however the performance shop convinced me that the ceramic pads were better, worked better with the Eradispeed rotors and would significantly reduce brake dust. (Upsell?!)

Looking back, I have never liked my ceramic pads. I thought they had a rough feel the first time I drove them, however I just thought it was a normal break-in period since I installed both new rotors and pads.

The feeling has never gone away. My friend and I are working on a club track car and I plan to donate my rotors to that project next year as they still have low miles on them. At that time, I plan to install a new set of Eradispeed +1 rotors and swap out the ceramic pads.

My next decision is to go with either the OEM semi-metallic pads or perhaps an aftermarket semi-metallic pad like Hawks.

 

It takes a Big man, especially on an internet forum to humbly concede to logical thinking.
I have to applaud cessna10 for speaking up in open forum, even if he may have changed his mind. His rethinking may help others to realize that their ceramic brakes make work great for normal driving, but for that once in a lifetime panic stop that could mean the difference between life and death, Ceramics brakes may fail you by enough feet to kill you or someone you love.
I have to thank Cessna10 for offering real world thinking, especially when its hard to teach a old dog new tricks. IM also concerned about the vendors, who sell this stuff to make a profit to put their kids through college. I don't want to hurt anyone, my thinking is, people need brake pads , they don't need to buy high content ceramic pads just so that they dust less, vendors can sell them better, safer and dirtier pad compounds. If you see brake dust on your rims, whip it off and be thankful its there, it reaffirms the fact that your brake pads wont fade, and will give you the best advantage at stopping safely when you need that one extra effort.
Bill aka ET

 

You probably bought into the ceramic hype like everyone else. The feeling that something was just not right, tells me that you have a technical mind. That unsettling feeling was a good thing. Because your initial purchase choice is based on following the general thinking about ceramics, also its hard to say that you chose the wrong product, so you defend it, like so many other people here. For people without technical knowledge and never having to really save their own life or someone else's in a high speed panic stop. then they are going on the hope that their ceramic pads will do their job when asked. Don't be fooled by normal driving, Stopping a 3200 lb car at 30/40 mph, is nothing like stopping a 3200lb car with enough kinetic energy to produce 13,000 lbs. of energy ( over six tons ) at 70 mph.

 

Just so we all know, where can we get the BMW pads that you recommend?

 

I do know that when I was racing in the CMRA GSX-R circuit, the new whiz-bang, EBC brake pads of the time would ruin rotors in a single 8 lap sprint race. Apples to Oranges???Maybe. I'm not sold though.......nuff said....I will leave you to your arguing.

 

Well said

 

I'm Sorry, I knew this would come up. When we were developing the C5 brake system we looked at BMW compounds. They were soft and dirty. We developed a compromise with semi metali8c pad that were not quite as dusty that would last longer than 15,000 miles. We looked at the best and the worst. There is no one simple answer because manufactures develop compounds all the time for different reasons. For most manufacturers its about the bottom line, for others its about the moral and ethical product that produces the best bottom line. I know the original OEM AC Delco semi metallic pads work well, I use them on my car and fee confident in their ability to give me the best advantage at stopping during a panic stop. I've had to make a 70 MPH panic stop once, a life saving stop. My car performed better than my mind thought it could because I never thought I could bring the car down that quickly. That would have never happened with ceramics. If there is one message I could give everyone is this; Do not look at pads that are advertised as low dust or no dust. I don't want to hurt any vendor here, but they all have good soft pad compounds. they even have soft " ceramic pads" pad with less than 1/10 of 1 percent ceramic. the Ceramic in this case helps to control the longevity of the pad. Personally I would rather use softer semi metallic fillers to achieve this purpose. If you can get your head around brake pads are to stop your car, not to keep the wheels clean. I've done something good here.
You may never need to use your brakes to save someone life, including your own. The worst case would be, you hurt or killed someone that could have been saved if you had that extra 30 feet. Cleaning dust off your wheels is a cheap price to pay for safety. I'm feeling that I may be guilting people here, that's really not my intent, but there has been way to much hype over ceramics and low dust. I'm trying to level the playing field with some technical logic an 8 year old could understand.
Many people brag about having ceramic brakes, when someone tells me that, my response is, "That's a shame "
Sorry for my long winded soap box input. If I have offended anyone , I apologize
Bill aka ET

 

sheesh. all I was going to say was I have heard more complaints about ceramics than praise.
So, do we know which pads are good, and 'maybe' have less dust?

 

No offense taken at all. The drilled/slotted rotors I bought to replace the worn OEM ones came with ceramic pads so that's what I used. I know very little about brakes other than how to service them so this information is all new to me. I'll be picking up a new set of pads on Tuesday and getting them installed; with my luck with traffic accidents I need every edge I can get. Thanks for the detailed explanation.

 

Did he just say " Less dust" ? Didn't I say , I though my explanation was low tech enough that an 8 year old could understand.
No you hear very little complaints about ceramic brakes, other than in this thread. Very few people in this thread are complaining either. need I post that blind clown and bind man jpeg again? BTW the blind leading the blind is not a slam to anyone. If you just don't know, then its easy to follow the herd. like the wildebeest jumping into the river filled with 18 foot Nile Crocodiles.

 

All these qualifications are over rated.

 

HAWK HPS pads seem to have less dust than stock C5 Coupe/Vert Pads, but they stop better than ZO6 pads. You will NOT be sorry using these pads! Many others who have used these pads have praised them. They are not Ceramic.

I put them on after GM DELCO Premium Ceramic Pads warped my stock rotors (I took the pads off early). Their stopping power is impressive.

------------------------------------------------------------------
HPS - High Performance Street Brake Compound
Superior Stopping Power

HPS - High Performance Street disc brake pads are world renowned for increasing stopping power on your street legal vehicle. Increasing the performance of your vehicles braking system is easy when you choose Hawk Performance’s HPS braking compound. This unique Ferro-Carbon formula was developed for street performance using the safety and quality of Aerospace and Motorsports severe-duty friction technology.

The High Performance Street compound offers a higher coefficient of friction over stock brake pads and can provide you 20-40% more stopping power and higher resistance to brake fade than most standard replacement pads. Less fade means you will have a highly durable brake pad with less brake dust.

HPS Ferro-Compound Features:

Increased stopping power
High friction/torque hot or cold
Gentle on rotors
Extended pad life
Low dust
Virtually noise-free



All Hawk Performance High Performance Street brake pads provide a limited lifetime warranty, ensuring products to be free of defects from manufacturer’s workmanship and materials.

Note:
Hawk Performance burnishes its High Performance Street brake pads as a final step in the factory, but all brake pads have to be bedded-in with the rotors (new or used) that they will be used against. Properly bedding-in new brake pads results in a transfer film being generated at the pad and rotor interface to maximize brake performance.

 

ET, you have to stop taking those grouchy pills. Perhaps your engineer's mind misses quotations. I stated MAYBE. In addition, my question was in SUPPORT of what you stated. I am not interested in following any herd, I just wanted to know if there were any 'standard" or "normal use' pads out there that might have less dust. Stopping power has always been my main concern.
My reference to complaints re: ceramics was from personal conversations. I've never even seen this conversation on this forum before. Must be my 8 year old reading level.

 

I think there might be more to it than simply ceramic or not.

The page below (page 4) is taken from an Akebono brake white paper that shows the ceramic performing better than semi metallic in a panic stop.

The end of the article shows that under severe conditions (high heat) that ceramics do not perform as well and this may be a target for future improvements. I suspect based on this statement that current ceramics may not be the right choice for those that are road racing or autocrossing.

Maybe some of our forum vendors can chime in with any comparison test results to show the differences between ceramics and other pad types under different conditions (uses).

I would like to see data for comparisons under different conditions.

The link to the download is
http://www.akebonobrakes.com/company...ramic_tech.pdf

 

Quite right, chasboy. I think he needs to be reminded of that every so often.

 

After 12 years IM getting tired of all this ********... this company is a high roller in the ceramics brake pad industry, "THEY SELL Ceramic Brakes".. its in there best interest to HYPE their large investment, and with this IM out of this thread... You folks do whatever you want . Its a shame that so many BLIND people want to keep this hype going.
Ceramics are a Low friction material , just the opposite of what you want to stop your car.
take ceramic tile from your bathroom ( Hard material ), take a piece of hard rubber ( soft Material ), run them both across the ground and you tell me which one has more frictional properties.( Even an eight year old could see this ) At the GM proving grounds we have a test track used for zero friction slide tests, the track is paved with ceramic tiles.
You can believe me or you can believe a company that has high interest in selling you all the ceramic pads they can sell you.
To the many who Have PM'd me with their thanks you's, and your logical thinking, Your decision will make the roadways a little safer. I thank you for all the private kind words and support. 20,000 private thank you over the last 12 + years is very much appreciated. Without them I would have been long gone because in the last 12+ years I've been here , I've yet to make one single penny. But I have received a lot of grief. The old grouch, the chill pill, etc is disrespectful and shows a lack of respect. So it is not in my best interest coming here. Only because of the PM's do I continue to bite my tongue. but like the other two times I've left here, IM getting closer to the door again. I don't come here to get help, I never have , I come here to give help. Between open forum and Private message, I've compiled over 30,000 Help posts. Sorry for the rant, IM getting way too old and am too sick to keep this up.
THE END

 

I am not blindly believing you or the brake company. That is why I was asking for some of the forum vendors (or others) to provide data of different pads in different conditions.

I have seen a lot of your posts and appreciate your experience. I hope you do not stop helping this forum.

I think there could be a lot more respect given from all the CF members to others, but this is an internet forum and I doubt we can change it.

 

Give-em hell ET! Don't ever take a chill pill. I for one appreciate your frank and direct posts.