I am on Mike the Powdercoaters list for CRM calipers. I have read some posts recently saying that ceramic pads cut down considerably on the amount of dust created. That sounds like a plan.

My questions are: what effect, if any, do the ceramic pads have on stopping power and brake pedal feel? Are stopping distances unchanged or hopefully improved? Is more pedal effort required since I would imagine that the ceramic pad is harder?

 

I replaced my Z51 pads, even more agressive and dustier than yours, with Hawk Ceramics and I love them. The dust is down significantly and they are still a very effective brake pad. I track my car (although I switch pads and rotors for track time) and I do a LOT of mountain/canyon driving and expect excellant braking and these pads deliver. I doubt most drivers could tell any let down in performance under even the most spirited driving conditions.

 

For daily driving, most drivers would never be able to tell a difference. However, on the road coarse at the track, ceramic brakes are hard to beat. They dissipate heat alot better, no gassing, etc...Ceramics may make noise when cold, however putting high heat lube on the back of the pads where the calipers touch them usually eliminates any noise. Ceramics are a great choice.

tom

 

I'm removing the original calipers and pads on all four corners next week and replacing them with VR powder-coateds and ceramics. I too am looking forward to better looks and a major reduction in dust.

 

Most people who track their cars remove ceramic pads and use a softer compound. Ceramic pads are inherintly not good for racing conditions.

 

It is possible that on the street you will never know the difference. However, it's been said (and I believe if you asked the various brake companies, they'd say the same) there is some loss in actual stopping power, and that means distance to stop. If it's a few feet on the street, does it matter? That's up to you.

 

For sure Ceramic hawks have way less/virtually no dust.
On the street you probably won't notice any difference in braking.
On the track, for sure they extend the stopping distance.
I was in a 0-60-0 brake competition at Year One in Road Atlanta this year and can tell you my best stop from 60 was 120 feet in my 07 Z06. Factory spec was 112 feet I believe, so thats a bit longer.

 

I just put GM ceramics on my 06 Z51 yesterday. No change in pedal feel and stopping power feels the same.I don't track the car,sothose that do may see a difference there; but for street driving they are great,and dustless.

 

I use Wilwood H pads (Race) and Wilwood Ceramics (Street). I would never use the ceramics on the track (I also hate the H pads on the street ).

The ceramics have less dust, but you do give up some stopping power. As long as you are not being constantly aggressive with the ceramics you will be fine. I never have an issue I just give myself a bit more room.

 

Just did mine yesterday!



Braking hasn't changed that I can tell with the Ceramics on but after driving all afternoon and evening, my wheel rag had almost nothing on it after wiping the wheels whereas before, it would have been filthy.

Also, my old pads used to squeak once they heated up. The ceramics never squeaked once.

 

Akebono invented ceramic pads in the early 80's for the Japanese OE's.
They only produce ceramic pads. Since 2000 they have been supplying about 40% of GM's friction. Yes, I work for Akebono.
The word "harder" is a misused observation. Many semi-metallic pads have as much as 35% steel wool as a filler. That makes it "harder" on the rotors. We do not recommend our ceramics for any tracking. The issue is not stopping any less, it is a wear issue. As the temperatures rise at the pad the wear ability decreases. I'm talking about temperatures over 600 degrees. So as the pad wears the driver presses harder which increases temperatures which increases pad wear which causes the driver to press harder. The "dog chasing his tail" story. I replaced the pads on my 08 Z51 at 600 miles due to the dust issues. Akebono makes a Street Performance pad which our product manager and myself wanted to test on a true performance application.
This pad can produce a 0.35 coefficient of friction out of the box. For a street performance pad this is pretty decent. Remember this pad also provides no noise or dust and can make rotors last much longer. If you replace a semi-metallic pad with ceramics and do not replace the rotors or have them turned then you made experience a "transfer of material" from the rotor to your new pads. I did experience this and what it means is the pedal travel felt like it increased and or I needed to apply a bit more pedal pressure. Within 100 miles that feeling went away and the pedal feels just like it did new. After 300 miles of normal braking I did some hard canyon running with no braking issues. After 600 miles I have no dust.
90% of Corvette owners that switch to a ceramic pad will never reach a level of braking where they will experience issues. Akebono has not experienced any less braking against a semi-metallic for a street vehicles. For tracking we recommend a semi-metallic pad. In high heat situations that is where they perform very well.
The standard C6 owners already have a ceramic brake pad on their vehicles.

 

So approximately how much are a set of new ceramic pads?

Any recommendations for brands?

Thanks.
D

 

You can purchase the GM Ceramic Brake Pads from Gene Culley (GMPartsHouse.com) at this link:

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...&siteid=214638

 

Many thanks to Richard for the referral. We're shipping several sets of these daily!

 

I've had the GM ceramics on for about 1 1/2 years now and have not noticed any real difference in braking in normal driving conditions. Brake dust is almost completely gone so just for that reason alone, it's well worth the switch to ceramics. I got mine from Gene Culley, GMPartshouse.