The Laughing Wolf

Ceramic Brake Pads: Just Say No

I wanted to follow up on the discussions in this post (and note that Ken was right) and my promise in this post to tell how things went. In short, ceramic pads suck.

They did not work well in freezing wet, and were much harder on the rotors than any type pad I have ever before used. The rotors not only overheated, they warped and both they and the ceramic pads were pitted beyond belief. Instead of getting 100,000-plus miles out of the rotors, I will be lucky to make 100,000 miles. The pads (and rotors, really) did not last a full year. We are not amused.

I was lucky and found a chain place that was willing to turn all four rotors, replace the ceramic pads with semi-metallic, and do some other minor tweaking for less than $170.00. It will get me by until warmer weather less-lean times, when I will have to replace the rotors (all four, because if you do the front you had better do them all).

So, my experience is to just say no to ceramic pads.

LW