Ceramic Pads or other ? Please help.

[GaviN]

Hello everyone,

My Camry needs inspection and I need new brake pads. I heard a lot about ceramic pads but do you guys think they're worth the extra money ? Does anybody have them on their car and if so, whats the difference ?? My Camry also suffers from the dreaded screeching noise when braking and its real annoying. The rotors are fine.

So should I spend the extra money and get ceramics, or are they just a waste and if so, what do you recommend ?

Thanks in advance, Gavin.

[Edmo83]

i hear they do screech.
maybe if you get the best top quality ones maybe not.

I have Hawk HPS o nthe front, i think they are Composites, but they do squeal lightly, bearable, but amazing stopping power compared to my EBC reds

[GaviN]

Where do they sell the Hawks at ? Also, are they a reasonable price ?

[James100]

I got the Duralast gold ceramic from Autozone for I think it was $32 for my friends car for the front. They have a lifetime guarantee for wear so when they wear down you just bring them back and you get new pads for free. As of yet they do not make any noise. Anyhow I figured I would give this a try because of the guarantee figuring also if they make noise or I have problems I would just bring them back and get a refund. Almost a no brainer.

I had read several post on here and thats why I got the Duralast rotors and pads from Autozone. If you dont like them you can just take them back. The rotors and pads were approx $92 for the front. Also make sure to take out the slide pins and clean and apply the silicone grease. 2 of the slide pins on this car were rusty.

They also come with the shims on the back to keep them quite. I did use a little sand paper on the end of one to make it fit better however.

[amerikim]

I would recommend cleaning the pins thoroughly and using high temperature grease (like axle grease). If those pins stick, the brakes will drag giving uneven wear and possibly warping the disks, ruining your entire effort.
I use akebono ceramics on the front and they work great. No noise, they are great.
Got them off some ebay store, don't remember the details.
The rear pads are something the last owner did and they squeak. I will do them next.

[GaviN]

Thanks guys, I think I will get the ceramics. My mechanic is going to do the work, but I'm gonna remind him to grease the pins.

Thanks Again !!

[Edmo83]

do it yurself, save the $$!

i got my Hawks for something like $60-$70 for the fronts
but they stop on a DIME!!

if you wanna do them on your own, let me know, im not far i bet.

[GaviN]

^^^I don't know the first thing about changing brakes, haha. I can get the tire off, but anything after that, I'm all thumbs, haha

But thanks though.

[Edmo83]

i can help you out, i think i kno enough now to do brakes

[RningOnFumes]

you can find some hawks at www.tirerack.com if you'd like.


Yes...disc brakes are very easy to do. It's my drums I'm afraid of.

[GaryS]

The only problem with ceramic or any harder pad is that they wear the rotor, requiring a rotor change sooner than if you went with an OEM style pad. If you drive your car like you stole it and brake hard, then MAYBE ceramic pads are for you. If you drive in a normal fashion, OEM should be fine. For example, my wife's Acura Legend has 113000 miles on it with original rotors that have never been turned on a lathe. They simply don't need it. I only use OEM pads on it and it stops just as nicely today as it did when it was new 13 years ago.

Imo, go with standard pads. Fwiw, I use the Silver pads from Advance Auto in all of my cars and I am quite happy with them.

[GaviN]

Well, my mother drives the car mostly these days because she a psyiotic nerve(sp) acting up in her left leg due to her pregnancy, and her car is a stick and its too much of a hassle to drive it right now. She barely drives it 400 miles a month. She also constantly tells me about the squeeling because she drives hard, haha


Hey Edmo, next time I will definately look you up man. I would've gladly took you up on your offer especially to learn a few things but my mechanic had my car on his lot since Saturday. I dropped it off for him to put new studs/lug nuts on my rear tire. I told him I'd drop some pads off for him on Tuesday morning to do the brakes, so I'll feel bad if I tell him that I've change my mind.

[99Camry99]

I have cross drilled brembo rotors and ceramic brake pads, I stop faster than some sports cars. Definately worth the investment, I spent less than $350 for the whole setup, my buddy is a mechanic and did the install for me. Good luck with the purchase!

[cheeba]

Hey, do you think you can tell me where you got your rotors from? I'm shopping for a new set and could use some recommendations. Thanks!

[Mike Gerber]

I recently priced some front rotors for my 93 4 cylinder at Murrays. They were $20 a piece.

Mike