what is absolutely the best performance brake pads for our cars?

criteria:
wears the least
dusts the least
is quiet with very little squeal
and grips like no other????

is there such a thing? the axxis ultimate ceramics? or metal masters? or ebc? hawk? or porterfield? in either case, I want pads for front and rear....not just front!!!!! like most of these pads companies make for only our front brakes....who makes them for our front and rear?

 

http://maxmods.dyndns.org/?MaximaBrakePads

 

that page doesn't cover which truly is the best among them all? are ceramic better than the hybrid pads (ie. carbon-kevlar?) in either case, the page also doesn't mention the axxis ultimate pads that just came out which is also probably why they aren't mentioned....what are your personal experiences/choices?

 

I have AXXIS Metal Master pads...little dust..not too expensive...good stopping power. Little to no squeal.

 

If you want very little dust and wears the least, you want Raybestos Quietstop. There are no others like them.

 

are ceramic pads any better than the carbon-kevlar ones?

 

I have wagner pads, great stopping power, but way too much dust (maybe because theyre brand new?), and little to no squeal...

 

hawk HP works great for street use, it also cut down my stopping distance a bit.

 

Porterfield R4-S. End of thread.

 

so....i am hearing conflicting posts from everyone here....everyone wants to boast their brand....but has anyone here tried multiple pads in the past? and like some over others? how can i decide when i have 5 different members supporting 5 different pads with no multiple members agreeing on any one pad...

 

are they axxis deluxe plus or ultimate's any good?

 

welcome to the org buddy, you're gonna be getting a lot of that. i think axxis metal masters are the best, just my opin

 

I have tried Raybestos QS, Axxis MMs, and Porterfield RS-4's.


Th Raybestos QS'es dusted like a motherf*cker, and wore very fast, the Axxiss were good and lasted a good 2 years, and the Porterfield's (which I have now) stopped the best and seem to dust the least. I don't know about wearing on them because I haven't had them long.

IanS

 

are they axxis deluxe plus or ultimate's any good?
has anyone tried these yet....don't know how they differ from their metal masters...

 

The only performance pad I have put on my car are Hawk HPS for the front. I can only compare them to the OEM ones. They stop better, have less brake fade (have not had them fade on me with my style of driving, like the OEM pads), and dust quite a bit more. Those are my observations when compared to what originally came with the car. Just trying to give you an idea .

 

There is no best. A quiet low dust pad is not going to stop as well as a full race pad. A full race pad is going to chew through your rotors and be loud as hell. You are asking to combine attributes which are not possible to combine. You have to make a decision do you want your car to stop or do you want your car to be quiet and have clean wheels all the time.

 

12345

 

so i guess i am looking for the best pad in between full race and street pads....don't care about wheel dust anymore now that I think about it....but don't want any squeal....no fade on the street, and want them to NOT to destroy my rotors!

 

would you guys classify the new axxis ultimate ceramic pad as a race pad or street pad? the metal masters would be street right....problem is, I hear they tear through rotors and squeal like a pig sometimes at low speeds or when cold

 

Yup, I'm on my second set...

 

They are a street pad. A true race pad is not usable on the street because they have to be warmed up to extreme temperatures in order to stop properly.

www.cobaltfriction.com has good descriptions of Hawk, Cobalt, and Axxis pads, ranging from OE replacement to full race pads. Unfortunatly they don't sell Porterfield, Performance Friction, or Carbotech there, which are 3 other great brake pad companies.

What do you intend on using these pads for. Street only? Street+autoX? Street+race course?

 

I agree I'm going with the raybesot's quiet stops

 

the porterfield r4s are the most expensive for our cars....are they worth the money as far as performance goes? do these pads kill rotors or squeal like a pig.....don't really care about dust...

 

I'm using Axxis MM's w. Cross Drilled Brembo rotors. So far, squeeling noticeable when cold outside until they get some heat in them. It's not as bad as some people claim, but it is there and is noticeable with the stereo off. Stopping power is better than OEM with no noticeable fade on the street, however they haven't seen a real workout yet. These are street pads, race pads will provide better power with a higher price, more noise and increased rotor wear.

LEMAR

 

i am worried about buying the axxis ultimates.....i don't know if they will tear through my rotors or not..., they probably perform very well though!!!any one have these on their car or try this pads yet?

 

Only full race pads or almost full race pads will eat through your rotors. The porterfield R4S and Axxis ultimates are not in that ballpark, your rotors would be fine with either of those. I just made that comment to illustrate how many different kinds of pads there are and that no single pad is the "best" pad in the world. They are good at different things but not good at all things.

 

I cannot remember now who makes them, but I got some performance pads with Kevlar in them called "Green Stuff" pads. Can someone help me out and remind me who makes them.

Anyway, they seem to be pretty good to me. I cannot tell about the dust. I was thinking when I got them(from what they said) that they would be virtually no dust. Well, that is not the case, but they do have good stopping power. I don't think there is such thing as pads with no or even really low dust. They all dust, it is just a matter of how well they stop.

 

I remembered who makes the ones I was talking about...saw it in another forum...EBC Greenstuff. They are all right, but not any more low dust than cheaper pads. They are really expensive too, IMO, for what they do. I will probably try the Raysbestos QS pads next go around.

 

I just bought some Raybestos Quietstops for the front from rockauto.com. We will see how they measure up to the EBC Greenstuff pads. They are highly recommended by all.

 

love my brembos , nothing like them,, true europian quality, unlike the Raybestos( made in china)

 

Agreed. Raybestos sucked. I've gone through 3 pads already and the Rays were the worst

 

well, this is from SE-R experience, but i have tried just about EVERY brand of brake pad out there, and the pads are very similiar.

Raybestos: suck. any one of them. may be quiet, but i drive too hard for them. i remember a track day not that long ago where someone set them on fire, in an SE-R. i would hate to see what would happen in a 3000+lb maxima. wear like you had cookies in there as pad material (i got like 5,000 miles out of them, hell, my Mom barely gets a year or two out of hers)

Axxis MM: Decent pad. wear decently. dust a lot. the stock ones felt almost identical, and dusted less. Decent wear.

Axxis Ultimates: Awesome pad. a little dusty, but great feeling. Made the brakes feel effortless. Dont worry, i didnt observe any out of the ordinary wear. Great fade resistance. Wear well.

Nissan OEM: Great pad for all around use. Quiet (duh), little dust and good fade resistance. A little pricey, unless got from Greg V @ quality (909)676-6601 (ask for Greg Vogel). Wear well.

Carbotech Panther +: Best pad yet. DO NOT use in colder climates, they have a higher operating temperature than a cold climate will allow for. those first stops in the morning even in SoCal can be scary. Minor rotor munchers, though not as bad as the Hawk's. AWESOME stopping power, but not so immediate that they lock them up too easily. Good brake feel, easiest race pad to modulate. i use these as full time pads in the SE-R now, though i dont drive it every day. NEVER faded, even on 130-0 stops. wheels get dusty after about 2 days.

Hawk Blues: Decent pad. RACE ONLY. Wear fast. NO brake feel, you can only tell theyre locked up from the smoke. Munch rotors like theyre going out of style. Dusty (Duh)

EBC green: Suck. expensive. wear fast. not really fade resistant. DUST!

Porterfield R4S: Good. Very much like the Ultimates, but more expensive. Not sure the price difference on a Maxima, but they are basically the same pad, IMO.

i abuse my brakes on the SE-R though, lots of track use, etc. i have 80,000 miles on the thing, but i have tested ALL of these pads and some others that i forgot the name/brand of, so it wont be useful to anyone here if i cant remember the name. i have always replaced pads only when they have died.

 

Awsome mini writeup man. My preferences are slightly increased stopping power over stock, zero noise, don't care about wear or dust. What should I go with? It is looking like the Axxis Ultimates are my #1 choice although you didn't mention noise.

 

Ive been a fan of the R-4S but recently noticed that there may be a point (in track use only) that they get too hot and totally break apart/ cheese grater on my slotted/cross drilled rotors. That was not a happy event.

For street driving they are near perfect IMO

 

they are more audible than the stockers, though totally liveable. there isnt any unnecesary squealing, just a little more noise.

 

which ones you talkin bout???

 

Do you have stock brakes? or a BBK? Have you ever tried Hawks HP+ on the track?

I have heard only good things about Carbotech pads, I might try out their Panther pads this summer for track use...

 

whoops, the MM ultimates. i forgot to hit the "reply" button in the post.

i have the AD22VF brake upgrade, basically, NX2000 brakes. 10.1" rotor, about as thick as the maxima rotors.

never tried the HP+ pads, Hawk stopped making pads for my brakes a while ago anyway, and since i got these Carbotechs, i haven't turned back.

 

Cool.
Based on the recommendations I have seen for Raybestos QS...I bought some of those from rockauto.com. They are already at my house, but I broke my arm Monday so I won't be able to put them on until like April...ha ha ha. Oh well, I guess I will post how they are then.

 

The only aftermarket experience I've had are with braking are with the axxis metal masters. I replaced my front stock rotors with the stillen x-drilled and added the MM's at the same time. Its been a couple years, and I've gone through the front set of pads, and they've been pretty good to me. The dusting is pretty bad however -- my wheels turn from hyper black to a bronzish dust red within a week of moderate driving. I currently now have MM pads on all 4 corners, with stock rotors still on the rear. The stiillen x-drilled and MM's make a nice audible whirring sound when going through heavy high speed braking.

The most memorable experience with these brakes was going from 120-60mph and ending up right at the passenger side fender of a CHP crown vic that was cruising at 65, without the guy even seeing me coming from the rear. Makes me get sweaty palms just thinking about it again.