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Semi-Metallic/Police Spec Brake Pads?


Moozery
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I'm wanting to do the Dual Piston Impala Calipers + SS Extended Lines upgrade soon, and I notice Will at Overkill always heavily recommends using police spec pads, which appear to usually be semi-metallic.

 

Although besides him, I've never heard of someone recommending semi-metallic/police pads. Even for myself I've always stuck with regular ceramic pads.

 

I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on these kind of pads and if they'd really recommend them or not. I've done some reading on them and it sounds like the main concerns with these are noise and brake dust. Though as long as the noise isn't that brake squealing type I really couldn't care less, and as for the brake dust I just painted my summer rims black (gloss though) and I'm not sure if that will make the dust really noticeable or not.

 

What's your guy's thoughts?

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In '04 semi metallic pads were still the OEM norm for brake use.

 

They have better cold stop abilities than ceramic, they have a wider operating range, semi absorbs heat better than ceramic does, they are better where brake fade is concerned.

 

The downside is that metallic pads will wear the rotor quicker, produce more dust, also can allow squeaking (the metallic imbedded) when a light pressure is applied.

 

Ceramic is easier on the rotors, produces less dust, the pads last longer, but they are not designed for continued aggressive use.

 

.....in an emergency cold hard stop.......there's no question as to which pad will respond better

 

 

 

*a shame that Will moved to Vancouver*

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*a shame that Will moved to Vancouver*

 

I know what you mean. A shame it's so hard to get hold of him these days too  :( 

 

I think good ceramic pad will probably work just fine for me, I'm not an aggressive stopper at all. Those plus the calipers and lines should be a big upgrade to begin with anyways.

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It was a bit of a luxury having him close by for those of use who were members of the now defunct OQCGP.

 

Not necessarily myself but those who were heavily into 2nd & 3rd Gen *blown* engined cars came to rely on him quite a bit.

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i suggest you search R1 concepts on ebay and get the drilled and slotted E line rotors with scorched ceramic pads, i promise you will love them, and buy nothing else afterwards.  i got a set on the regal with f bodys up front, just installed them on my tahoe. stops like a champ.

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I just did this last summer.

 

Power stop calipers, Akebono ACT1159 pads, Goodridge lines from ZZP (cheapest place) and Raybestos 580403 advanced technology rotors.

 

Stops great and stops great in cold.

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Re-watched that link and the guy is bullshit. Not to say it's fake, just this guy. Essentially it's a chemical like Vinegar mixed with sugar and just a couple small batteries or a variable power supply. I got some zinc a while back to get started with this so when that finally happens I'll post instructions on what worked best and I'll leave some stuff outside to test it for rustproofing.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've been using HPS Hawk pads and was very happy with them, especially with the 06+ Impala calipers and ACDelco rotors. R1 slotted rotors I had before worked great for stock brakes with HPS pads but the paint they use wore off very fast.

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I don't like them either. Last yearish I picked up the best Semi-Metallic pads from Autozone on my way to the shop in the SSEI.

 

Got there and raised the car, removed both front wheels, broke all the bolts free while the brakes cooled down.

 

Then I removed a caliper and opened the box to find I WON! There was a note about being upgraded to ceramic pads for free!

 

Put the car back together and drove back to the parts store to return them for a losing set.

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I don't like them either. Last yearish I picked up the best Semi-Metallic pads from Autozone on my way to the shop in the SSEI.

 

Got there and raised the car, removed both front wheels, broke all the bolts free while the brakes cooled down.

 

Then I removed a caliper and opened the box to find I WON! There was a note about being upgraded to ceramic pads for free!

 

Put the car back together and drove back to the parts store to return them for a losing set.

why don't you like ceramic pads? 

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I always run a middle of the road name brand Semi. Years ago I got a set from Rockauto, put them on the Regal and recycled the box. I remembered them as being red in color but when I removed them they were actually green.

 

Looking back I wish I'd kept the box safe, those pads worked great and still had enough material to pass PA safety inspection 3 years later when I replaced them, I could have run another year if I wanted.

 

I would love to know what brand they were.

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Ah ok. That’s what I’ve got on my car is ceramic. They work amazing. Bite hard. I’ll try some semi metallic when they need replaced

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I should have been more specific, ceramic didn't grind away like full metallic pads but the one time I tried them a rotor warped and I didn't see a good reason for it. Semi pads have warped rotors for me too but I have to be driving in the mountains or something.

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Semi metallic pads will bite harder/quicker in a sudden cold (as in cold brake pad) panic stop, the ceramic pad will need to warm up to get into the *sweet spot* where it starts to delivers. That amount of time could be the difference between you hitting or not hitting the vehicle in front of you that you may be following too close to.

 

The friction rating of most pads is generally an FF rating, that means the pad has the same cold friction rating performance as the pad will do in it's hot temp performance.

If the rating is say EF that means the pads has a less effective cold performance than the pad will do in it's hot performance. 

 

The higher the friction rating the more bite the pad has & better stopping power ability, plus less fade.

 

http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/~smacadof/DOTPadCodes.htm

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