[Brand Choice] Automotive Brake Pads

I have used the the Wearever Gold on several occassions. Wasn't too impressed. Several applications the brakes were noisy. I have had the same problem with the Wagner brand as well. I am still trying several brands but so far have been happy with Oreilly's Brake best select brand.

I see I have been paying more than most of you. Our brake jobs, not counting rotors usually from $200 to $250 plus a hydraulic brake flush. If you believe in your value, you can sell it. We do a lot of redos from the $99 places. We don't lose many brake jobs.

we are in the same boat. average brake job is at least $200, often more. Most of the time we replace the rotors, most rotors installed on vehicles have reached their service limit and can not be machined. Every brake job gets the caliper brackets disassembled and cleaned, book rate for labor for most cars is at least 1.4 hrs for a complete brake job. Thats what we charge (book rate) so you're looking at $120 for labor alone. We stock Wagner ThermoQuiet pads, we also have been using a lot of Raybestos pads from Carquest. We use rotors from carquest as we've seen them to be pretty high quality for the price point. We also use Centric rotors. On European makes we use different brands for different makes, usually Zimmerman or Sebro rotors and a variety of high quality pads from the importer we use.

If price is an issue we will offer the economy Red pad setup from carquest. We have seen them to be high enough quality to be comfortable putting them on a car while being cheaper, they certainly don't last as long though.

We charge .5 for a complete brake inspection. And most brake jopbs are 2.0 hours. We have an on the car lathe and pack bearings in those rare cases it has them. We use napa saftey stops and the friction material it came with not ceramic if not original. Also we do not use ceramic on larger trucks 3/4 ton or larger I have heard of lots of brake fading when hot or towing.

Joe, I can tell you working for Honda if we were turning rotors under warranty, Honda made us turn them on the car. The theory behind the on car lathe is a good one. It turns the rotors to match any runnout in the hub or wheel bearing. Makes the rotor much truer to the vehicle. Most people may not ever notice but it works the best. I wish I could afford one myself.

The only diff ppl can notice is if there brakes are quiet and do not vibrate. I get quite a few shops who bring in brake jobs for us to do on brakes that are not easy to do. We are do for a new procut its 10 yrs old and going strong but I know we need one that can cut larger diameter rotors.

I avoid the bargain basement parts stores because I can't trust what's in the box. I refuse to ever use anything from AAP regardless if it's the same brand as the part store across the street but AAP has it and the other store doesn't. Here's why I will NEVER buy anything from AAP.

1) When I first started out I fell into their "Lifetime Warranty" trap. Put an alternator on a Trailblazer. 28 days later it comes back on the hook for a dead battery. Charged the battery and it tested good. The alternator was junk. I called up and they were happy to send me another alternator. But all they were willing to pay me for labor, after a month of arguing with them was $12.50 (1/2 hour @ their approved $25.00/hour). And they refused to pay the tow bill.

2) Same year I had a gal's v-6 Mustang in for four wheel brakes. Pads, rotors and calipers. I used AAP because they were the only store in town with all the parts in stock. The next month she comes back with a horrible squeal. I spent an hour for the test drive, inspection and trying "Disc Brake Quiet" at the request of the store manager. Finally they relented and sent me a new set of brake pads and a new rotor (the noise was caused by a metallic chunk that wore a groove into the rotor, in less than 1000 miles). All I go out of that was $25.00. The following spring the gal brings it back to me because her pedal went to the floor and the next time she hit the pedal it was hard but the brakes were grinding. The inspection revealed that the Right inboard rear brake pad had delaminated and the backing plate was against the rotor. I called the store and was told, "Sorry no warranty. There must be something wrong in the brake system." The rest of the pads, all the way around were at a minimum of 80%. Just one had delaminated, on new calipers with brackets and new rotors. I asked the idiot what he proposed was wrong and all he could say was "No warranty. There has to be something wrong with the rest of the brake system." That was the last time I ever bought anything from AAP. By the way, I ate the cost of real quality brake pads to replace the APP trash so she would be happy.

As for your questions, I was never impressed with the wearever brake pads when I knew that was what was on the car. Noisy, poor feel and moderate performance. I use NAPA Adaptive One brake pads on my own stuff and love them. But they are prohibitively expensive in most cases. For my customers I try to use Wagner ThermoQuiet. In over 10 years of use I have had 3 noise complaints, and only one performance issue. Otherwise they perform well, have reasonable life, low dust, low noise and are reasonably priced. When I put brakes on a customer's vehicle I know that vehicle is on the road with my family. Your family may not be valuable enough to you to use top quality brake parts, but my family is too valuable to me to use cheap stuff on your car. Sure the garbage at the DIY stores probably performs well enough 80% of the time, but what about when that 4 year old rides his tricycle out in front of you unexpectedly and FEET matter. Do you want good enough, or do you want the best? The need for premium performance from your brakes may only come once in awhile, but when the difference between stopping in time with your heart pounding and a trip to the hospital is mere feet, I want the best. You can't always control how fast and hard you have to stop, so brakes and tires matter far more than people want to acknowledge. Because if they did, they couldn't by the cheapest thing available.

Your car wont' hurt anyone if it doesn't go, but it sure will if it won't WHOA!

rant over

I have tried several different brands. For a while I was using Bendix Globals. The pad itself is okay, the issue I had were the shims on the outside of the pad coming loose. They are only held on by some bent over tabs, and once the tabs are bent any which direction even the smallest bit, they squeal.

Right now i use the Duralast Gold from Autozone. They are a little more expensive, but the shims are held in place by rivets and cannot be removed. So far I have had 0 complaints from customers and I have installed them on dozens of cars.

My shop is in western NY state. 99% of rotors cannot be turned due to rust and pitting issues so all brake jobs get 2 new rotors (Napa Premium) and Napa SS pads, normally ceramic with new hardware. I can't really tell the difference between the Adaptive One pads and the Safety Stops, both are quiet and outlast the rotors. We put Napa ultra premium rotors on if the customer agrees, but they rust out in a couple years too. I've tried them all and the SS's are working well for us. On some imports we use OE from the dealer or the reboxed OE's from Napa. Calipers get cleaned up like new and lubed. Brake job is $240-$350 per axle but they don't come back. We re-do many $89.99 brake jobs from the local low-bidders - my customers want good brakes. We were using Thermoquiets but they tend to fall apart after 6 months or so. The Napa TS cheap pads squeal like crazy we stopped using them entirely. They have a new formula now according to the newsletter, but for $11 I'm not sold.

We live in the hills. We guarantee our pads won't squeak. We use Akebono or centric ceramics if possible. We charge for a brake inspection which includes a test drive, pulling all 4 wheels, measuring inboard, outboard pads, rotors, checking the master cylinder and brake lines. I see our brake jobs are a lot more money than the average. We pay the tech .3 for brake inspection and 1.4 for the brake job. I see I have been paying more than most of you. Our brake jobs, not counting rotors usually from $200 to $250 plus a hydraulic brake flush. If you believe in your value, you can sell it. We do a lot of redos from the $99 places. We don't lose many brake jobs.

How are you liking the Akebono pads (or are you even still using them)? I've tried them on a few cars and had mixed results. One I didn't like was on a LS430. The shims came glued on...CROOKED! Pad design on a LS430 is the style where 2 pins pass through the backing plate to hold the pads in place, so glued on freaking shims that don't line are kind of a pain.

I'm considering trying Advics(from worldpac) on the next brake job that comes through. Supposedly those are OEM for the cars I work on (Toyota and Lexus). I'll probably call my worldpac rep tomorrow and asking if he has any feedback on them.

Anyway, thanks!

Automotive Brake Pads

 

What is your preferred brand of automotive brake pads and why?

Who is the supplier of that brake pad to you?

What is the warranty on those pads?

Who manufactures those brake pads?

What grade are those brake pads, low end, mid, high end?

Are they ceramic, semi-metallic, organic, or blend?

We only use Akebono Ultra Premium brake pads. They are ceramic (No brake dust, and quiet). Our customers love them. Some track cars we use Hawk. We purchase them either through SSF or WorldPac.

I generally use whatever is OE. I have spoken to another shop friend who runs a general repair and he gets GREAT margins on some aftermarket brand pads with no complaints. I really wish I could go that route but I feel that my reputation wouldn't withstand a customer complaining about some aftermarket no name brand pad even if they quality.

Believe it or not the Duralast Gold pads have really been a non issue for us. No comebacks due to noise or performance. Easy to source, priced decent, easy. Example, on my hd3500 duramax I use OE pads because I use OE everything on my cars, they are $160 a set. They stop good and last forever. The golds are $40, stop about the same. They wear out quicker but not 4x quicker. They fit pretty good. No doubt the OE parts are the best fit, but I can't send every customer with a tight budget away if they can't afford the best.

Believe it or not the Duralast Gold pads have really been a non issue for us. No comebacks due to noise or performance. Easy to source, priced decent, easy. Example, on my hd3500 duramax I use OE pads because I use OE everything on my cars, they are $160 a set. They stop good and last forever. The golds are $40, stop about the same. They wear out quicker but not 4x quicker. They fit pretty good. No doubt the OE parts are the best fit, but I can't send every customer with a tight budget away if they can't afford the best.

Sometimes it may just be easier to give your customer options and let them decide after you explain the differences in them.

 

Sometimes it may just be easier to give your customer options and let them decide after you explain the differences in them.

I'm of the opinion that customers should almost always be given a choice. We don't know their personal/financial situation, nor their mentality or purchasing habits.

I've said before on here that at the minimum I feel a "good/better" choice should be given, if not a "good/better/best" choice.

Let them make the decision, it makes them feel like they have some control over a bad situation.

If they are selling the car within a year, do they really want or need OE parts? Probably not, unless that is their selling feature.

Are they giving the car to their kids? Maybe they would want the best -and safest- parts for their kids' car.

We do give customers a best/good/cheap choice on tires, brakes, suspension, pretty much any commodity service. I just don't advertise it. A customer that comes in for brakes gets a complete inspection and a quote for OE equivalent brakes. If they balk at it I offer the cheaper aftermarket choices, maybe I'll discount the whole job a little bit using the better parts or give away the brake flush or something. We never put garbage on cars, I can't afford the comebacks.

I have been using Bosch pads and rotors for the past 3 years. No come backs or issues. On some european we stick with textars and they are good also, but quite a bit more expensive.

We live in the hills. We guarantee our pads won't squeak. We use Akebono or centric ceramics if possible. We charge for a brake inspection which includes a test drive, pulling all 4 wheels, measuring inboard, outboard pads, rotors, checking the master cylinder and brake lines. I see our brake jobs are a lot more money than the average. We pay the tech .3 for brake inspection and 1.4 for the brake job. I see I have been paying more than most of you. Our brake jobs, not counting rotors usually from $200 to $250 plus a hydraulic brake flush. If you believe in your value, you can sell it. We do a lot of redos from the $99 places. We don't lose many brake jobs.

DITTO as You and I are close. Our brake job with centric ceramic pad kits with new hardware start at $295.00 per axle. Brake fluid flush was extra. Our brake jobs were proven to be quieter.

Lately my parts store started stocking beck arnley pads which are reboxed advics. The Advics fit perfect on imports.

We've had excellent success with the combo of Centric rotors and Autozone pads- (multi through ceramic).  Only complaints from customers have been a slight rust ring on the rotors, and from my techs, Honda's are a pain to fit tophats made by Centric.  Still looking for a good, safe, cheap and reliable generic from OEM for those customers on a budget for the rear on Honda's- thoughts would be appreciated!

We opened 5 1/2 yrs ago and have been using Autozone gold pads with the cheaper rotors. We get a package deal. Car and some SUVs are $79.95. Tucks and some SUVs are $99.95. We almost always do pads and rotors together. We may have had a few comebacks for noise over these years. The gold brake pads are made by Bosch.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Forgot to mention. Car brake jobs per axle, $225. Truck brake jobs per axle, $250. I don’t really mark up the rotors. It just makes for a quicker brake job.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I used to use Wagner ThermoQuiets on everything they were available for with great success.  Long life, quiet strong performance and low dusting and decent price.  Then I started having problems with Chrysler minivans, mushy pedal, poor stopping, even after a long test drive/bedding process.  Then I started having problems with the TQs on random cars & trucks.  My supplier carried the Centric line and while I won't use their wheel bearings and other products I have been very happy with the Centric PosiQuiet (the "super premium") brake pads.  I'm a little leery with lower price but I guess time will tell.  I put them on my own car for personal experience with them.  I used to use NAPA AdaptiveOne pads on my own cars and LOVED them.  Then I started getting pulsation in the brakes after about a year.  Now I am absolutely fanatical about proper cleaning, lubricating and installation of calipers, brackets and pad abutments as well as rotor LRO so I know the problem is not with my work.  So no more NAPA AD pads either.  I have had good luck so far with the NAPA SS pads.  They used to squeal badly but apparently they changed the formulation and I haven't had a noise complaint in several years from the ones I used the SS pads on.  But they are often 1/2 again as expensive as the PosiQuiets.

4 hours ago, PherBag said:

Forgot to mention. Car brake jobs per axle, $225. Truck brake jobs per axle, $250. I don’t really mark up the rotors. It just makes for a quicker brake job.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just out of curiosity, why do you give your services away?  From your admitted prices you are only making about $140 gross on a brake job that costs you at least $80 for parts.  Are you using a really big hammer to beat the brake pads into the brackets instead of cleaning the rust?   Do you clean the hubs and measure lateral runout or do you just throw on new rotors and call it good?  I don't mean to be a rectal unit but a proper brake job, performed properly takes time and costs money.  In other words the right job done the right way isn't fast or cheap but it is a long term value over a poorly performed cheap brake job. 

What I can never understand is why we as a profession treat something as serious as brakes like a loss leader.  First we GIVE AWAY our time with free brake inspections and then we cut our throats with discounted (CHEAP) brake jobs.  The only way a shop that advertises these cheap brake jobs makes them work out is either the cheap brake job is one that endangers every car on the road because it uses the poorest quality (Cheap) parts, isn't performed to proper standards or it's a leader and nobody gets out of the shop for the "cheap brake job."  We had a shop like that in my town, $129.95 Lifetime pads.  It is rumored from those who sold him parts, knew him or his employees, NOBODY got out of there for $129.95.  Every car needed rotors and calipers if not more.  Soon the only people going to him were those chasing the cheap price, had no money and wouldn't, no, couldn't buy the dishonest brake job.  And then the rest of us ended up trying to justify our HONEST $300 brake jobs.   "But 'he' will do it for $130."  When in reality "he" was trying to charge them $400 for the same job except he was trying to sell stuff that it didn't really need.  He closed up shop one Friday night and Monday morning his employees didn't know what happened when they showed up and the place was cleaned out and locked up.  Why are we afraid to charge an honest price for honest work?  What other profession is there that does that?  Lawyers? Plumbers? Electricians? Doctors? Landscapers? 

Techs get 1 hr per axle. They usually do it in maybe 40 min. They do a good job, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. We have a really good reputation to uphold.

I know it is a really good price. We don’t have a brake lathe, so I basically pass the price of the rotors onto the customer instead of making money on them. It would take a lot of brake jobs to pay for a lathe, plus replacing rotors makes it faster and able to get more jobs out in the long run. Just depends on how you look at it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We use centric Pads and rotors an about eveything except European cars, they get oem or akebono. 

I charge Motor book time for the job. I quiz and educate the customer on rotor pulsation and put the decision in their hands. I let them know if the rotors puulsate after we will put them on with in two weeks for no labor, never have to so far in 6 years.  If they need rotors I replace them at book time and let my parts matrix price them out. I also let my parts matrix price the pads. I get menu pricing from local parts house. With book time and parts matrix i pay 29.95 and charge about $170 on average. With rotors and added labor it is about 330

What is everyone using for brake pads and rotors these days?