Know Your Choices When Getting Your Brakes Done
Posted on: 7 January 2016
When people take their cars in for brake work, they often don't realize that they have a choice as to the type of brake pads used. The car repair shop uses the standard pads in most cars that come in for service. The brake pads you choose can affect your driving experience. Here are the differences in the types of pads available and how they will impact your driving.
Semi-Metallic Pads
These are the standard pads installed on your car if you don't specify a different type. These brake pads are made of metal fibers bonded to a resin base. The metals used include copper, steel, iron and graphite. The pads can be made from one metal or a combination of metals.
The variations in semi-metallic pads come from the size of the metal fibers used. The smaller the metal fibers, the quieter the pad is. These are also the most expensive variations. Large, coarse fibers are used in the less expensive pads. These pads will also wear down your rotors faster.
All semi-metallic brake pads need to warm up before they are at their peak efficiency. These pads also tend to create a fine black dust that coats the wheels and other nearby parts of the car.
Non-Asbestos Organic (NAO)
These brake pads have no metal in them and are made of glass, rubber or Kevlar fibers embedded in a resin base. They are quieter than the semi-metallic brakes but they still produce a fine dust on the car. These pads have a softer touch so they are good for city driving where there is a lot of stop-and-go traffic. They also need little warm up, so you have peak performance from them right as you get on the road. The NAO pads are a little more expensive than semi-metallic and they do wear out faster.
Low-Metallic NAO
This pad combines the features of the semi-metallic and NAO pads. This is an NAO pad with small metal fibers in it to help with braking and the dissipation of heat caused by the friction of the pads on the rotors. They are noisier and they create more dust than NAO pads. This is a good pad where you need to drive in temperature extremes. They are more expensive than the basic NAO pad, but they do last longer.
Ceramic Pads
These brake pads are made with ceramic fibers embedded in the resin base. They produce little dust and they wear out very slowly. They also wear out the rotors faster so you'll need to have more frequent brake inspections than with the other brake pads. These pads work best at a moderate range of temperatures. They are a good choice for use on luxury cars that are only driven in the city because these pads are cleaner. These are the most expensive brake pads available.
For more information, talk to a business like Dean's Automotive Service Center.
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