Brake Pads

I have a set of high performance Ceramic Brake pads already by Friction Master.

I’m looking to buy a set of rear performance brake pads for my rear end. The brakes are made by Hawk’s & I’m stuck on either their ceramic brakes or the other high performance brakes. They both have the same amount of thickness and are the same brand. Here are the 2 links….

http://www.amazon.com/Hawk-Performance-HB112F-540-HPS-Brake/dp/B000CO71W4/ref=au_pf_ss_13?ie=UTF8&n=15684181&s=automotive&carId=001

http://www.amazon.com/Hawk-Performance-HB112Z-540-Ceramic-Brake/dp/B000CO71XI/ref=au_pf_ss_14?ie=UTF8&n=15684181&s=automotive&carId=001

It would be OK to have different pads on the front and year but the ceramic pads would be the better choice unless you intend to be doing a lot of hard stopping from high speed. Ceramic pads are quieter, produce less dust which might damage the finish on the car and wheels, and do not wear away the rotors. The other pads are semi-metallic which might give a bit more stopping power and will last longer but they will wear the rotors away faster and produce more noise. I doubt you would get much benefit from semimetallic brakes in the rear because the rear brakes usually less than 30% of the brake force.

There are four general types of brake pads for cars:

Ceramic: These are composed of ceramic fibers, nonferrous filler materials, bonding agents, and possibly small amounts of metal. Lighter in color and more expensive than other Brake Pads, ceramic pads are cleaner and quieter, and offer excellent braking characteristics without wearing down the rotors.

Semimetallic: This formula, containing about 30 to 65 percent metal, typically includes chopped steel wool or wire, iron powder, copper or graphite mixed with inorganic fillers, and friction modifiers that bond all the ingredients together. These pads are more durable and have excellent heat transfer, but also wear down rotors faster, can be noisy, and may not perform optimally at low temperatures.

Nonasbestos organic: Sometimes listed as organic or NAO, this type of pad is made from fibers, such as glass, rubber, carbon, and Kevlar, with filler materials and high-temperature resins. These pads are softer and create less noise, but they wear faster and create more dust.

Low-metallic NAO: These are made from an organic formula mixed with small amounts (10 to 30 percent) of copper or steel to help with heat transfer and provide better braking. With the added metal, there is more brake dust and they may be slightly noisier.

In the United States, the Big Three are experiencing financial problems due to reduced sales as Japanese brands had increased their stake in the U.S. auto market. These problems have resulted to a massive workforce reduction. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler also closed down plants and reduced working hours and production to recover from losses that they suffered.

But the U.S.’ Big Three are not the only car companies which have announced that they will be cutting down jobs. Nissan, the third largest Japanese car company, has recently announced that they will be implementing a voluntary retirement program which will reduce their workforce by as much as 1,500 blue and white collar jobs.

The said program will commence in June this year. It will be available for workers aged 45 years old or older and holding non-managerial positions. The said program is the effect of declining domestic sales for Nissan. In Japan, the sale of non-mini vehicles is experiencing a sharp decline as the demand decreases and the competition grows stronger.

Aside from the retirement program, Nissan will also be reducing their production in two of their assembly plants in Japan. This announcement came after the Japanese company announced that they will be opening new plants in Japan to meet the demand in the United States. Last September, the woes being faced by Nissan led to the closing down of one of the three lines at one of their facility in Southern Japan. In the United States, Nissan also resorted to offering early retirement program to recover from the losses it has incurred the past year.

Last year, Nissan suffered terrible losses and especially during the last quarter of 2006. During that period, the Japanese brand posted 22 percent reduction in terms of sales compared to 2005. It is only in recent months that Nissan appeared to be gaining popularity once again among American car buyers as their sales figure has been increasing month after month. This improvement on their sales in the United States may be the result of the turnaround plan being implemented by Nissan.

Currently, under the restructuring plan, Nissan aims to sell 4.2 million vehicles all over the world until the year 2009. If Nissan’s sales performance for the first months of 2007 is an indication of what’s in store for them, the success may act as efficient EBC Greenstuff Brake Pads are in arresting Nissan’s downward slide.

One of the reasons for the declining Nissan sales in the United States and in Japan is the scarcity of models. This means that consumers have fewer choices with Nissan unlike Honda and Toyota which offers a wide range of exciting vehicles. In the United States, Nissan’s inability to provide hybrid vehicles has hurt them and let Honda and Toyota leave them behind. To turn their fate around, Nissan announced that they will be offering a diesel powered Nissan vehicle in the year 2010. Nissan has also offered a Nissan Altima Hybrid for the 2007 model year.

Anthony Fontanelle
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/nissan-to-cut-down-jobs-in-japan-138468.html

Brake Pads on the car (2001 Forester Subaru) are thicker than the ones that were purchased at the store.

No, as long as there is pad left on them , there OK !

My brakes are getting worn out. I think I need to change the Brake Pads. The mileage is 38000 (I have already changed the rotors and pads at 15000). So my question is
Do I do it at Honda Service or Meineke or Advance Auto Parts. Can someone please suggest the best place for Brake services and also their experiences. Btw I’m at Columbia, MD
Also please recommend any other good brake specialists

Any place is fine. I know Merlin’s has a really good deal where you get free pads for 200k and rotors for 25k (must pay labor). Honda is more expensive.

I have removed the caliper bolts and pushed the pistons back, but I cant get the inside pad away fron the pistons.

You remove the pads before pushing the pistons back. Look at the new pads to see if they "hook" into the pistons somehow. And you want to do the job safely, so the shop manual is a lot cheaper than sheet metal.

have a 01 ranger. have already turned rotors down once. it only has 30,000 miles. now i bought the best grade of rotor. which is the better pad, ceramic or metallic. never have had any luck with ford ranger brakes. i think their junk. but thats another story. one person says us ceramic another says metallic. i don’t really care which one i use even if metallic creates more dust, if it is better on the rotor i will use it. anybody got a clue why the rotors are not lasting. i am in no way hard on brakes. is it the material (rotor) or is it something out of square or parallalism

Whichever one Ford recommends installing is the best one to use. Ceramic pads on a vehicle intended for SM’s are going to eat rotors. Ceramic pads are also not common on truck fitments because they are more heat sensitive.

You can get them at www.hawkpadsdirect.com

If what you need is not listed yet email gdkng@yahoo.com for pricing.

Gary King

Asbestos is the Greek term given to a group of fibrous materials that are derived from metamorphic rocks. Asbestos fibers have been used for many different purposes throughout history. Asbestos is a very heat and fire resistant material; meaning that it is fireproof. Because of its heat resistant properties, it was once used to make candlewicks, Brake Pads for automobiles, and fireproof materials such as blankets and other types of clothing normally worn by fire fighters. It was also used in many buildings that were built before 1980 because of its heat resistant and insulating properties.

However, it did not matter how fireproof the asbestos materials was in the past or in the present, it still was responsible for killing thousands of people. It protected the victims from being burned on the outside, however the damage that the asbestos did to the lungs and the inside parts of the body are innumerable.

Asbestos is known to cause a condition known as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is the deadliest illness known to man. The average life expectancy of someone who has mesothelioma is about 24 months. There are thousands of reported cases of mesothelioma every year; and the only known cause of the disease is asbestos. It has been proven that the victims of mesothelioma are those who worked long, hard years in America’s factories, mines, construction and other laborious jobs.

The asbestos that they breathed in while working on the job is the known cause of mesothelioma. The particles that they breathed in while working slowly deteriorated the lining of their lung and hearts and eventually lead to cancer. The sad thing about this disease is that the companies that these heard working men and women worked for knew about the dangers of asbestos to the human body and did nothing to protect their employees. These men and women would work all day while breathing asbestos. They would then bring the particles home with them on their clothes and put their spouses and children in danger of asbestos exposure.

Thousands of people today have been exposed to asbestos and are finding that mesothelioma is starting to develop. Mesothelioma is not a disease that suddenly occurs. It is a disease that results after years of breathing in the asbestos particles and fibers. It is estimated that some people can breathe asbestos fiber for as long as 30-40 years before mesothelioma can occur. If you or your loved one has been exposed to asbestos and the company did nothing to protect its employees from the dangers of asbestos, you may choose to seek compensation and file a lawsuit.

So, although asbestos is a fireproof material that is useful in many things, it is neither useful nor fireproof inside the human body. Asbestos can protect one on the outside, but it can also kill on the inside.

Nick Johnson
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/asbestos-the-fireproof-people-killer-98729.html

Hawk brand front disc pads for my 02 accord SE sedan 4-cyl. have different thicknesses on different sites. I’m getting ready to replace my front rotors and pads for the first time on my own. The different thickness I find are .660 and .620. I think that’s 6.6 and 6.2 mm but both sites say it fits my exact car. If that’s the case, should I get the thicker one at the same price to last longer?

If you can’t get a set of 5MM type with metallic type of Brake Pads go with the thicker type this will just give you longer life of a pad. such as the 660 type.But it also has to do with the space between the caliper and rotor for space for them to fit on each side of the rotor.But overall there’s not much differences for both of them for you to use.They all wear down over time and use.A word for a tip to keep your rotors from warping is to use a torque wrench when you go to put your wheels back on and tighten them down also use the torque setting for the type of wheels you have this will keep the rotors from warping from heat and cold from each time you use the brakes and let them cool when your not using them from each stop.If your rotors are not worn down or have grooves in the and can be machined i would use them before going out and buying new ones.Just take them to a machine shop to have them checked for warping and to see if they can be used before you go buy new rotors.hgm20002000@yahoo.com