Ceramic Pads vs. Semi-Metallic for street use

[deadmeat]

I'm looking at replacing my pads and rotors. I drive a 79 spider. The pads rattle a good bit and don't stop me very well, so I figure they need to be changed. I want to upgrade the rotors at the same time. It's my daily driver, so I need the brakes to work well under all road conditions both cold and hot. I also want to avoid any squeals. I saw the ceramic pads on IAP and am leaning that direction, but a friend suggested they wouldn't work well cold. What's my best bet and why?

[Kent124]

How's that master cylinder look? That can keep the car from stopping well.

[deadmeat]

The master cylinder appears to be in good condition. There are no leaks in that area. The stops are "acceptable" at this point, but I was hoping to shorten the stopping distance. Of course, this is my first spider, so I am not sure what "normal" really is with this, but my 2002 Dodge Durango stops better than my spider. I do know that I need to replace the front pads and that one of my rear calipers is leaking by the e-brake connection. I have the caliper rebuild kit on order. Hoping to add pads to that order soon. Thanks.

[maytag]

ceramic pads work just fine. great actually. They create less dust, and are less prone to vibration (which is one source of squeal)
They do not require any warm-up period to work well. But they DO require a proper bed-in procedure. the box will have instructions for that.

I'd suggest take a look at Allison's Automotive. Mark sells EBC rotors and pads that'll be the best upgrade you could make to rotors & pads. Additionally, look at his braided lines. that's another good place to create improvement.

[Kent124]

Additionally, look at his braided lines.

+1 on stainless steel braided brake hoses.

[deadmeat]

I'm a shade tree mechanic and honestly everything I know I've kind of figured out by doing it or reading it. Why do braided steel lines improve performance? Not sure I understand how that works. Thanks.

[So Cal Mark]

the pads should not rattle! They may be missing the hardware that makes them fit snugly into the bracket. This won't affect stopping, but they will be noisy. Ceramic is fine for street use.
The braided steel hoses affect pedal feel, the rubber hoses expand a bit under pressure and give the pedal a softer feel. Plus, the braided hoses will outlast the rubber by a loooong time

[deadmeat]

Thanks Mark. I have the anti-rattle springs on order too. I knew from reading that I was probably dealing with an issue on those. Since I am fairly competent with brakes and rotors, I decided to start my repairs/upgrades with these. I appreciate the short explanation on the hoses. That makes sense to me.

[124ADDHE]

I dont know what pads were on my spider prior but i replaced them with the EBC yellowstuff pads from allison automotive and it was well worth the money, these are excellent pads with lots of grip and the more they heat up the better the grip gets (im sure they fade eventually); My car has no booster so the pressure required is noticeably less with these pads to lockup the tires.

I also find with these brakes that it is super important to use a high-temp grease on the caliper sliders, if done every oil change you will be rewarded with a noticeable increase in fuel economy as these calipers are very prone to a light drag.

[kustom]

The braided lines from Allison's are great. Vast improvement in pedal feel.

[opus10583]

Hi,

Just how low-dust are the EBC Green pads, and is there anything to be gained from running the GD041 rotors on the rear of a 124 Spider?

Thanks,
Mark