Got a jcwhitney catalog and saw these in there. I am planning on changing the pads soon and was wondering about these. http://www.jcwhitney.com/item.jhtml?ITEMID=51673

 

I hear they work awesome and they last a long time, however they eat rotors. Brakes are designed so that the sacrificial part (the pads) are the cheapest and easiest to replace. These pads are actually constructed of a friction material that is harder than the rotor therefore the rotor wears out faster. Good for racing applications, not good for a family man with a budget minded wife

-Jon

 

If you plan to keep the truck, go to the local Autozone store. $35-50 for a set of pads with a lifetime warranty. They have problems, return them for a new set. You run the pads down to the metal, return them for a new set. Best deal right there!

 

What you want to look for in a set of brakes is the friction co-efficient, ie, the higher the number, the more friction is created, the better the braking power with less pedal effort. Less effort means less generated heat because the shorter appliaction period allows the heat to dissipate faster, keeping the rotors cooler. The Titanium pads my Met-X (if I remember right) are a good pad, but not what you would consider a racing application type material. A little heavy duty than oem lining.

I personally use very heavy coefficient linings on all my vehicles (both shoes & pads), ranging in applications from 1965 Mustang to my wifes 1997 Cougar Sport V8, 4 wheel disc. In drum applications, the linings last between 80,000-100,000 miles. With disc, I have not worn a set out yet on any of our vehicles (65,000 on my truck, about 50% worn), on the original rotors. Years ago when my wife had a Celica GT, she was very, very hard on the brakes and she would wear out the pads in about 40,000 miles, the rears would go about 60,000.

The linings I have used or are using are:

Velva Touch (Mfg Wellman Industries)
Carbo-Tech Engineering.

CTE's lining I am very impressed with. The braking efficiency is about 20% greater than OEM, produces less dust to the point that I can go up to 2 weeks before washing the rims.

These linings are initially costly, about $120 a set. But when I calculate purchasing pads, turning rotors and replacing rotors every other pad change, they are cost effective. But remember when the linings are gone, the rotors/drums will have to be replaced, the calipers rebuilt, etc.

 

You got me really lost beechkid.

 

I just put a set of these on my 97 Ford F150 XLT 4x4.

They create quite a bit of brake dust on the exterior of the wheels. But, they brake really well.
I haven't noticed any considerable wear yet, I've only had them on for about 6K miles.

 

the ford pads are made out of grade 8 material, the highest grade out there, they cost me about 80 dollars because I get everything at cost, but these pads are better then albany or whatever else there is out there at those auto zones or gateways. Unless you go with titanium stuff, but that is too expensive for me cause I go through pads to fast, i drive 3k a month. oh well just a little info...

 

I was checking the brakes on the 95 F150 I had since I was going on a long trip pulling a pop-up camper. The pads were the original ones and they were a POS. They were flaking and rusting. Braking was much better after I changed them.