My wife's 06 Impala is ready for brakes and I'm looking for suggestions as to what to put on it. I have gone back to organic pads on my Jimmy, because they stop it better, and since I don't put many miles on it, I'm not worried about longevity. Are the ceramic pads from AZ or OReilly's any good? She will probably be trading within a year so brake life is not a big factor, but I want them to stop as well as OEM. I was leaning toward the ceramic brakes because I hear they don't dust the wheels as badly, but I've also read that there can be a lot of difference in pads from different manufacturers. Any advice?
CK5
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Brake pad recommendations
- Thread starter driney
- Start date
what i was told was at az..duralast golds are equivelant to oem....
A lot of stores offer something "oem" that meaning they meet the oem manufacturer specs. Working in the parts field for 7 yrs now, I prefer a Wagner thermoquiet ceramic or semi-metallic. Or even better a Centric Posi-quite in the same flavors.
wagner ceramic # for '06 impala non police QC1159 retail at roughly $65.00
Centric posi-quiet semi met 104.1159 ceramic 105.1159
wagner ceramic # for '06 impala non police QC1159 retail at roughly $65.00
Centric posi-quiet semi met 104.1159 ceramic 105.1159
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
I had a problem with those organic pads at one time in the Burb, was cruising down the freeway, the whole back end of the truck loaded with packages, was doing deliveries with it at the time,, got off the offramp of the freeway from about 70mph, in the 1/4 mile or so of offramp, by the time i got to the stoplight at the end, my brake pedal had gotten spongy and faded pretty significatly. I know this wasn't a brake fluid issue, as i had never had this problem with other pads i ran.
I eventually switched to (at the time) carbon metallic pads Autozone was elling, loved them, worked great, even better when heated.
I was also told though, that with ceramic pads, they don't tend to work as well, until they are used a few times during a driving session, and they get heated up. Guess they were originally designed on racing applications. Now maybe they have changed the compound some for street use, but currently i am using the Autozone Duralast Golds, and have had no issues with them, they are nice and quiet as well. Using them on both trucks, the Burb has them on all four wheels
I tend to keep my vehicles for a long period of time, so i bought the better pads they offered, with the lifetime warranties, love that warranty
I eventually switched to (at the time) carbon metallic pads Autozone was elling, loved them, worked great, even better when heated.
I was also told though, that with ceramic pads, they don't tend to work as well, until they are used a few times during a driving session, and they get heated up. Guess they were originally designed on racing applications. Now maybe they have changed the compound some for street use, but currently i am using the Autozone Duralast Golds, and have had no issues with them, they are nice and quiet as well. Using them on both trucks, the Burb has them on all four wheels
I tend to keep my vehicles for a long period of time, so i bought the better pads they offered, with the lifetime warranties, love that warranty
I've used PosiQuiet (think that's the name) on various vehicles with good success. I wouldn't hesitate using again. I've also used Nissan OEM and ACDelco OEM with similar feelings. I don't care about brake dust, I like an aggressive pad that's wont eat rotors. As far as materials these pads use, I haven't a clue 
personally I've always been scetchy using aftermarket pads, especially the lifetime ones. I've done brake jobs on a couple other vehicles where the rotors are eaten away with lots of pad left.
personally I've always been scetchy using aftermarket pads, especially the lifetime ones. I've done brake jobs on a couple other vehicles where the rotors are eaten away with lots of pad left.
Cornfield creations
1/2 ton status
I prefer monroe- We sell TONS of them, and I have never had one complaint on squeaks or dust- I say stick to what OEM put on as far as semi-metallic or ceramic.
I also say EBC too
I would say never durolast or wearever brands. Junk and a waste of time and money. We have more customers coming in complaining about those cheap pads, and they leave happy with their better pads.
I also say EBC too
I would say never durolast or wearever brands. Junk and a waste of time and money. We have more customers coming in complaining about those cheap pads, and they leave happy with their better pads.
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
why's that, because it's what YOU sell and have to recommend?
there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the Duralast brand brake pad, if they're installed properly they are a good pad with no noise. It's kinda why i keep reusing them????
Now their cheaper brand, Valucraft, yes, stay away from those.
Cornfield creations
1/2 ton status
why's that, because it's what YOU sell and have to recommend?
there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the Duralast brand brake pad, if they're installed properly they are a good pad with no noise. It's kinda why i keep reusing them????
Now their cheaper brand, Valucraft, yes, stay away from those.
Why is that bad to recommend something a shop sells? We put these on our own vehicles. We got turned onto these pads due to the fact they are excellent brake pads. We have sold hundreds of sets and not had one return on them. That to me sounds like a good enough reason. We have installed duralast pads because the customer brought his own in and insisted on using them. Guess what, time and time again they came back with issues of noise and heavy dust on the wheels.
The original poster asked on brake pads brands, I simply put in my two cents.
i went with organic... the ceramic cost more and they grip into the rotor more. as a result it wears down the rotor more. just my 2 cents i've had no problems with organic
CGT80
1/2 ton status
I use Hawk HPS compound pads ($60 or so from summit racing) front and rear on my 79 c20. They seem to give more aggressive braking as hawk advertises and they were good on my rotors (good stock style rotors on front and powerslot on rear 14b ff). My last set lasted around two years which is 40k or so miles. I tow a heavy trailer on occasion and they work well for that. Dust is evident, but they don't squeak. I do my own brake work and have my uncle turn my rotors for me.
My friend used hawk pads and liked them and his superduty truck has powerslot rotors which seem to have held up better than the ford rotors.
Hawk has ceramic also, as well as compounds for racing, severe duty, and luxury cars.
My friend used hawk pads and liked them and his superduty truck has powerslot rotors which seem to have held up better than the ford rotors.
Hawk has ceramic also, as well as compounds for racing, severe duty, and luxury cars.
Back when I had my '81 G-10 van on the road,that has NO power brakes,I always felt the brakes sucked--when you went down a lot of hills or had to make a panic stop,I had to litterally stand on the pedal and the van would slow down,but it felt as though you'd never be able to lock up the wheels if you had too!..like the calipers or wheel cylinders were seized up ...I put rebuilt calipers on it,along with new rotors,mettalic pads, and brake hoses (when one caliper refused to stop dragging !) and there was little if any improvement in braking power--if anything it was a tad worse!..
One day a Bendix rep came in the parts store I worked at,and he was giving us a speil about how much better Bendix pads were over the other cheaper brands we carried...I had used Hampden pads,we sols Bendix,Wagner & Hampden,along with a cheapie line of "Gaurdian" pads...
I mentioned to him I'd recently installed a set of mettalic Hampden pads on my van,and how I thought the brakes sucked worse than ever..he asked if it had powrer brakes,I said no,its one of very few vans I've ever seen with manual brakes!..and he said "well,if you dont have power brakes,ORGANIC pads are reccomended as OEM replacements--he pointed out in the catalog listings the *star* nest to the part number meant mettalic pads were optional for vehicles with POWER brakes,if I had borthered to read the footnote!..he gave me a set of Bendix organic pads and wrote them off as "defective" and told me to try them,and let him know how the vanb felt with organics..he explained vehicles with large rotors over 11" dont get that hot,and mettalic pads NEED heat to get the best results from them..
First day I installed the pads,I went for a ride to my brothers ,82 miles away...on my way home,coming down a long grade,some moron pulled out in front of me--I stepped on the brakes hard and fast,and to my surprise,the front wheels locked up,and I came to a screeching halt faster than ever bofore!..I never could lock the wheels before no matter how hard I pushed on the pedal,it was like the pads were glazed over and had no friction...the organice really made a big difference...
I didn't care if they might not last as long as mettallics,I'd rather be able to STOP in time...I dont drive 30K miles a year anyway,I'm lucky if I go 5000 a year in any of my vehicles...
One day a Bendix rep came in the parts store I worked at,and he was giving us a speil about how much better Bendix pads were over the other cheaper brands we carried...I had used Hampden pads,we sols Bendix,Wagner & Hampden,along with a cheapie line of "Gaurdian" pads...
I mentioned to him I'd recently installed a set of mettalic Hampden pads on my van,and how I thought the brakes sucked worse than ever..he asked if it had powrer brakes,I said no,its one of very few vans I've ever seen with manual brakes!..and he said "well,if you dont have power brakes,ORGANIC pads are reccomended as OEM replacements--he pointed out in the catalog listings the *star* nest to the part number meant mettalic pads were optional for vehicles with POWER brakes,if I had borthered to read the footnote!..he gave me a set of Bendix organic pads and wrote them off as "defective" and told me to try them,and let him know how the vanb felt with organics..he explained vehicles with large rotors over 11" dont get that hot,and mettalic pads NEED heat to get the best results from them..
First day I installed the pads,I went for a ride to my brothers ,82 miles away...on my way home,coming down a long grade,some moron pulled out in front of me--I stepped on the brakes hard and fast,and to my surprise,the front wheels locked up,and I came to a screeching halt faster than ever bofore!..I never could lock the wheels before no matter how hard I pushed on the pedal,it was like the pads were glazed over and had no friction...the organice really made a big difference...
I didn't care if they might not last as long as mettallics,I'd rather be able to STOP in time...I dont drive 30K miles a year anyway,I'm lucky if I go 5000 a year in any of my vehicles...
