Brake pads are one of your car's most important but misunderstood parts. They have the undeniably important task of safely slowing down your vehicle, but brake pads are far from uniform. Browsing FCP Euro’s website pages will bring up a vast array of brake pads and compounds like ceramic, organic, and semi-metallic, each being different. They vary in material, heat resistance, durability, longevity, and overall stopping power, and there are more than likely multiple options for your vehicle. Keep reading to find out which are the best brake pads for you.
Chances are, the brake pads that came with your car from the factory are organic compound brake pads. In an organic brake pad, various organic components such as carbon, kevlar, glass, and rubber are bound together with a high-temperature resin. These OEM and Genuine brake pads are often called Non-Asbestos Organic (NAO) brake pads, which differentiates them from cheaper organic pads that still use asbestos as a friction component due to the health risks associated with it.
Most brake pads that are not labeled explicitly as semi-metallic or ceramic are organic brake pads. Because of the different mixes of different organic compounds, performance, price, and quality can vary significantly. The only real rule is that organic compound pads have less than 30% metallic content.
An organic compound brake pad offers the driver sure stopping power, with a strong initial bite and quiet, smooth operation. This means that organic brake pads are less likely to squeak and squeal than some other types. Organic brake pads also tend to be fairly gentle on brake rotors, but the brake pads themselves wear out more quickly than other options.
Like any BMW, Mercedes, Audi, or VW owner will also tell you, organic brake pad compounds tend to be very dusty, with the dark and sticky dust as evidence of the carbon and kevlar compounds used in these pads. Organic brake pads generally don’t work well over very wide temperature ranges and will lose stopping power quickly or “fade” once they get too hot. An organic brake pad is also more compressible than ceramic or semi-metallic compounds, which means they are more likely to feel soft or ‘mushy’ under heavy braking.
If you are looking to maintain factory-like braking performance for a reasonable price and don’t mind the brake dust, organic compound brake pads are an excellent choice for many German car drivers. They’re more than likely the type of brake pads that your car came with from the factory. Many of the brake kits sold by FCP Euro include organic compound pads from OE suppliers such as Textar, Akebono, ATE, and Pagid. These all offer genuine performance for a fraction of the price.
Although organic brake pads are not as good in performance applications as semi-metallic, there are performance-oriented organic brake pads. EBC YellowStuff, for example, is an example of a performance organic brake pad. They offer a strong cold bite and generally good performance with relatively low noise but produce a good amount of dust. However, when they are pushed beyond their operating range, such as in heavy track use, the brake pad will lose pedal feel, wear more quickly, and lose stopping power until it cools.
What Are Hybrid & Advanced Organic Brake Pads?
Many of the popular modern performance brake pads could be classified as a new kind of pad that technically falls under an organic label due to its core materials but offers higher performance than a traditional organic brake pad. Many Hawk brake pads, for example, are comprised of their “ferro-carbon” compound. Depending on the exact formula, Hawk sport brake pads may have a mix of organic, metallic, and ceramic components to optimize daily performance, increase high-temperature performance, or reduce dust.
Another type of hybrid organic brake pad includes Para-Aramid compounds. Para-Aramid brake pads have a higher metallic content than typical organic pads, along with kevlar and Aramid-2, a synthetic fiber designed to replace asbestos. They tend to have very stable and consistent torque characteristics over a wide temperature range and further blur the line between what we think of when it comes to an organic pad. Stoptech Sport brake pads are one of the more popular Para-Aramid-based brake pads.
Organic Brake Pad Advantages | Organic Brake Pad Disadvantages |
Quiet operation (less likely to squeal) | Dusty (dark and usually sticks to wheels) |
Strong initial bite for confident braking | Pads wear more quickly |
Rotor-friendly - will not heavily wear brake rotors | Narrow performance range; doesn’t like to be overheated |
Strong value - usually less expensive than other compounds | Traditionally has less pedal feel, but hybrid compounds are changing the rules |
What Are Semi-Metallic Brake Pads?
As you might assume from their name, semi-metallic brake pads have a much higher content of metal components in the brake pad material than organic-type brake pads. A semi-metallic brake pad is typically made of various metals, including copper, iron, steel, and graphite, and again, bound together with a high-temperature resin.
Thanks to their higher metal content, a semi-metallic brake pad offers a much less compressible brake pad material, which means a firmer pedal for the driver, especially in heavy braking situations. They can also provide much higher performance over a wider temperature range than an organic pad, making them ideal for performance use. Despite this, semi-metallics still typically offer strong cold-stopping power, making them one of the most versatile brake pads when it comes to high-performance streetcars. Semi-metallic brake pads usually offer increased brake torque and stopping power as temperatures increase up to their design limit.
A side-effect of their higher braking power and higher metallic content means that semi-metallic brake pads are going to be harder on your brake rotors than an organic or ceramic compound. If you’re taking advantage of the FCP Euro Lifetime Replacement Guarantee and replacing your brake rotors under our lifetime warranty, this isn’t so much of a concern, but it is something to be aware of when it comes to service life.
Similarly to organic brake pads, semi-metallic pads do tend to be fairly dusty, but the amount of dust can depend quite a bit on the exact brake compound and manufacturer. It’s also more likely for them to squeal or make noise, but occasional noise is usually an acceptable trade-off for those looking for maximum performance.
Some of the best sports cars on the market come with semi-metallic brake pads, so if you own a high-performance Porsche, BMW, or Mercedes, a semi-metallic may be the best choice for you. The Ferodo DS2500 is a semi-metallic brake pad that is a true dual-purpose street and track-pad. If you have a highly modified hot-hatch like a VW GTI or daily driver that you also use for weekend track days or autocross, the DS2500 is one of the best choices around. If you're not going to be hitting the track, then grabbing an OE-type semi-metallic pad, like a QuietCast, from Bosch is a better option. They're ECE R90 approved, but as an OEM, they'll be less expensive than a Genuine or OE equivalent.
Semi-metallic Brake Pad Advantages | Semi-metallic Brake Pad Disadvantages |
Top performer - many high-performance and racing brake pads are semi-metallic | Harder on brake rotors than organic or ceramic brake pads |
Wide operating temperature range, increased brake torque as temps go up | Dusty, usually falls between an organic and ceramic pad |
Less compressible for better brake feel | More likely to squeal or make noise |
Excellent initial bite and cold performance | More expensive than organic brake pads |
What Are Ceramic Brake Pads?
Ceramic brake pads are a relative newcomer to brake pad technology. Thanks to major players like Akebono, ceramic brakes are fairly well-known and widely distributed today. Compromised mainly of ceramic materials, a bonding agent, and copper fibers, ceramic brake pads offer ideal street performance, with a few notable benefits over organic pad compounds.
First, quality ceramic brake pads are typically firm in terms of compressibility, meaning that you’ll have a firmer brake pedal than an organic pad, similar to a semi-metallic. Secondly, ceramic brake pads are very long-wearing, and in normal use, drivers will see many more miles with a ceramic compound than either organic or semi-metallic ones. Lastly, because they’re so hard and long-wearing, ceramic brake pads produce very little brake dust, and whatever dust they do produce is very light in color and tends not to stick to wheels like organic and semi-metallic dust. Despite their durability, ceramic brake pads are very rotor-friendly and help to extend your brake service intervals.
Ceramic pads also tend to make little to no noise. Because of their lighter materials, the resonance we hear as squealing with other compounds is at a higher pitch and, therefore, out of our hearing range. Basically, humans don’t hear it.
Of course, as with anything, ceramic brake compounds have a few downsides. While ceramic brake pads tend to have a fairly wide operating range, they usually aren’t ideal as a high-performance or racing brake pad and aren’t as durable if you push them beyond their maximum operating range. They also can have less bite and poor cold performance, meaning that when you first apply the brakes, especially in cold weather, you’ll notice less immediate stopping power.
Ceramic brake pads are also the most expensive to produce, which brings us to another talking point: Perhaps more than any other brake pad compound, the quality of a ceramic brake pad is extremely important. Many of the lowest-cost generic options on the market may offer significantly less stopping power than a quality ceramic compound like a Bosch QuietCast or Akebono brake pad.
Ceramic brake compounds are a perfect choice for European car owners who want a very low-dust, long-wearing, and consistently performing brake pad.
Ceramic Brake Pad Advantages | Ceramic Brake Pad Disadvantages |
Extremely low dust, quiet operation | Typically more expensive |
Long-wearing and durable | Weaker initial bite |
Less compressible for better brake feel | Not ideal as a performance brake pad |
Consistent stopping power over a wide temperature range | Low-quality ceramic pads offer low dust, but little stopping power (quality matters) |
How To Read Brake Pad Friction Codes
Another tool you can use when picking your pad is the edge code. Every brake pad has a universal code stamped on the back, allowing for identification outside its original packaging. The code can tell you a few things, but in this case, you only need to look for the two letters following the number sequence. Either letter can be C-H or Z for an unclassified figure. They represent the “friction rating,” in other words, the “grabbiness” or the bite of the pad (coefficient of friction measured in Mu), at varying temperatures. The first letter represents the standard temperature operating range for a pad (200-400°F), while the second is what’s defined as the hot operating range (300-650°F).
FRICTION COEFFICIENT | CODE |
Up to 0.15 | C |
Over 0.15 up to 0.25 | D |
Over 0.25 up to 0.35 | E |
Over 0.35 up to 0.45 | F |
Over 0.45 up to 0.55 | G |
Over 0.55 | H |
Unclassified | Z |
As explained above, the brake pad compound has a massive effect on the sort of situations it’s best used for. These codes give quantifiable meaning to those explanations and should help you determine which pad will work best for your application. In reality, these codes represent the most important characteristics of your pads. Choose the one that’ll stop you best and most consistently before worrying about pad life and dust production.
Ultimately, the best brake pads for you depend on your car type and how you drive it. Are you interested in something that offers low dust, consistent stopping, and long life for your daily commute? Are you looking for the lowest price, or do you want ultimate stopping power on the street or the track? By reviewing your ‘must-have’ features and benefits along with the characteristics of ceramic, organic, and semi-metallic brake pads, you should be able to find the perfect pad for your German car.
If you have any questions about how to choose a brake pad for your car after reading, leave them in the comments section below.
