Hello everyone,

I am needing to replace the brake pads on my 2008 Gt/CS and am looking for some advice. I do not track my car so I do not need anything too aggressive and want minimal brake dust. I do prefer semi metallic.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

I recently bought BOSCH brake pads, but they are Ceramic. What is the difference with semi metallic?

 

From my understanding semi metallic are going to be less aggressive. I have only used ceramic pads once and did not really like the feel of them. Now that could have been just the brand or maybe I did not break them in properly. Do you like the Bosch pads VGM ?

 

I used hawk pads on my 06 and liked them alot. Check out their web site or various vendors on the web

 

Glen,
Hawks are great pads. I have used them on race cars and they always produced a lot of dust. Have you had a lot of brake dust ?

 

It could very well be the brand but from my experience these Bosch pads are very nice After breaking them in they have really nice bite to them and I stop pretty quickly. Brake dust isn't anything horrible but it's there.
Actually my left rear caliper ceased cause of the cold / parking brake and was burning up the brake pad. After fixing the caliper I didn't notice anything wrong with the pads. I was pretty surprised. Hope this helps.

 

I did a little teensy bit of research, made my choice back when(tm), and have been happily rolling with Wagner ThermoQuiets. They seem to brake well, don't make any noise, and I can't complain about the brake dust. Don't even notice it. Also, they seem to last pretty well too. They come with all new hardware in the set. Be sure to lube up the slider areas and the contact surfaces with the brake schmoo, and I'd think you'd be a pretty happy camper with them. I have the standard GT brake setup on my '06, but roll with the big 18x9.5" wheels and 275/45-18 tires, and nary an issue with the brakes being upset doing their job.

For what my opinion/experience is worth. Hope that helps!

 

VGM,
Thanks for the info.
Are you using the Bosch BC1081 and BC1082 pads ? Rock Auto has a great price on them.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...brake+pad,1684

 

Thanks houtex,
Are you talking about the semi metallic or ceramic ?
I have used the Wagners on my trucks for years and they seem to be a great pad. I have 18x10 in the rear and 18x9 in front.

 

I cant say I noticed I always kept the car pretty clean. But they say cleaner less noisy brake pad with better than OEM performance. I agree.

 

Hey Jim.
Thats them! They come with new hardware and grease if you don't have any which is great. They are also noise and copper free.
I also bought them from Rockauto. They have great prices but it's the shipping that kills it cause I'm in Canada. But I usually ship things to the states and pick them up. So not to bad.

 

just a quick note about Rock Auto -- they do have great prices, but be aware of their return policy: they will not accept any returns after 30 days, even if they sold you the wrong part because their system was wrong. Not a problem if you do your work right away, but I have run into this problem twice with them, when I left the parts on the shelf for a while and then discovered the problem when I finally got around to doing the job. (once it was wrong part, once it was pieces missing inside the box)

 

Jim, they are Ceramic.

 

Hey VGM,

Did you change the rotors when you went to the BOSCH ceramic pads ?

 

Hi Jim.
Yes I did. It was time for new ones.
I bought nothing fancy. Just the MOTORCRAFT NBRR86 from Rockauto.

 

Thanks VGM,

I was going to get the Centrics. I have heard that when changing from semi metallic to ceramics you should have clean rotors. Otherwise they may not bed properly.

 

Personally I would not worry about that too much; the old pad material will get worn off and the new material deposited through normal driving. I think this is mainly an issue for track guys who change pads and then immediately go out on the track.

You could clean and rough-up the old rotors with sandpaper to help it along a bit.

If you are going to buy new rotors, I think Centric is a good choice; check to see if they have the nicer "coated" ones, IMHO those are well worth the few dollars extra.