Once I saw a funny advertisement. The advertisement says, the car is almost new, everything is quite fine. The car does not have a single scratch on its body, even headlights, side screens did not break anytime. The car even did not have any accident history either. Everything was fine except for the brake. The advertisement says, “everything is fine except the brake do not works some times’. So, it is 99% fine but 1% is very crucial, that was the message. 

So, the brake is very important. If you do not pay heed to the smallest brake problems, your life could be in danger and when you think about fixing the brake issues, you should take care of the brake pads.

There are several types of brake pads with different types of functions. The most types are ceramic brake pads and metallic/semi-metallic brake pads. Before you complete your purchase, you should know which one is better and which one meets your requirements. So, today our topic is related which, which type of brake pad are better; ceramic brake pads or metallic brake pads.

What are the constituents?

Ceramic brake pads are made of ceramic clay but in more durable and dense condition with copper fibers embedded, whereas semi-metallic brake pads contain metallic fibers on the brake pad compound.

Ceramic Brake Pads vs Metallic/Semi-Metallic Brake Pads

• Durability: Ceramic brake pads are more durable than steel brake pads. So life span of ceramic brake pads is more than other competitors.(Decision: Ceramic Brake Pads)

• Dust: Compared to metallic/semi-metallic brake pads ceramic one produces less dust. Metallic/semi-metallic brake pads produce black colored dust that sticks to the wheels.(Decision: Ceramic Brake pads)

• Effect on Brake Rotor: Ceramic pads often causes more wear and tear of brake rotor compared to metallic/semi-metallic brake pads.(Decision: Metallic/semi-metallic brake pads)

• Noise Control: To control braking noise, the performance of ceramic one is far better than others(Decision: Ceramic Brake Pads)

• Upfront cost: Ceramic brake pads are more costly initially. But as the performing life span are longer than others, in the long term it may prove beneficial.(Decision: Tie, based on life span).

• Racing or Heavy Towing: Performace of metallic brake pads in case of racing or heavy towing is better than others. (Decision: Metallic brake pads)

• Weather Condition: For cold climate, semi-metallic brake pads are suitable whereas for warm climate ceramic brake pads are suitable.

Decision Points:

If you live in a colder climate, do the race or heavy towing works or make frequent short trips than semi-metallic brake pads are for you. On the other hand, if you need long life span of brake pads, live in a warm climate, spend hours on the road and want noise-free travel you can choose ceramic brake pads.