Why You Shouldn’t Buy The Cheapest Brake Pads For Your Car
5 Different Brake Pads, ranging from $20 to OE, undergo four tests.
Sponsored By NRS Brakes –
What are the best brake pads? Are expensive brake pads better than cheaper brake pads? Are cheap brake pads dangerous? In this video, we’ll compare brake pads ranging from $20 to $90, all for the front brake pads on the exact same vehicle. Performance testing will compare how the brake pads do when they experience high temperatures. Corrosion testing will determine how well the pads resist rust in harsh winter conditions. Shear testing will see how well the friction material is attached the the backing plate. Finally, noise testing will determine which brake pads are the quietest.
When you walk into a parts store, you’ll often see different tiers of brake pad prices. This video’s goal is to determine if you get what you’re paying for with those different brake pads. Five different pads will be tested. $20, $40, $60, NRS, and original equipment pads for the same car will all undergo the same tests described above, using industry standardized tests. Watch the video to see how differently priced brake pads perform!
Use the code “EE20” for 20% off brakes purchased at NRSBrakes.com!
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*Important Note* Lots of questions about the materials for each pad! It's honestly a very difficult thing to determine, which is why I left it out. Regulations allow for such a wide variety of materials that unless you do some sort of chemical analysis, I'm not sure there's much meaning behind it. For what it's worth, the cheapest pads were "semi-metallic" (again, vague, but that's all they tell you), while the other four pads are "ceramic." There's a wide variety of what can be included in pads, regardless of the material stated. Also, material alone doesn't show a strong correlation with all tests (both ceramic/metallic can do poorly in sound, corrosion, shear, etc), so it's difficult to determine what's the cause for doing well/poorly based purely on material.
Validates my belief that for Toyota/Lexus OEM pads are the best you can get. Keep in mind Toyota usually has two tiers of pads. An economy and the top of the line. Most are unaware. Part number and price is a dead giveaway ππ»
My OE is Brembo, I'd be crazy to change that π€ͺ
we wants brands not tiers….
Retail Top modelling shows at sears except knot like nick
Super helpful ! Extraordinary detail !! I learned lots !!! Thanks mate !!!!
I remember watching this video 3 years ago β€ really enjoyed both brake pad videos! Thanks!
They are great pads. If you are a spirited driver such as I, their severe duty pads are more long-lasting when exposed to track days and general spirited braking.
wondering if my eBay brakes are even this good
Mechanical bonding has the dis advantage of damaging the brake disks if the pads are extremely worn down which is not uncommon, secondly loosing 2-3 mm of pad material in the same scenario due to the protruding spikes.
So that meets or exceeds oe specs printed on all those boxes is BS smdh
Not a good test because brands are different.
It seems like the NRS burrs would slice into your rotors once the pad material is worn down enough. How long are they?
In California, rust is like the boogie man. Everyone talks about it, but no one ever sees it! πππ
@03:21 From the graph I notice that as heat input increases, the coefficient of friction drops! In a panic stop, it would be difficult for a human being to overcome their emotions & apply pulsed braking in order to keep their brakes cooler! When I was an aircraft engineering technician in the R.A.F., even back in the late '60s they were using Dunlop? Maxaret anti skid units built into the brake system so that every time the wheel approached a skid, the valve switched the brakes off & back on in a continual pulsing cycle. Not up to date, do we get that with ABS?
Cheapie pads should be banned outright. The risk is too high for not only the driver, but for other users of the road.
This was just, let me say it…amazing. I have 4 kids, and have had endless cars, and did brakes on all of them to save money. Brake pads, I really never knew the real truth and always but always wondered what was the real truth. Now I know. When you need things to WORK, you really NEED THINGS TO WORK. End of Story.
I'm now going to conclude no matter what….brake pad quality actually does matter A LOT.
Question; What manufacturer makes the OEM pads, and what is the price comparison between OEM and NRS ?
Some months back I replaced the front calipers on my tundra because they were dragging. At the same time I replaced the front pads with NAPA premium Adaptive One pads and their upper tier "Fleet Grade" rotors. Fast forward about 10k miles and I've got a nasty shudder in the front end that causes my steering wheel to move side to side, especially at higher wheel speeds. I will preface the rest of this post by saying that when I did the brake job I thoroughly cleaned the hub surfaces of rust, and that I always torque the wheels to manufacturer specs. Lifting the truck off the ground the wheel turns freely with no drag so I tried to reburnish the pads thinking that the deposits on the rotor surfaces were uneven. Zero success. I decided to just go ahead and do what I should have done from the outset and buy OEM pads and rotors. Changing out the NAPA rotors shows a pristine driver's side but when I get to the passenger side I see burnt pad material on the outboard side of the rotor, and a groove on the inboard side of the rotor so deep I can get a fingernail into it. The pads on the passenger side themselves appear to be in otherwise good condition, but there is a groove through the inboard pad that corresponds with the groove in the rotor.
After replacing everything AGAIN, i took the truck out and bedded in the new new pads and rotorsπ and to my delight the brake shudder is gone. I'm not quite sure at this point if the quality of pads or rotor on the passenger side are to blame, or if the piece of road debris that broached the groove through the pad and rotor is to blame, or if possibly the caliper is to blame. The caliper is a 4 piston design and I had considered that uneven application of brake pressure is to blame (IE two pistons apply more pressure than the other two). I think at this point my best bet is to bleed the brakes again and keep a watchful eye on the rotor surfaces for anything abnormal. I would like to blame NAPA as it would be the easiest option, but im not entirely certain that the blame belongs with them. Time will tell I guess.
Heyall, does anyone recognize the manufacturers for each pad?
I like OE brake pads but not their calipers and rotors π
Does ceramic pad works better?
16 minutes summed up in 1 comment- Only buy the expensive stuff.
I need to know the brand of those mid-tier pads.
What company made rhe OEM pads?
Would be nice of their website worked. Two different browsers and "Select Your Vehicle" doesn't work.
It would be interesting to see rain testing. I had some cheapos and they seemed to absorb water and cause a huge brake lag after getting my bike washed or in the rain, it was dangerous. I switched to name brand pads and it made a massive difference.
Gr8 vid well spoken ex+10 on diction loadz of information glad I found this. Thxz. * 10
So you just showed me OE pads are the best nrs are not worth the money
What about ABS ?