There’s a good chance that you have semi-metallic brake pads in your car right now. Semi-metallic brake pads have been the most popular brake pads on the market for quite some time. But it’s worth noting that these brake pads aren’t necessarily the best brake pads that money can buy. Both ceramic brake pads and organic brake pads have made a strong case for themselves in recent years. You should consider going with one of them the next time you need to have new brake pads put into your car. Let’s talk about ceramic vs. organic brake pads to see which one might be your better option.
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To Start, What Exactly Are Brake Pads?
Before we begin talking about ceramic vs. organic brake pads, we would like to kick things off by talking about brake pads on a very basic level. You need to know what brake pads are prior to getting too deep into ceramic vs. organic brake pads. It’ll help you understand what makes them so important in the grand scheme of things when it comes to your car.
Brake pads are obviously a part of a car’s braking system, and they’re designed to grip the brake rotors so that a driver can slow down and eventually stop their car while driving it. As long as brake pads are in good working condition, you can slow your car down in a hurry when you step on the brake pedal. Brake pads can, however, wear down over time and stop working altogether if you don’t do something about them. It’s why it’s important for you to get into the habit of replacing brake pads on a regular basis.
It’s also why you need to learn about the differences between ceramic vs. organic brake pads. You want to make sure that you have the best possible brake pads in your car so that you don’t have any problems slowing your car down and bringing it to a complete stop. You’re going to find that both ceramic and organic brake pads offer things that you won’t find in semi-metallic brake pads.
How Often Should You Replace Brake Pads?
We’re almost ready to get into talking about ceramic vs. organic brake pads and discussing the differences between the two. But prior to doing it, we also want to make sure that you know how often you’re going to need to replace the brake pads in your car. The last thing you want to do is let old brake pads linger around for too long since it could prove to be catastrophic if you take this approach to caring for them.
It’s impossible to predict exactly how long the brake pads in your car are going to last. There are some that will need to be replaced after just 25,000 miles and others that will last for as long as 75,000 miles. But on average, you’re going to get about 50,000 miles out of a set of brake pads before you’ll need to replace them. If you push them any further than that, you’re going to be asking for trouble.
There are some different factors that might influence how long your brake pads will last. If, for example, you’re constantly slamming down on your brakes, that’s going to cause your brake pads to wear down on you quicker than they would otherwise. You might also find that your brake pads will wear out on you fast if you live in a certain climate or if you’re always driving through dusty areas. It’ll be important for you to monitor the condition of your brake pads and replace them accordingly based on your surroundings. And when you do it, you should strongly consider going with either ceramic or organic brake pads as opposed to semi-metallic ones.
What Are Ceramic Brake Pads?
Up first in the ceramic vs. organic brake pads debate are ceramic brake pads. They are, as their name would suggest, brake pads that are made out of ceramic, which is known for being very heavy-duty and durable. There are many benefits of going with ceramic brake pads for your car, but there are also some downsides that might accompany them as well.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Ceramic Brake Pads?
One of the first things that you’re going to notice about ceramic brake pads is just how durable they truly are. When you compare ceramic vs. organic brake pads, there really is no comparison when it comes to durability. You should be able to get a lot more life out of ceramic brake pads than you would be able to get out of organic brake pads. Ceramic brake pads aren’t as abrasive on brake rotors when compared to organic brake pads, which is a big part of the reason why they won’t wear down as quickly as organic ones do.
Another thing that people have come to love as far as ceramic brake pads are concerned is that they’re able to perform well in almost any climate. They’re able to deal with drastic temperature changes with ease and will provide you with the performance that you’re looking for regardless of how hot or cold it might get. And as an added bonus, ceramic brake pads are also known to produce very little dust, so you won’t have to worry about it affecting the look and feel of your tires. All of these things make ceramic brake pads a great option.
There are, however, a few downsides that will come along with using ceramic brake pads that you should be aware of when comparing ceramic vs. organic brake pads. Ceramic brake pads are going to cost you more money than organic ones will. They’re also not going to be quite as durable as semi-metallic brake pads will be when everything is all said and done, even though they will be stronger than organic ones. These are just some of the things you’ll want to keep in the back of your mind when considering ceramic brake pads for your car.
What Are Organic Brake Pads?
It’s pretty easy to figure out what ceramic brake pads are made out of based on their name. But it’s not quite as easy to do it when it comes to organic brake pads. And it’s made even more challenging by the different organic brake pad manufacturers that create their brake pads in different ways using different materials. But generally speaking, organic brake pads contain some combination of rubber, glass, and sometimes even Kevlar. And just like with ceramic brake pads, there are benefits and downsides to going with them for your vehicle.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Organic Brake Pads?
When you have organic brake pads installed in your vehicle, one of the first things you’ll notice about them is that they’re very soft compared to ceramic and semi-metallic brake pads. As a result, it’ll be easy for you to push down on your brake pedal and get a response from them. They’ll be very quiet and will slow you down without much fuss. This is one aspect that makes them superior in the ceramic vs. organic brake pads discussion.
People have also come to love the fact that organic brake pads are almost always cheaper than ceramic ones are. It doesn’t cost very much to manufacture organic brake pads despite the fact that they contain several different materials. And this makes it easy for people to replace their brake pads without spending a small fortune. You should keep this in mind the next time you need new brake pads put into your car.
With all of that being said, there are some big downsides to installing organic brake pads in your car that you should also think about when you’re in the market for new brake pads. First and foremost, you’re going to find that organic brake pads will wear down on you quicker than other brake pads. This could very well offset the low cost of them since you’ll need to replace them more often than ceramic brake pads. You’ll also see that organic brake pads will create more dust than ceramic ones will and make your tires messy before long when you choose to go with them.
As if that wasn’t enough, organic brake pads will also often overheat when you drive around for long stretches of time. This could prevent them from working the way they’re supposed to in some cases and make your brake pads more dangerous than they should be. It’s why you should avoid going with organic brake pads if you spend a lot of time taking longer trips in your car.
Ceramic vs. Organic Brake Pads: Which One Should You Choose?
Now that you know a little bit more about ceramic vs. organic brake pads, you might know which option would be better for you. Most people have some general idea of which one they should go with based on the pros and cons that accompany each. But just in case you’re still confused about which brake pads would be best for your vehicle, we want to touch on who should consider going with which option.
If you’re on the hunt for brake pads for an economy class car that you drive around a lot, then ceramic brake pads are probably going to be the right brake pads for you. They’ll be able to provide you with the performance you’re looking for at every turn.
If, on the other hand, you’re looking for brake pads for a smaller vehicle that is lightweight, then organic brake pads might be the right brake pads for your car. These brake pads are going to be up for whatever you throw at them, and they won’t break the bank when you need to have them replaced.
For those with much larger vehicles, you likely won’t have to worry about trying to settle the ceramic vs. organic brake pads. That’s because both ceramic and organic brake pads aren’t going to be good fits for your car. You should think about going with semi-metallic brake pads instead that will hold up better under pressure.
Who Should You Hire to Help You Install New Brake Pads?
Regardless of which side of the fence you fall on when it comes to ceramic vs. organic brake pads, you’re not going to want to install either one on your car yourself. As we alluded to earlier, your brake pads play a very important role in your braking system, so you don’t want to make the mistake of installing them improperly and pay the price for it later. You could put yourself into a very dangerous position if you attempt to install ceramic or organic brake pads and don’t do it in the right way.
Rather than taking the DIY approach to brake pad replacement, you should speak with a brake specialist about ceramic vs. organic brake pads. They’ll help to break down the differences between ceramic vs. organic brake pads further so that you can select the one that will work best for your vehicle. They’ll also help to install whichever brake pads that you want so that you can sleep better at night knowing they’ve been installed properly.
And they’ll do all of this at very little cost to you. On average, brake pad replacement should only run you somewhere between $275 and $305. The final cost will depend on where you stand when it comes to ceramic vs. organic brake pads. But in general, it’ll be a relatively small price to pay when you consider the importance of the brake pads in your car.
Is It Time to Replace Your Brake Pads?
If your car’s brake pads are on their way out, you shouldn’t put off replacing them. You should seek the services of a brake specialist right away so that you’re able to have new brake pads installed in your car. It’ll keep your braking system as a whole humming along and make your car safer than it is now.
Just make sure that you have the ceramic vs. organic brake pads debate with yourself prior to pulling up to your brake shop. It’ll help you make the right decision when you’re trying to decide which kind of brake pads you want to replace your current ones with.