THSCC Forums

Need some new pads for the Tundra, what are yall using on your tow vehicles.

Stock have been all right, but I wouldn't mind a little more bite when I'm towing.

It looks like I can buy most anything, from Bendix severe duty to Hawk severe Duty (LTS and HPS as well).

I've "heard" that Ceramic pads are bad for towing. Anyone have tech on this?

Scott

Edit: Last I checked, Carbotech didn't stock backing plates, so I'll need to buy at least one set of new pads before I could have them make me some.

Scott

FWIW, I have some Performance Friction pads on my F350. They seem to work well, have held up well over the past ~2 years or so since I installed them. Got them from Autozone- in stock- for ~$60 or so, and I *believe* they have a lifetime warranty. I know I ran the PFC Z-rated pads on the front of my E30 track car for many years, also purchased from Autozone, also with a lifetime warranty. I ended up buying 2 sets of these pads and returned the worn out pads for new whenever they wore out.

PFC pads are used on alot of fleet vehicles, from delivery trucks to service trucks, tow trucks, etc. When I was working at a delivery company, we used them on our Econoline vans and they typically lasted 2-3x longer than anything else we tried.

Bret.

i must preface this as an unqualified opinion Scott. i put ceramic pads on the front of my f350 a year ago last month. i had them checked last month by R&J and was told the rears (original pads) were like new and the fronts were fine. my trailer weighs probably in excess of 7K when loaded and i do not have a trailer brake system. i too have heard ceramics are not good for trailering. don't know why, maybe because they need high heat to work? so far no problems. i personally would not do ceramics all the way around but i can't tell you why i feel that way.

oh yeah, the truck alone is pushing 9K.

sorry, 23K miles on the fronts, 65K on the rears.

No trailer brakes??

Sounds like a prime opportunity for an "upgrade"!!

Seriously, how (or maybe why?) do you tow a 7k trailer without brakes? I hope you have REALLY good insurance.


Bret.

i agree Bret. until recently i thought i was using the trailer brakes. turns out i need a brake box to activate the trailer brakes. never noticed any issues but definitely installing a brake box.

Quite the opposite. If ceramics required heat to work well, they would be excellent for a heavy vehicle as that would generate a lot of heat. However, ceramics work over a broad heat range. The reason that they are not typically well suited to high temperatures is that they tend to have a very rapid fall-off when they have exceed their heat range. The fall-off is not just a lack of braking performance, but also results in accelerated wear and an increase in pad deposits on the rotors. A ceramic pad will typically smear on a rotor when it has been overheated.

I used to have about 50 dyno tests of different types of pads and would agree with Bret that the Z pad is an excellent choice. IIRC, the next best is the Raybestos SuperStop, which is also available as the CARQUEST GMD-F (Fleet) pad. Both will offer compromises in regular driving but will offer a significant improvement in both performance and wear over most pads not formulated for heavy use.

Much like pads for you car, picking ones that match what you are doing with it is the key.

_________________
Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

Allright... Back on topic.

I can get Performance Friction Carbon Met. (high up on my shopping list), but not their Z-Rated.

that said, this is a once/month tow truck and a 30 days/month daily driver, so I don't want a noisy pad. I just want one with a little more bite than OEM (of course, we don't know what OEM is...).

I'd rate it as a close race between the Hawk LTS (light truck), Hawk HPS and Performance Friction Carbon Metallic.

Even the Bosch website has a comment about not using ceramics on a tow vehicle (with no tech to back it up).

Scott

I decided to try the Performance Friction pads. I'll report back after a few towing miles, etc.

Scott

I should have read this sooner. I put Carbotech Panther Pads on (just call Matt and tell him what you are doing). Great bite, no squeel and seem to stop the truck and trailer well.

Ron

Scott, I've had the PFC CM's on my Sonoma for the last 1-2 years. I've been VERY happy with them, though no heavy towing.

_________________
Dustin Fredrickson
-- I'm a nobody --

Matt Nicholson urned me on toCarbotech Bobcat pads on the F250.
I can confirm more bite than the stock pad with less dust. Between my trailor and all the club stuff I haull we are between 9K-10K GVCW (Gross Vehicle Combined Weight). Matt's has them on all 4's on his F250 I
only needed to replace the fronts on mine.

_________________
Mark Vitacco
THSCC TT Chairman
mvitacco@bellsouth.net

PFC update...

They seem to work well, if anything I have a hard time getting them hot enough around town. Once they do get warm they stop the truck in a hurry.

They took forever to bed in when I instelled them (more on that), otherwise I've been happy. Seems that they dust way less than the OEM pads.

I had the rotors turned before I installed the pads and they shop didn't put a good surface on them (right off the lathe isn't good). I didn't rough them up before installation, so I think that is the cause of the long bed-in time.

The shop also managed to take true (just worn) rotor and turn it into a hockey puck by adding 0.024" of runout. Because of that we've been having a long pedal due to pad knock-back. I put new rotors on last night and will update after another month or so. Of course I was getting good at the double-pump braking, I'm sure I can use that on track someday.

The new rotors already stop better than the old ones (less pedal travel, and a nice cross-hatch finish to bite the pads while they bed-in).

Scott