Aftermarket brake pads - FAIL!

[BamaDrewski]

So, several months ago, I decided to take the "budget route" and bought some aftermarket front brake pads (Carquest Pro) for my 199mm Tundra upgrade. The pads were about $40. Put them on newly turned rotors. It was not even six months and then came the terrible vibration in the front. Had a spare set of turned rotors, took the old pads out and replaced with Toyota pads and shims.

Looking at the old pads, you can see where there are "chunks" of material in them. (See pic) Looks like they did not grind up the mix very well before they formed the pads. Moreover, there was a big chunk of material that had broken off in the center of the pad. They also looked like they had some cracks in the material not to mention the enormous amount of dust.

I guess I need to keep reminding myself that OE is the only way to go with pads!

 

[RS Dude]

$40 per set is more like mid range price level. $12 is more like low end per set, like my Pep Boys brand I used because I had to change them in a parking lot.:bravo:

 

[jgue467]

I run these rotors: StopTech 126.44112SL/R $77 on ebay (order sides for max airflow).

With these pads: STOPTECH Street Brake Pads 308.04360 $37 on ebay.

I get about 55000 no trouble miles, I often carry a 1000# trailer with 1500#s on it braking downhills from 65 to 0 several times, little fade and no warping/overheating. I still run the 12" sr5/ltd rotor size. Luck and enjoy that Runner! :cowboy:

 

[T4topher]

I have a 2016 Scion tC and I drive it pretty dang hard. The stock brakes lasted 2 years. Then I put EBC green stuff pads and EBC rotors, those lasted maybe 6 months till the driver side pad was down to bare metal. Went back to oem Toyota, it’s not even that much more expensive is the crazy part..

 

[Ed_C]

I have a 2016 Scion tC and I drive it pretty dang hard. The stock brakes lasted 2 years. Then I put EBC green stuff pads and EBC rotors, those lasted maybe 6 months till the driver side pad was down to bare metal. Went back to oem Toyota, it’s not even that much more expensive is the crazy part..

I ran EBC greens in my 3rd gen and parents' GX470, never again. So much brake dust, even the pricier (7000 series?) greens they claim are virtually dust free were super dusty.

 

[3bears]

EBC like many products, are not what they used to be. I too put EBC greenstuff on my 4runner and was very disappointed , dusty, the wore out fast, and switched back to my half worn OEM pads that I had kept around until I did the TBU and with that I used OEM

 

[Ed_C]

Yup they did wear out rather quickly. Since then I switched to Raybesto EHTs all around on the GX,several people who run them in other vehicles recommended them. So far so good, bites well even when cold and no need to clean the wheels every week. Come spring time I'll take the wheels off to inspect the repaint the calipers.

 

[LittleCaesar]

The OP failed to dip them in some Liqui Moly MOS2 before installing,

I have to ask though BD if everything else was new or was this just pad slapping them on there?

 

[BamaDrewski]

The OP failed to dip them in some Liqui Moly MOS2 before installing,

I have to ask though BD if everything else was new or was this just pad slapping them on there?

When I do a brake job, I always use newly turned rotors. I also do a full brake fluid flush on the system. The bottom line, the aftermarket pads were CRAP.

 

[WVhillbilly]

I used Hawk pads on my Tundra, they worked really well.
EBCs on my car, great braking but LOTS of dust.

 

[BamaDrewski]

The OP failed to dip them in some Liqui Moly MOS2 before installing,

I have to ask though BD if everything else was new or was this just pad slapping them on there?

For those with inquiring minds, if I remember correctly, these were the "CarQuest Premium" pads. From the pics, you can see the cracks, the chunk that came out and the big honking hunks of material throughout the pad. LIke they say about a boat; "the happiest days of a boat owners life was the day they bought their boat and the day they sold it." For me, slinging these pieces of garbage in the trash ranked right up there.....

 

[LittleCaesar]

I used to use Advanced Autos Gold pads with good success up until last year, when I saw two pairs had cracks in them right out of the box. Have been using Napa’s premium line with good success since.

 

[Spktyr]

For those with inquiring minds, if I remember correctly, these were the "CarQuest Premium" pads. From the pics, you can see the cracks, the chunk that came out and the big honking hunks of material throughout the pad. LIke they say about a boat; "the happiest days of a boat owners life was the day they bought their boat and the day they sold it." For me, slinging these pieces of garbage in the trash ranked right up there.....

CarQuest house pads are notoriously crap. It's part of why their business model of selling mostly to shops (a la NAPA) failed and they got eaten by Advance Auto.

The Toyota OEM Tundra pads are an early ceramic pad - they're low dust, but they're also lower-than-optimal stopping. Toyota hasn't changed that formulation since the middle of the last decade for this application while brake pad formulation science has come quite a long way in the intervening time. There are plenty of very good aftermarket pads out there that will greatly exceed Toyota OEM performance in many or all respects.

The real lesson here is do your research and *don't buy crappy parts store house brand brake pads.*

 

[RS Dude]

Definitely never buy any pads or shoes that are 'lifetime warranty' because they are made of very hard compounds that tend to shatter.

 

[BamaDrewski]

CarQuest house pads are notoriously crap. It's part of why their business model of selling mostly to shops (a la NAPA) failed and they got eaten by Advance Auto.

The Toyota OEM Tundra pads are an early ceramic pad - they're low dust, but they're also lower-than-optimal stopping. Toyota hasn't changed that formulation since the middle of the last decade for this application while brake pad formulation science has come quite a long way in the intervening time. There are plenty of very good aftermarket pads out there that will greatly exceed Toyota OEM performance in many or all respects.

The real lesson here is do your research and *don't buy crappy parts store house brand brake pads.*

I agree with your point about not buying crappy parts from crappy parts houses. If I had any idea they were crap, I would have never purchased them. That being said, you mentioned "There are plenty of very good aftermarket pads out there that will greatly exceed Toyota OEM performance in many or all respects."

For those of us who want to investigate alternatives to OE pads that "greatly exceed Toyota OE performance" - could you share a few brands with us and how they exceed Toyota OE performance? Thanks in advance!

 

[nissanh]

My input is nothing exceeds the performance of OEM toyota brake pads (sumitomo makes some of Toyota brakes). Akebono might come close but not good as a toyota.

 

[Spktyr]

My input is nothing exceeds the performance of OEM toyota brake pads (sumitomo makes some of Toyota brakes). Akebono might come close but not good as a toyota.

Funny thing about that...

https://www.archautoparts.com/domestic-import-vehicles-oem-akebono-brakes/

 

[JayRolla]

I agree with your point about not buying crappy parts from crappy parts houses. If I had any idea they were crap, I would have never purchased them. That being said, you mentioned "There are plenty of very good aftermarket pads out there that will greatly exceed Toyota OEM performance in many or all respects."

For those of us who want to investigate alternatives to OE pads that "greatly exceed Toyota OE performance" - could you share a few brands with us and how they exceed Toyota OE performance? Thanks in advance!

For a good 15 years of my life I ran OEM everything except brake pads. I've tried everything from the cheapest to the best aftermarket pads. Decided to go OEM on my tundra upgrade and mind was blown. Pads grab hard, zero brakes dust and outlasted any aftermarket pad I have tried. They just never wear out. I'm an OEM pad user for life now.

 

[BamaDrewski]

My input is nothing exceeds the performance of OEM toyota brake pads (sumitomo makes some of Toyota brakes). Akebono might come close but not good as a toyota.

I agree Nissan. I used to work in a brake manufacturing plant for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The brake material is “compounded” (Like a dry cake recipe) and there are a variety of materials that can go into the pad material. Everything is joined together with a phenolic resin under heat and pressure. When brake manufacturers create a dry mixture of ingredients and you see large chunks in the pad material itself, it is not a good sign. It demonstrates the “mix” is not consistent in particle size. Those large chunks can lower braking performance and impact the rotors. The Toyota OE pad material is very consistent and smoother. In all the Toyota OE pads I have used, I have never seen pea sized “chunks” in their pads. Pads come in several formulations: met (metallic), semi-met (Semi-metallic), low-met (low metallic) and no-met (no-metallic). Any metallic pad will have a variety of “metallic” components like copper powder, chopped steel fibers, etc. I am not sure what the composition of the Toyota OE pad actually is (it is proprietary) but my experience is that they always perform. I am curious as to the previous poster’s claim of better performing pads and look forward to reviewing them. For me however (unless proven wrong with better overall performing pads) I am sticking to OE.