I just installed the Carbon Ceramic brake pads on my 2000 F250XLT 4x4 and I'm not sure what to think of them. After a 1 mile test drive I noticed smoke and stink coming from the left front brake area (I chalked it up to spilling a bit of brake fluid in the area) I removed the wheel and tried moving the rotor and it moved okey....maybe a little tight but not binding up at all. I put the wheel back on and took her out for about 10 miles of stop and go and also highway speed starts and stops, then returned home. No more smoke from the area, but it does still smell a bit and it seems pretty hot in the wheel wells.

Is this normal ? I'm taking my 31' 5th wheel out of town in the morning and I don't want any problems. Napa says if I don't like the pads that I can bring them back and exchange them for normal pads.

Oh, and the rotors are the premium rotors from napa and also brand new.

Please offer any input you can !

Thanks

Scott

 

Ceramic pads don't offer superior stopping power. If you want to upgrade you brakes for improved stopping power than don't use ceramic pads. If want less dust and don't like to clean your wheels than use the ceramic pads.

 

The guy at Napa said I can return them if I don't like them...I'll keep them on my truck til I can order pads from EBC Brakes...I've heard a lot of good things about them and have been meaning to try them out...

In the ceramic pads defense, they do stop the truck very well...better then the O'Reily's pads I had on there. If they are going to run hot, I'd rather use something else...Brake dust doesn't bother me at all since I wash the truck all the time anyways

 

All brake pads run hot until they get bedded with the rotor.

 

I used to intall brakes for a living back in the early 90's and I know they run hot til broken in...these just seemed a little hotter to me. We'll see how they work towing, luckily its only going to be a 200 mile round trip. I have to go twice as far at the end of the month though and I don't want any problems on the road. (the worst kind ! )