hey all. i need to replace the front pads on my 07 f-150 super crew 4x4. i planned on just replacing the pads and leaving the rotors, they seem to be fine. i was wondering if you guys have had better luck with one brand of brake pads vs another, or if there are any brake pads you would stay away from. so what do you guys recomend?

 

Stay away from Organic pads...They create brake dust by the ton,and dont last long.Stay away from Autozone,try NAPA,or another reputable company.
Most "long life" pads carry a good warranty,and you will not be cleaning your rims anywhere near as often.
The "non organic" pads will of course cost more,but you will see great results in the end.

 

well I have been very happy with my set-up on my truck. Last August I put on Dura-last rotors from auto zone and replaced my semi-metallic pads with Akebono pads. I love them. Very good pads and a reasonable cost from Rock Auto. And the difference in brake dust is unbelievable. My akebono's still put off a little, but very little, and it is not black, it is light grey, so it is hardly noticable.

 

Two months ago, on recommendation from my mechanic, I went with the slight upgrade over OEM semi-metallic Motorcraft pads and I've had great results. Mechanic states that he prefers these pads because they come supplied with news shims and anti rattle pieces as well as new springs. Claims they are the best fitting pads. BTW this is an outside shop I use...NOT the dealer...so there's no reason for him to need to sell MC parts.

 

I used hawk lts. Great pads so far.excellent stopping power, way better than stock, and a lot less dust

 

I have the motorcrafts on the front as well. Great results for me but I am fixing to put some duralast golds on the back because I am a cheapskate

 

What was the upgrade called ?? are they still ford pads.?

 

Oh sorry guys...was writing that one on on the phone and didn't realize how poorly worded that was. YES, still MotorCraft pads, but not OEM/stock use, they are a slight upgrade from the factory use pad.

 

I put the Hawk LTS pads on a year ago as well and am very impressed. Better stopping power than stock and almost no dust. I really don't even notice any over the course of a month between washes. I will go with this brand again whenever I need to replace in the future.

 

I replaced all four wheels with Motorcraft pads about a year ago. Braking power is about the same but much less dust than before. Had a flat tire the other day and while changing the tire I checked the front pads, they are hardly worn. Very happy about it. What I worry about those harder pads or more aggressive pads is that they will eat rotors. I have 2 wheel drive so I don't want to change the hub / rotors if I can help it.

 

Wagner thermo-quite. Stay away from autozone crap. I burnt up duralast in 15k miles

 

Napa Adaptive One, Ceramic outer pad and semi metallic inner pad. On for a few months - so far so good. No more dust!

 

Great results with akebono all around - low dust, good stopping power, good wear characteristics. Have ~50k on them so far and no need to change anytime soon.

 

I'll chime in here.

I've used the Duralast Ceramics on several of my vehicles with varying results; mostly good.

The one so-so experience was with my wife's Windstar. The pads were very noisy. I though it was the pads/rotor combo but there were no signs of anything wrong. I removed the pads chamfered them and cleaned the crap out of the rotors and pads. The noise returned in like two days. They performed great; but they were just noisy.

I also used them on my #1 son's Taurus; no problems at all. They performed better than expected and were an improvement over the stockers. Much cleaner too.

My '96 Chevy has a set of Duralast Gold Ceramic pads and shoes as well as rotors and drums. No complaints whatsoever. Good thing they're cleaner than the stock metallics because my #2 son is now the primary driver and he NEVER washes the truck and yet the wheels stay clean.

My '05 F-150 has a set of Duralast rotors all around. They were out of the ceramic pads so I went to O'Rielly's and bought the Wagner ThermoQuiet ceramics. It's been well over a year since I installed them and they have performed well enough for me not to give them a second thought; even while towing my 18' Ranger and V-6 outboard.

My initial plan was to swap the stock hardware for a set of high dollar cross drilled rotors and a set of Akebono pads. That plan was canned when I had to do a quick R&R on them when the pads failed on me. (Never trust the free brake inspection when you get your tires balanced/rotated) I had to work fast and didn't have time to wait for them to be shipped to my house.

Bottom line; there really isn't anything wrong with these parts. Would I go road racing with them? No. But under normal use, including occasional off-roading or spirited driving they will more than suffice.

The biggest decision is to decide how much money you want to spend. I wanted to go high dollar but I was pressed for time on a daily driver. I had to do the job after work one night in my garage so I could drive it to work the next morning. I still managed to paint the rotor hubs black though.

 

thanks all for replies so far