I'm ready to do my pads. I have a 1999 Coupe with 16" wheels. How do I determine which pads I have/need? Looking on FCP Groton, Rockauto, Amazon, there are tons of choices available. Metallic, semi-metallic, organic, notched, 11" rotor, 12" rotor, w/ wear sensor. I'm not looking for an upgrade, I just want to replace it with equivalent that won't chew up rotors and still get decent stopping performance.

I guess the real questions is despite how they market the pads, how many actually different pads are there? Assuming I have 11" rotor, is it a matter of picking friction material and price I want or are there actually several non-compatible pads?

 

Most likely you have an 11" rotor. FCP can help you order. At that point it becomes a question of what type. I recently changed my rotors and pads and I went with Akebono Euro Ceramic pads. No dust at all. They definitely will stop you as I had to do an emergency stop yesterday to keep from rear ending someone and they did great.

 

I also have akebonos in the front and Volvo oem in rears and no complaints, though the Volvo ones are great! Here's a link to what you are looking for. http://www.fcpgroton.com/category-ex...143/by_year/49

 

I would go with OEM pads especially rear ones to avoid squealing.

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...e_pad_set.html

 

Ceramic, metallic, organic, and etc. all have uses. The metallic pads will wear your rotors quickly and will take repeated stops to heat them up to the point that they will stop your auto. In other words..........use them for racing as you will not be able to stop your vehicle if they are cold. Volvo uses organic pads simply because most Volvo drivers are not using their autos as a BMW driver might. In other words, organic pads will stop the vehicle when they are cold but you will experience not only brake fade but also rapid wear of the pads if you drive aggressivley. Ceramic pads are dust free but do take heat to make them work as well as the organic pads. So.............if you drive in a normal fashion and do not mind the dust..........use the original pads. I on my old c70 have used metallic and ceramic but have gone back to the Volvo pad as they stop the auto in normal city driving much more quickly. Incidently, Mazda uses an organic pad that has some additives that are truly nice as they do not dust up. I use both metallic and ceramic pads on my Hartge BMW as I track it often and need the stopping power that simply is not necessary on the normal street driver.
Your choice.

r.

 

Thanks for all the great tips, especially original pads being organic. My big question is not what type of friction material, but the fitment. I was worried about ordering wrong type of pads that won't fit due to rotor size, caliper size, etc. FCP Groton seems pretty good about specifying if certain parts won't fit. Other online places are horrible.

 

Difference besides the rotor between the 288mm and the 302mm is the caliper carrier brackets. Pad material is really the only choice.

 

reguardless of the manufacturer, if you get the specific pad for your car, wether Akebono, Volvo oem, etc.... it will all fit. The differences are in the materials in the pad not the tolerances as stated above by mkc70. Some pads might cause some squeal. Volvo oems don't seem to. I will probably order akebonos on my next set as I am pleased with that I have in the front on mine. I had to order akebonos for the front and volvos for the read since FCP was out of stock for akebonos on rear and I needed them badly. When I wash my car, I can see the difference in dust day and night between the 2. Good Luck with whatever you end up with!