Benefits of Better Brake Pads

By Jerry Renshaw

Like most of the components on your car, there's a straight line between the cost of brake pads and their quality. Yes, you can get budget brake pads, but will they deliver the kind of performance and lifespan that you need? Let's take a look the various brake pads on the market.

Ceramic Brake Pads

Ceramic brake pads were introduced in the 1980s and have gained popularity since then. They're composed of a material that's very similar to the ceramic in cookware or dishes, only denser and shot through with copper fibers to help conduct and disperse heat. Ceramic brake pad material is a softer material which is easier on the rotor, helps with longer service life, less noise and less dust.

Semi-Metallic Brake Pads

Semi-metallic brake pads offer great performance. Their friction material consists of a mix of metals, including iron, steel and alloys, held together with a binder and a small amount of graphite lubricant. Semi-metallic Carquest brake pads are available in Standard, Premium Gold and Professional Platinum. The semi-metallic friction is preferred for vehicles that do a lot of heavy towing.

So now, the important question: is one kind of brake pad better than another?

Short answer: yes. We'll break it down by looking at a few examples.

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Carquest Professional Platinum
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Features & Benefits

Quiet Braking

Brake Pad Life

Brake Pad Stopping Power

Clean Wheels

Usage & Elements

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Carquest Premium Gold
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Features & Benefits

Quiet Braking

Brake Pad Life

Brake Pad Stopping Power

Clean Wheels

Usage & Elements

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Carquest Standard
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Features & Benefits

Quiet Braking

Brake Pad Life

Brake Pad Stopping Power

Clean Wheels

Usage & Elements

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Carquest Platinum
Professional
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CARQUEST Premium
GOLD
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Carquest
Standard

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Features & Benefits

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

Top performance

OE performance

Dependable performance

Quiet Braking

Brake Pad Life

BRAKE PAD STOPPING POWER

Clean Wheels

Usage & Elements

DRIVING STYLE

Daily, average to heavy traffic

Daily, average traffic

Daily, light traffic

TOWING & HAULING

Weekend or moderate

Light

Not recommended

QUIET BRAKING

Nearly silent

Little to no noise

BRAKE DUST

Little to none

Some

SHIM TECHNOLOGY

Patented 4-layer HEX shim & brake lubricant

3-layer shim

1-layer shim

BRAKE CLIPS & HARDWARE

Coated hardware included where required (99%)

Hardware included on most applications (90%+)

Not included

BRAKE PAD MATERIAL

Semi-metallic or ceramic to match OE*

Organic or semi-metallic

1. Carquest Professional Platinum Brake Pads

Carquest Professional Platinum brake pads offer the best performance and are perfect for daily driving. These pads are going to stop faster and last longer than economy and mid-grade pads. Professional Platinum pads produce low brake dust so if your ride sports custom wheels then you'll probably want to avoid unsightly brake dust by upgrading your brake pads from the economy version. These pads have revolutionary burnishing strips to allow for proper break-in of new brake pads and rotors, plus these additional features:

100% copper-free friction that is safer for the environment
Updated 4-layer HEX shim technology, engineered with aramid fibers to reduce noise and prevent shim wear
PTFE coated brake hardware included for nearly every application.
- Why it's important: PTFE hardware coating offers excellent resistance to heat and rust with low friction.
Coated hardware eliminates rust and corrosion buildup to reduce drag, providing increased durability and noise reduction
Truck/SUV and EURO sublines, which carry all the same qualities of the Professional Platinum pads, plus friction properties specific to your application. Additionally, EURO brake pads include wear sensors for most applications that require replacement.

2. Carquest Premium Gold Brake Pads

Carquest Premium Gold brake pads are great for daily driving. These pads offer advanced, application-specific formulations to stop faster and last longer. Similar to the Professional Platinum brake pads, the Premium Gold pads produce low dust so they keep your wheels cleaner than a lower grade brake pad. If you want ultra-quiet braking then the multi-layer shim on these brakes pads will provide just that.

Pro Tip

Both Platinum and Gold pads are available in ceramic or semi-metallic on many applications. Most late-model applications will be ceramic with the ability to opt for semi-metallic. You should pick the friction type that matches your driving.

3. Carquest Standard Brake Pads

Are you looking for an economical brake pad to fit your budget? Then Carquest Standard brake pads are for you. Carquest Standard brake pads offer reliable performance at an entry level price point. These pads will have less pad life and stopping power than mid-grade and premium options. Hardware is sold separately from the economy brake pads.

Why Choose Better Brake Pads?

Like many goods and services, when shopping for brake pads you get what you pay for at different price points. The ability to stop your vehicle is critically important, making brake pads one part on your vehicle worth investing in. In addition to the fact that Premium Gold and Professional Platinum offer better performance through better stopping power, longer pad life and lower noise and dust, consider what you get with your purchase. Economy brake pad lines generally won't include any necessary hardware, requiring an additional purchase. Instead, put that money towards a better quality pad that in most applications comes with hardware included.

Visit the brake pads section on our website to learn more about fitment for your vehicle.

Brakes Buyers Guide

Compare brake pads and read helpful articles.

Last updated May 6, 2022

About the Author(s)

Jerry Renshaw

Jerry Renshaw is a veteran journalist, gearhead and guitar player, and cultivated his mechanical skills by 30 years of turning wrenches to keep one piece of junk or another on the road. He's owned everything from a Chevette to (three) minivans to a fire-breathing Dodge muscle truck, and is constantly keeping up to speed on what's going on in the automotive world.