Brake pads
 

So I had new pads and rotors put on my 08 about 2 months ago or so. I got the parts from my friend who works at his family's auto parts store, so I got a small discount. I told him I wanted better pads, and he ended up giving me a set of Monro's, which I believe were ceramic, and not the semi-metallic ones.

Long story short, I was getting occasional squeal not too long after they were installed, which I thought was odd. Since I recently put my wheels on the car, I'm noticing the real problem. These pads are shedding brake dust like you can't imagine. When I clean the car, or just the wheels, I can't even make it a week before the front wheels start getting caked again. It's really annoying and makes the wheels look horrible until I get them cleaned again.

I think I'm gonna try a different brake pad. Seems like a waste considering these ones are still pretty new, but this is getting old. Anyone recommend a particular type of pad? I'm thinking about trying out the TRD pads, anyone have any experience with them?

What color is the dust, usually ceramic brakes create a white or gray powder. They should not be shedding that bad which makes me wonder if they are actually semi-metallics or maybe organic pads. The TRD pads are pretty good but they will produce a little more noise and dust then the OE pads because they are geared towards performance. Personally I recommend Wagner Thermoquiet ceramic pads.

I have the TRD pads. I got them from TRDSparks.com, and I like them pretty well. They perform well (and the brake in was fun), and they've lasted me over a year now (still plenty of meat on them). I think the break dust from the TRDs are manageable (not excessive at all), and I haven't noticed any noise from them. Usually semi metallic will be the culprit for that.

i have hawk hps pads on my D, break in was initial and straight to the point. i also got the powerslot rotors to co-op with them, hands down best combo ever. the brake dust is minimal, the intitial bite and feel of the braking is superior to anything ive ever felt. theyve been on for 6 months now and they still feel brand new. im a very and i emphasize verspirited driver and these brakes have kept me out of numerous accidents so yea :)

You know, they might be organic. I could have sworn they were ceramic but maybe not, I just know that they're not semi-metallic because when I took them to my mechanic for install, he was surprised that I didn't get a set of semi's. Thanks for the input, I'll have to think about which ones I'm gonna go for, still leaning toward the TRD. I'm heading to Vegas in a couple weeks and when I get back I was planning on getting my lowering springs, so I'll probably do the pads at the same time.

Are you guys replacing worn out brake pads or replacing good ones for performance reasons? I'm always curious as to how many miles people get out of their brakes.

I'm pretty easy on brakes, even though I tow a camper with the xD. I just did my 60,000 mile oil change a few hours ago, and the brake pads look like they have some good life left. Back when I drove an old Benz, I was lucky to get 30,000 miles on a set of pads... but when I drive a VW Golf, I went about 130,000 miles on the original set.

I wouldn't mind looking into a higher performance setup, since I tow a 1,400 pound trailer quite often (and the trailer doesn't have brakes, yet). It brakes pretty well, though. I don't know if I would be willing to replace pads that still had a lot of meat on them.

I replaced mine around 30k miles. I thought they were spent cause I could hear them squeal when I would brake. So I ordered the TRD pads, and changed them myself. After I removed the originals I saw they still had plenty of meat left on it, but went ahead and swapped them out.