As far as rotors, I have had no problems with powerstop rotors that are drilled and slotted. The delco ones on my Durango however are drilled and slotted and are starting to crack from the holes outwards and are starting to get a vibration in them. This is with the EBC yellowstuff pads.


I'm comparing the performance of semi metallics against that of the powerstop ceramic blend on one vehicle and the performance of semi metallics against that of ceramics on another. Sure the brakes on the Durango aren't comparable to those on the Charger, but the comparison between compounds on the same vehicle will still apply. I promise that replacing your brake pads with romano cheese will suck on a Durango as much as on a Charger.

And I still stand by the plain ceramics not being a great idea. There's a reason they put bigger brakes on newer cars that come with ceramics, the ceramic compounds just don't have as much stopping power. It's the same thing that happened 30 years ago with asbestos brakes. Cars made with asbestos brakes suffered from decreased braking power when switching from asbestos to organic brake compounds. The asbestos pads had higher friction so a smaller brake performed better.

 

Great discussion. Thanks to everyone for sharing and keep them coming.

Since I'm not towing and don't need any extra stopping power, I'm looking at some of the cheaper options out there. Is this Centric set of semi-metallic pads any good? I'm not planning on changing the rotors after a complete front suspension redo. That was much more expensive than I thought.

 

I apologize if I'm wrong, but I thought they did the 2 piston front calipers earlier than 03. I know 03 was the only year for 4 wheel disc. Actually why I put an 03 rear end under mine when I had to replace it. Just my experience with my front brakes on my 98, they're horrible compared to anything else I've ever driven including my 93 Dakota I had. New lines calipers pads and rotors. Made no difference in mine. But I can't remember the material of pads I used. Bosch rotors though. Again, I could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time, just thought that 01 was the year they put decent calipers on the front

 

Unless you are driving the thing on a track or on windy mountain roads at high speed or towing constantly just go with the standard pads. Ceramic pads are superior to normal pads at high temps (less fade) and the only time you will notice is if you meet the conditions above. Otherwise standard pads work just as well, are generally quiter, and don't wear your rotors as much.

 

Carbon ceramic brakes on expensive sports cars are more resistant to fading, but regular ceramic pads will fade before semi metallics.

 

that_guy, i misunderstood what you were trying to get at, it sounded to me like you were comparing the different brands of pads even tho they had not been installed on the same vehicle.

that said, cross drilled rotors are VERY prone to heat cracking from the holes, and it makes perfect sense from an engineering standpoint, you have heat concentrations at those point, this causes stress build up, the holes reduce material (and therefore strength) and the rotors fatigue faster than solid (vented) discs. Fatigued metal cracks, this is why race cars typically use slotted rotors only, they hold up much better than cross drilled ones and they provide the added benefit of 'cleaning' the pads friction surface to prevent glazing. (think of the slot edge as a razor, and it shaves off the glazed or overheated pad material leaving nice fresh friction surface for braking). (yes some of this information is vastly simplified since i dont think most people want to read the in depth engineering based explanations)

However i still run solid rotors on all my street driven vehicles because they last longer (more material), are cheaper to replace and function above the requirements of street driving.

Also as far as fade resistance goes it all depends on the pad compound and each manufacturer will have their own proprietary compound which will have a different heat range. All brake pads have an effective heat range, carbon/ceramic(and before that but to a lesser extent, metallic) pads have an exceptionally high heat range which means that they will not grab well when cold and must warm up before you get good performance. Ceramic and Semi-Metallic will both have lower heat ranges(these will work well when cold, which is most street driving), with semi-metallic having the widest range of possible heat ranges. A good set of ceramics COULD have a higher heat fade resistance than a set of cheap semi-metallics, but that would be at the cost to cold brake performance.


Pspklutch

no harm, just clarifying the information it is an easy mistake to make since there were ALOT of changes made to the 2001 over the 98-00 trucks, the brakes just doesnt happen to be one of them.


now back to the OP, if you want to simplify things and get the best performance from a stock pad for a reasonable cost, i suggest you get your hands on a set of police package brakes for these trucks, they got a more aggressive (softer) compound in order to increase braking performance without changing the rotors/calipers or anything else in the braking system. Otherwise buying performance brake parts can get expensive very quickly

 

Did some research and I agree. Now I'll have to get my front spindles from an 03 only to get the bigger calipers. But first I need 16s all around... ya for more work just to get more stopping power!

 

that is true

The total reality is that the truck is 17 years old and most vehicles that age have 200k+ miles on them. It really doesn't matter what pads you put on it because after 2 weeks of driving it around you will be used to the new way it glides to a stop (better or worse than original) just go to Autozone (or your favorite part store) grab whatever they have around $20 and you will probably be happy enough with them. Odds are if you were happy before that is what the truck was running anyway and being that old odds are you will be driving something else before they need replaced again.
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No worries. And I do understand why drilled rotors can crack, but I do think that some drilled rotors are of better quality than others. My point is that I think the powerstop ones are better than the delco ones. I would have gone with just slotted if given the choice, but since most people have it in their heads that drilled is better, most companies cater to that and only offer drilled and slotted.


Until a panic stop, then you'll notice if they're worse. For me the ceramics couldn't even lock the front wheels (not saying locking them is good, just that they couldn't take full advantage of the grip the tires have) while the EBCs can. Even if it only meant a couple feet of difference to stop, that can be enough to save an accident.

 

Where would I find those?