im going to be putting on new front pads soon and was wondering what brands are better without cleaning out my wallet. i was thinking duralast gold cmax. has anyone used them or have a better suggestion?

 

Brand is not really so important as material...and that really depends on what you are looking for I think...that being said...

For example...the wife's car has chrome wheels...I am not ever going to put anything other than ceramic pads on it...I just do not want to devote 80% of my life to cleaning brake dust off of chrome...

The truck, on the other hand, who cares about brake dust. No need to buy ceramics and deal with the occasional squeak...

So, on that note, I just bought pads on Rock Auto for the wife's Buick...Bendix Ceramic heavy duty with new hardware for like $45 or something...they are perfectly fine IMHO...I would not spend any more than that...on any vehicle I own...

I think you can get semi-metallic Bendix pads for your truck for less than $40...

I don't know about the store brand pads but I have had good luck with Bendix stuff on all my vehicles...

 

I've had pretty good luck with the duralast gold pads from autozone(i think 50 for the front) I have heard about the ebc brakes and everyone loves them. I've run them for as long as I can remember on atv's and they hold up to my abuse. Next set im going to try them as they are only 20.00 more so they are worth a shot.

 

I've got a set of EBC blind drilled and slotted rotors with ultimax pads. For the most part they are pretty good except for the enormous amount of brake dust. After 20k miles the slots on the back side of both of the rotors appear to be filling with filings or packed solid with dust. One of the rotors has also developed a 2-3cm long crack in the running surface that doesn't appear to go all the way through or effecting any performance.

Overall I am happy with EBC pads and rotors

 

The softer the lining, the less wear you'll have on rotors & drums.

 

If you can get to a Federated Auto Parts, they have both Raybestos Ceramics and a Silver Brand Ceramic. The Silver Brand is only $29.00 and holds up very well. If you are hauling trailers, boats, etc. then I would suggest a heavier pad such as Raybestos, Bendix, or Wagner. Remember that the OE pad was Semi-metallic......