What are your brake pad suggestions?
I've been searching the net with out any luck to see what is the best brake pad for my 2005 ram 1500.
My two year old Hawk LTS pads wore out, which I had no complaints about. My cross drilled rotors are good, just need a cleaning turn on the brake lathe. I've been debating ceramic pads or is there really anything dramatically better than what I had used.
Btw, I really don't haul, just kids everywhere, city driving, once in a while in the mountains.

 

I have been using ceramics... since they first came out... a long time ago..

more bite,,, less blacking of wheels... take greater heat... stops quicker...

whats not to like.

 

HuskerNation1, Hawk has great brake pads. But since you already had them, I would suggest you EBC brake pads: http://www.carid.com/2005-dodge-ram-...ce-brake-pads/
If you want to double-check fitment, or have any other specific questions, feel free to contact our tech specialists for any assistance at 1-800-505-327.

 

I've been using C-Max ceramics from Autozone for years. Love them and when they wear out, I take them back and get a replacement set at no charge.

 

It looks like I'm wrong on the Bendix cross drilled rotors, they are groved & the parts store mic'd them as bad and couldn't be turned. I was surprised when I looked at the numbers since there looks to be only 1.6mm from full thickness (28mm) to minimum thickness (26.4mm). One set of front rotors shot by one set of pads....not very good wear.

If my numbers are correct that sure seems like a small window from good to bad rotor. I'm going to have a repair shop double check them tomorrow since I couldn't find an inexpensive rotor mic to buy. If they are shot, I'm looking at cross drilled rotors from; powerstop, brakemotive, or summitt's branded. Any thoughts?

 

high performance rotors.. are like high performance tires...

lots of performance and short LIFE....OR good performance and longer life.... can NOT have both..

and the type of brake PAD can increase or decrease rotor life. but at a cost..
money or miles of life.

 

Brakebest ceramic pads. Advantage to ceramics is you don't have to deal with brake dust. Lose the cross drilled rotors. Waste of money on a street driven vehicle unless you just want the "high end" look..

 

Thanks for everyones replays. As it turned out I was hauling a sick kid to the doctors last week & still had the rotors in the van. So after the appointment I stopped by a mechanic across the street. They said they thought they could turn them & still have plenty above the minimum thickness, but if they couldn't they wouldn't charge me. Sounded like a win-win to me. In the end they were well above the minimum thickness & he said there wasn't any runout issues before turning either.
Since I caught my daughters cold, I sporadically worked on it over the weekend. The rears pads had more than half life left, so for now I just threw the Hawk back on the front. My old front calipers were rather sticky so I also installed rebuilt ones on the front. It was a slow process being sick but I also took the time to clean the rust off the hub face, front & back of rotor, and the back of the wheels so all would mate up nicely. While I was doing such a bang up job on the front, I pulled the rears apart to check the calipers. They were good so I cleaned the hardware & regressed everything & finally bleed the system.
Once I get out to do the pad bedding procedure, another daughter home ill today, I should be rolling right along.

 

glad you are able to find places that still turn rotors.... Wish I could.

I am a retired auto mechanic.. shame I had to pitch the stock OEM rotors... no one in 30 miles of home... N.E. Ohio... No One turned/cuts anymore here.

 

None around me either. Manufacturers use such tight tolerances there is usually no room to turn and still meet minimum thickness.