Brake Pads: OEM, Premium or Ultra-Premium?

I'm tired of guessing. I forget where I heard it before, but the saying was something like "Either get the cheapest or the best there is....middle of the road is bullshit". I've gotten the cheap-o NAPA pads for my Jeep for years and they would last for years and perform fine even with 35" tires, so that was a no brainer.

For my use now (new to me Ford F150), semi-metallic pads are best. Fine. At NAPA:

OE SM: $19.35
Premium SM: $43.20 (more than double??)
Ultra Premium SM: $67.50 (more than TRIPLE???)

Prices are per wheel BTW.

What's the best choice IYHO, assuming you had the ching? I'm puttin around Gilpin County here so I'm not racing on I-25 and panic stopping in traffic, but I am going up and down steep ass hills every single day.

The truck it torn apart already and I'm doing the job tomorrow (Monday), so any opinions are appreciated.

I generally use the NAPA premium or ultra premium. I know they stop a lot better than the OEM brakes on every single car I have ever owned.

Even though you've been a complete ass to me, I'll help you out. That's not the price per wheel; it's the price per axle. As you're concerned about the price difference; get the cheapest & put the money you saved toward new rotors, as I'm sure they're needed.

Good luck.

I recently got pads and rotors off Rockauto amd I'll have to look up what I bought because there is next to zero brake dust now. It's amazing.

I've had good luck with the Napa premiums. They come with new hardware also for my vehicles (springs, shims, anti squeak, etc)

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Originally Posted by fportmen45

Even though you've been a complete ass to me, I'll help you out. That's not the price per wheel; it's the price per axle. As you're concerned about the price difference; get the cheapest & put the money you saved toward new rotors, as I'm sure they're needed.

Good luck.

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Yes! It is per axle. I mistook "1 set of 4 pads" to mean 1 set out of 4 wheels. Either way, 2x or 3x the price for premium or ultra premium is a big difference. What IS the difference?

If it's worth it to get the Ultra Premiums, I'll get them. If ultra premiums last 3x longer, than fine (I doubt this). If they just give you better "quick stop" performance, than it's not worth it for me. I don't give a crap about brake dust or noise - vehicles up here have the "Gilpin Crud" all year so you'd never notice the dust anyway.

I posted this here after Googling around for about half an hour and getting nowhere. And yeah, rotors need to be turned at least. Plenty of meat on them and barely scored - just noticed the grind this afternoon.

And man, no hard feelings. [Beer]

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Originally Posted by GilpinGuy

Yes! It is per axle. I mistook "1 set of 4 pads" to mean 1 set out of 4 wheels. Either way, 2x or 3x the price for premium or ultra premium is a big difference. What IS the difference?

If it's worth it to get the Ultra Premiums, I'll get them. If ultra premiums last 3x longer, than fine (I doubt this). If they just give you better "quick stop" performance, than it's not worth it for me. I don't give a crap about brake dust or noise - vehicles up here have the "Gilpin Crud" all year so you'd never notice the dust anyway.

I posted this here after Googling around for about half an hour and getting nowhere. And yeah, rotors need to be turned at least. Plenty of meat on them and barely scored - just noticed the grind this afternoon.

And man, no hard feelings. [Beer]

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Right on.

I'd just rock the cheap ones for your needs. The expensive ones will wear our your rotors before the pads are done. NAPA used to have a lifetime warranty on pads - I don't know now.

EDIT: Just be sure they come with shims, else they'll squeal like pigs (that smurf jizz doesn't work). If the leading edges aren't angled, take a grinder to 'em, else they still squeal like pigs. Also, clean up and (brake) grease your sliders & pins. Give yourself extra time to stop until the pads are broken in.

Sorry for all the edits.

Rock Auto. I try to shop local but when the difference is 50%-75%, it makes it hard.

Going into the shop soon to fix the Jeep front end death wobble. Probably spindle U joints. Rock Auto was the best price...

I ran the cheapest pads ($20 lifetime warranty shit) for EXACTLY 3 cycles. Took me 45 days.
The super cheapo pads may work if you drive like granny, but in my experience, they suck. New pads, rotors, calipers, lines, and master cylinder net me a total of less than 3 weeks on a set. (Resulting in cooking the rotors and caliper boots)
Granted, this was when I was a teenager, driving my sedan like Dale Sr.

I will run nothing other than good ceramic pads now. Wagner Thermoquiets are my choice. I switched to Wagners after the 3rd set on the same car I spoke about above. The pads lasted 8 years (and had 20% left on swap) before I went with a larger brake set.

Triple the price. More than triple the worth. Less brake dust on wheels, less sparks flying past windows, etc.

ETA: if the Wagners are not available for the vehicle I am working on (friend's), i will lean toward Autozone Duralast Gold.

OEM. Always OEM. They may wear faster than some, but last longer than some non-oem's but they should fit perfectly and and not squeak or glaze like certain aftermarket pads. Just my 2 cents; I only have Jap vehicles that use Denso parts.

I only run Napa Ultra Premium on my vehicles.

Yes, they are more expensive, but they work exceptionally well, last a long time, and are worth it. The biggest thing for me, is that when I step on the brakes the truck feels like it is stopping "square and even"... Cheaper pads on my Dodge have had the feeling of one side pulling more than the other.

Don't buy the cheap Napa rotors. I have warped two sets now on two different vehicles.

Just got pads all the way around and front rotors from Rock Auto for less than the local price at Autozone. Got Bosch pads, not sure who made the rotors.

What did you end up running?

Driving style and specific vehicle make a difference. Wife's 1999 Suburban went through brake pads like candy. In 80K, put on 3 sets. The last were premiums and lasted well over twice as long as the OEMs. Had a Thunderbird that needed pads at about 50K and put OEMs on. Sold it with about 90K on it and the pads were fine.

My 2003 Silverado went 170K before I needed front brakes, 110K it needed rear brakes, and it is on 35s. The GTO has 66K and the brakes are still looking great.

Making notes here, got two vehicles needing brake work.

Is Rock Auto the same as NAPA? Or affiliated somehow?

Rockauto is an online auto parts dealer. They aren't affiliated with NAPA that I know of.

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Originally Posted by fportmen45

What did you end up running?

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Ended up going with Premium rotors - didn't have the time to get the old ones turned. I read somewhere that with the cheapo rotors, many are made in China and you have no idea what metal mix is in them which can cause performance and wear issues.

Went with Ultra Premium semi-metallic pads, only because the only Premium pads they had were ceramic and I wanted semi-metallic. $20 more.

After install, these feel great. Way more "solid" feel when braking and very smooth compared to the last set. I have no idea what those were.

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Originally Posted by GilpinGuy

Ended up going with Premium rotors - didn't have the time to get the old ones turned. I read somewhere that with the cheapo rotors, many are made in China and you have no idea what metal mix is in them which can cause performance and wear issues.

Went with Ultra Premium semi-metallic pads, only because the only Premium pads they had were ceramic and I wanted semi-metallic. $20 more.

After install, these feel great. Way more "solid" feel when braking and very smooth compared to the last set. I have no idea what those were.

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Right on!

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Originally Posted by rondog

Making notes here, got two vehicles needing brake work.

Is Rock Auto the same as NAPA? Or affiliated somehow?

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You're confusing The Rock Parts Company (NAPA) here in Parker and a few other locations with Rockauto.

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Originally Posted by brutal

You're confusing The Rock Parts Company (NAPA) here in Parker and a few other locations with Rockauto.

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I bet that's it! I'm easily confused.....

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Originally Posted by fportmen45

What did you end up running?

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Assuming this was for my post it was less than $130 with shipping. Very happy with them.

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Originally Posted by OldFogey

Assuming this was for my post it was less than $130 with shipping. Very happy with them.

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Right on - thanks for the info!

I have a new spare set of NAPA pads I'll put on my Gen 1 Tundra tomorrow. They were the high end pads I bought in 2011, probably the "ultra premium", but I didn't use them then. I usually do my own brake work but at the time the calipers needed to be replaced so I ended up having the Toyota dealer do the work, and they did it cheaper than several quotes from other local shops. Surprise, surprise. Today, I've gotten 60.4K miles out of those pads which is remarkable since I have a lead foot on both gas and brakes and routinely drive at high speed in the mountains. I'll go with premium pads if only to avoid more frequent maintenance.

Needing to gear up for the upcoming backcountry hunts on forest roads and winter driving over the passes, it's time to replace shocks and tires too, all in the next week. Go prepared or be sorry.