I'm really happy with the Hawk ceramics. Good stopping power and quiet too. Not sure about the dust since I haven't had them on that long.

 

A little off-topic but...

What kind of mileage are you guyz getting out of your brake pads and under what type of driving? The Stang is my first domestic vehicle in over 20 years and I'm used to getting 100,000-150,000 miles per set on my (choke) "rice burners".

 

I had 25K miles on mine and they were only half worn. My rotors were a little warped though so I figured might as well replace it all rather than half @ss it. Brake pad wear is extremely variable and will depend a LOT on your driving style and where you drive.

 

They are loud, til they heat up

 

I disagree. MIne are quieter than stock at all times

 

Ceramic works better at higher temps...but that's cool yours aren't loud

 

I have a set sitting in the garage waiting to be installed.
I've heard numerous good reviews about them with very few saying that the stopping power is less than stock.

 

I'd love to try the Hawk Ceramics, but I usually go with Ford pads because they come with all the little hardware parts. I don't know where to get these parts beside with the factory pads.

 

Can you briefly describe your typical braking, and just what it is about them that "feels" better than OE (before your OE went AWOL on you if possible)?

Did you follow whatever bedding-in procedure was recommended?


From ceramics I would expect quiet operation and low visible dusting. But I suspect that initial "bite" isn't quite up to what the HPS pad compound delivers. Both (ceramics and HPS) are truly streetable pads, and both may well outperform OE pads in many respects once properly bedded in, just that they're skewed toward different segments of the replacement brake pad market.


Norm

 

I use my car as a daily driver. They fell better than OE because there is less pulsation through the pedal (more due to new rotors though) and less groan throughout the car especially at high temps. They are very quiet and when I say quiet I don't mean sqealing, I mean during normal use. To make it clear, if you took away the feeling of deceleration you wouldn't even know I applied the brakes. No noise at all.

Everyone says initial bite is less until hot but I'm not sure what that means. I don't leave my driveway, blast down the street and slam on my brakes at the stop sign. You're always going to have some heat built up in the system during normal driving. I've had to hit my brakes at 85mph and never once felt that the initial bite was inadequate.

I've never used the HPS pads or similar, only stock so I can't compare. Those may very well pull th eyeballs from your head but its not what I needed. I'm an average driver with spirited stints here and there and thats it. Will they be good for a high speed run down a canyon? Not sure. I'm going to Tennessee in a month so I'll let you know

I know I don't want to have noisy, dusty brakes 100% of the time when I'l really only use the capability of the pad 1%.