"adaptive brake pads"????? BS or good idea?

[megaladon6]

i was visiting my brother at his shop today and the NAPA rep came in to sell the boss on their new "adaptive brake pads". he said that the inboard pad is a different formulation from the outer. they carry them in the different quality lines and have them for many different cars.
anyone know anything about these?
why would you want a different inner pad vs the outer?
come on Tobin, i know you're out there! :):worship:

[sik68]

Press release:
http://www.aftermarketnews.com/Item/27592/napa_brakes_unveils_new_adaptive_one_hybrid_cerami c_disc_brake_pads.aspx


Cliff's Notes:
"Adaptive One’s inboard pad is specially formulated for optimal stopping performance , while its outboard pad is specially formulated to reduce noise and dusting, according to the company ."

Psh. I'll take stopping performance on both my pads, please.

[Vegas69]

One of the dumbest things I've heard all week. Their is very little chance of the pads wearing at the same rate and who the hell doesn't want two pads that stop well. :machine:

[sik68]

One of the dumbest things I've heard all week. Their is very little chance of the pads wearing at the same rate and who the hell doesn't want two pads that stop well. :machine:

Just all week? You must hear a lot of dumb things!

[kerryt1]

Equal force is applied to both pads, and different compounds means different stopping forces would be generated by each pad.

Seems like less stopping force to me, maybe I'm missing something?

[MonzaRacer]

n o the actual thing is hese pads dust less, while you may not know this but many pad sets are mixed formulas to help decrease dusting, squeaks,etc.
The performance has been tested and perfected, dont over think what the engineers have figured out.
the friction coefficient of both pads are same, just it cost you less as your outside pad costs more to be dustless.
Price the premium ceramics over the AE united pads from NAPA, the Ceramics are about a 1/3 higher so mix formulas, no dust, great performance.

[Apogee]

The term "ceramic" is not regulated by any governing body, so any pad with any amount of ceramic in it can be called a "ceramic" pad. That said, I was talking to one of the guys at Satisfied (a Canadian friction supplier whose entire line of street & racing pads are "ceramic"), and most of their pads have between 30 to 40+ different compounds in them in varying amounts to give the desired performance characteristics with respect to temp range, coefficient of friction, dust, noise, wear, etc.

While I understand why Adaptive One has done what they've done, I believe it's more a ploy to set themselves apart in an increasingly competitive commodities market. For street use, dust and noise are the leading complaints regarding brake pads, hence the drive for such a product. Only time will tell if they've found something that people are willing to pay for...good or bad.

Tobin
KORE3

[T-Bone]

I put these pads on my wife's VW Bug, and they definitely dust less than OEM - almost nothing. The OE pad dust was horrible - black/brown coating the front wheels heavily every few weeks.

Otherwise, braking performance seems identical to OEM.