I looked up the actual stopping distance difference between cheap pads and quality ones

So I was reading some test data from a car magazine online, not just forum hearsay. They measured stopping distance from 60 mph on the same car with basic $20 pads versus premium $60 ones. The cheap pads needed 15 more feet to stop. That's a whole car length. I always figured the difference was mostly noise and dust, not actual safety. Found out the cheap pads fade way faster after just two hard stops too. I drive a lot of mountain roads and never thought about that. Who else has actually measured real world brake performance instead of just going by feel?

2 comments

2 Comments

miawalker12d ago

Saw a similar test on YouTube where they measured rotor temps after repeated stops, cheap pads hit 800 degrees while premium ones stayed around 600. Makes you wonder how many close calls are actually from people running bargain bin hardware.

jamie_clark12d ago

That reminds me of the time my buddy thought he could save cash by mixing two different pad brands on his car. Ended up with this weird pulling issue halfway down a canyon.