Hi All
I keep seeing these cars around Raleigh so I came in to post up some info for you.
First - here are some pictures of the Tesla pads and the Carbotech Bobcats that I will refer to later.
- - - Updated - - -
The edit button is off for some reason - sorry.
I'll try again
Hi All
I keep seeing these cars around Raleigh so I came in to post up some info for you.
First - here are some pictures of the Tesla pads and the Carbotech Bobcats that I will refer to later.
These are typical Brembo production car brake pads made from them by Ferodo. The compound you can see is HP1000.
They put these pads in all sorts of cars that have Brembo brakes.
They are a 'European' type pad.
Good feel
Good heat resistance
Usually quiet
Good stopping power (Remember - these are used on mostly heavy, expensive, powerful vehicles)
They also
Make lots of black brake dust
Are semi aggressive to rotors.
We Americans are picky about the brake dust and don't care so much about stopping. (That's what insurance is for lol!)
So we like ceramic pad compounds more than semi-metallic. For most users it's fine. They work and will stop the car. But they are numb and essentially useless hot.
As stated though - ceramic pads do often reduce power and worsen brake feel. They also are prone to judder (warped rotor feel) and wear is usually quicker. But ceramic is a vague term. What it means is that we take soem of the known good braking ingredients out and use some that are OK but not as good at stopping but greatly reduce the amount of dust that sticks to wheels. They still dust - the dust does not stick.
The amount of metals replaced has a lot to do with how the pads work. Carbotech for example is a 'ceramic' type pad but they are still using some metal. There is still some other voodoo going on over there - but in the end you have a pretty low dusting pad that still has good stopping power and fade resistance. Certainly not the same as a parts store ceramic pad. PS - Please don't buy AutoZone parts for your USA made luxury electric car!!
Few other notes.
I don't have a Tesla - but if I did I would make sure the brakes got used at least a few times a day. That keeps rust off the rotor surface and makes sure they will be there if/when you need them.
You see the FF on the stock pad. That's a friction code that the pad falls into. Weaker ceramic pads might be an EE while a very aggressive street pad like a Hawk HP+ is a GG.
You see the Carbotech pad is beveled on the end. That helps w/ noise.
You see the giant 'ears' on the Ferodo pad. That's Brembo admitting they have a noise issue w/ the D1001 pad shape caliper they are selling to all the manufacturer's. Corvette's, Camaro's and I am sure some other's have those while I'd bet that Infiniti wishes that they had those back when the G35 Sport owners were complaining in droves. Most of the older calipers just have a pad like the Carbotech without the silly ears.
We got a few sets out there so far. First impressions are they do help so if that's for you let us know.
It will be years till someone needs rotors - but someone should ask Tesla the question.
-Ken