Went with ceramic pads over semi-metallic on my Camry last weekend

I was standing in the auto parts store trying to decide between the $35 semi-metallic pads and the $58 ceramics. I went with ceramics because I got tired of that morning brake squeal when I pull out of my driveway at 6 AM. Installed them in about 90 minutes in my garage with just a jack and a C-clamp. So far they stop smooth and quiet, but I'm curious if they'll wear out faster than the old ones. Anyone else switch and notice a big difference in dust on your wheels?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahhall3d ago

Stood there myself last year with my Civic. Seemed like everything is a tradeoff now. Quiet brakes, more dust. Less dust, louder brakes. Better stopping, faster wear. It's like they engineered compromise into everything. Even my damn coffee maker has a setting for "bold" but then it takes twice as long to brew. Just pick your poison and move on.

kelly612d ago

You said it, it's all tradeoffs now... I did the exact same thing on my Accord last spring, got tired of that squeal every morning when I backed out. The dust on my wheels is definitely worse with ceramics, like I'm wiping them down every week now instead of every few months. But at least I don't wake up the whole neighborhood pulling out at 5:45 AM... my old semi-metallics sounded like a dying cat. I figure I'll just deal with the dust and keep the peace, you know?