Maco

I know this is my 1st post, but i'm amazed on how bad the original factory front brake pads are. Long story short my g/f bought a new 08 Civic last May and right now she has 25k miles on the clock and the car is in need for brakes...what aftermarket set of pads do you guys suggest for this car? metalic, semi, ceramic?? The car is an 08' Civic Coupe (not SI). She tends to brake hard t times and does a lot of fwy driving. I want to buy a decent set of pads and have my mechanic put them on.
thx for your help guys.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i have a hunch that the factory pads are like "test" versions, kinda like how when you buy a printer, the ink cartridge is only half full of ink lol. on my 02 the front pads were done after 20k miles, but my next set of oem pads from the dealer lasted 40k miles. regardless, if she does alot of hard braking, i would recommend the Hawk HPS pads which are built a bit better to withstand prolonged and hard braking better than the stock semi-metallics.

ronaldo9

iTrader: (6)

Stock pads were not junk they just dont' last long. Plus 1 for gearbox with the Hawk HPS. I have them now and they are superb. EBC greenstuff were good too just dusty.

un_nica

I am having the same EXACT experience. I have about 22K miles on my 08 Civic LX and the front pads are done. I want to purchase after market pads but here is my dilemma: I want to buy pads that match the OEM composition: (organic, semi-metalic, ceramic, etc, etc, etc). That's what I don't know. Amazingly I called the dealer's parts department and they did not know what the composition of the OEM pads were. I then called a local parts store and they said that the composition of the OEM pads were Ceramic. If this true? Thanks for your help.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i think newer honda still use semi-metallic. i know 01-05 did for sure.

Awjvail

From my experience, factory pads are terrible from any manufacturer.

My grandfather has an 02 Dodge Grand Caravan and he had to get new rotors and pads at 14k.

Good old Chrysler quality, eh?

slowboyscivic

Seems like almost all aftermarket pads squeek on a Civic. My best experience has been with the Hawk Street pads!

CivicArrow

I have a 2009 Civic with 44,000 miles on it. We bought it used from a dealer with 24,000 miles on it in Dec. 2009. I just came from the dealer. My front brakes are squealing because the inner pads are down to the wear indicators.

The Honda mechanic said he thinks the pads are original; we live in a rural area and do no "city driving." He said that Honda pads are NOT ceramic. He said that After Market pads MIGHT -- be thinner than Honda pads and not last as long. If the material is harder (like ceramic), they MIGHT score the rotors. He recommends we use only Honda pads - for $60 a pair. He did not tell me that after market pads might squeal.

I have been told, by a VW service manager, that after market pads will squeal if used on a 2001 New Beetle. He scared me into paying VW $400 for new pads and rotors in 2003. The VW was DESIGNED to replace both front pads AND rotors each time the pads are changed. In my case, the car had 22,000 miles on it!

So, I am off to some other sights like cartalk.com to see what I can learn about after market pads. I had very good luck with after market ceramic pads on my 1995 Nissan Maxima. The pads had "heat cracks" after about 80,000 miles but they still seemed to work fine.

If I buy after market pads, I will ask for a guarantee that they won't squeal.

The saga continues ...

tjg312

of course the stealerships will try and sway you toward buying their overpriced pads, more $$ for them.
in my opinion on my 03 civic the Hawk HPS pads are great, no squeaking an great braking

mililani

Sorry about raising the dead. I was googling OEM Civic brake pads to figure out what they are made of and this post appeared. I read it and decided to add my $0.02.

I was on the original factory OEM pads on a Japan built 2001 Civic for over 110k miles (original owner). I just changed them out yesterday. Here's a pic for comparison between an old one and a new one:

http://imgur.com/SCEAr.jpg

I still probably had 50-60k miles left on the old pad before the indicator hit the rotors. Pretty amazing, eh?

Anyways, my point is your miles may vary. ;-)

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

wow and your old pads dont look that used up either!

lazlong

Most late model cars have ceramic from the factory because they're supposed to be quieter but, they don't last as long.

kbook

Depends on driving styles. When I was the delivery driver. Life of break pads were around 5 months. I used to work 6 days/week and I spent at least 6 hours in the car.
Oh importantly, I used to drive in the city ( > 95%) but now I use more highways ( >90%).

The break pads last over a year now. I still preferred the oem rotors/pads. The CHEAP pads won't do the job right and the OEM pads are better than those pads. I have never tried the EBC or performance pads so I do not really know.

Mad Dog Tannen

Ceramic pads handle high brake temperatures with less heat fade, provide faster recovery after the stop, and generate less dust and wear on both the pads and rotors.
And they produce a little less noise but that's not why we use them nowadays.

Please don't keep rumors going.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

doesnt porsche use ceramic based rotors too?

Mad Dog Tannen

^ Porsche uses a type of Carbon Fiber Ceramic Composite rotors.

It's actually very similar to what we use on the C17 aircraft that I maintain. Except my jet uses 8 rotors per wheel with 10 pistons.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Anyone have trouble with OEM brake pads making a clicking noise from reverse to drive? As if the pas had a little bit of play in it? I am wondering why its doing this.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah my car has clicked since it was new but only the first time you press the brake after shifting to drive. i think its just the abs calibrating or something. i know rsx does this also.

Jon Martinez

My wife is at 51,000 miles on our 14 accord 2.4, it all depends on how you drive. Take for instance freeway driving. If you stay in the middle lane you could get from point a to point b with minimal braking as long as you don't ride the *** of the person in front of you. If you don't keep a good distance and constantly have to brake it will wear out your brakes faster and cause worse gas mileage the two literally go hand and hand. So if your getting poor mileage then your most certainly causing premature pad wear and excessive rotor heat and warping. I would say the wear on your pads is caused by your driving, and not the pads.