sdsaw

Was planning on going with the factory replacement front pads until the dealer just quoted $160 something for the pair

Geno's Garage is offering these:
MOPAR VALUE LINE-FRONT BRAKE PADS ('94-'99 DODGE) 2500
http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....AKE-V1012364AB

Geno's also has these:
HAWK SUPERDUTY - FRONT BRAKE PADS ('94-'99 DODGE) 2500
http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....KE-04-296.670P


I'm looking for a pad that will have minimum wear on the rotor like the factory pad offers which is what it has now.
The stopping power is good enough for what I use my truck for.

The Hawk Super Duty Pads don't seem like the right ones for me.

Has anybody been using the MOPAR VALUE LINE-FRONT BRAKE PADS and are happy with them?

While doing a search in the archives, I see the Hawk brand mentioned often. Which line will fit my needs?

Thanks, Scott

infidel

I use the Hawks but get them here www.tirerack.com
Not sure if they are cheaper.
Best match pad for our rotors by far. Long lasting.

Sort of interesting that Hawk makes very few pads for automotive applications, most are for heavy trucks and equipment.

wcbcruzer

Never tried Hawk, heard good stuff about them. I use lifetime warranty Duralast Gold pads from Autozone. Gotta love Autozone.

Mrlou

Hawk for me also, summit racing caries them.

sdsaw

Thanks infidel!
You're the one that keeps showing up recommending the Hawk brand when I do a search.

Which series do you recommend?
Hawk HPS Street brake pads for 8800 GVW models
Hawk LTS Truck/SUV Pads for 8800 GVW models

Thanks again!

sdsaw

Thanks wcbcruzer!
When I google Duralast Gold pads and read the reviews of folks running them on other vehicles, they sound pretty good, especially for the price and the lifetime warranty.

I was wondering if you have noticed any excessive wear on your rotors since using them?

Thanks!

wcbcruzer

I haven't noticed any excessive wear on my rotors yet. I do run them on all our cars and they've all been braking great for many miles. No rotor issues so far, knock on wood. I think the front set of Duralast Gold's for my truck was like $45.

sdsaw

$45 for a set of brake pads? ...Gotta love Autozone

sheriffav8r

I used the Mopar ValueLine for a while but now run AutoZone cheapos for $24 on 2003 rotors. So far they are great. Can't beat the lifetime warranty....

Crimedog

Just to add more confusion...

I'm a huge fan of the Wagner Thermo-Quiet pads. Awesome life out of them, and Advance Autoshowed my last set as a Lifetime Warranty. Plus right now you can get a $30 rebate on them at Advance Auto (maybe elsewhere, too?). They're quiet, don't wear the rotors, and no visible break dust.

nickg

Here my two cents,
First a little background, then you can decide if what I'm telling you is valid. I bought my truck 2yrs ago, its used for a delivery service(courior) it sees 8-10hrs a day in city stop and go traffic, hauling loads up to 2500#, I have logged approx 130,000kms of city driving (75,000miles approx)I'm I retired Military Mechanic, so i do all my own repairs. I also have the GM 1 ton rear wheel cyls, and adjust the rears every month, each month sees approx 5000-8000kms.
I believe the longest any brakes have lasted me was 23,000kms or just over 4 months.

OEM pads, were approx 60$ lasted about 2 months, they were quiet, but after a couple hard stops brake fade was evident, to be fair I used these before I had done the rear GM cyl mod.

No Name local parts store pads, lasted a month, lots of brake dust, word not stop worth crap. and were cheap (about 35$)

Wagner thermo Quiets (100$ approx) they were quiet, not too dusty, suffered brake fade, lasted about 3 months,

Raybestos Sure Stops, up till this point were the best of the lot, they flat out stopped, good bite when standing on the pedal, did not seem to brake fade when doing a extended hi-speed stop, lasted 3-4 months.

Bendix (commercial application) they came with a warranty that was good for one replacement set of brakes if you wore them out, but alas they dont honor this in Canada.
These are the holy grail of stopping power, the bite when you hit the pedal is absolutely amazing, they are fairly low dust, and long lasting, a little longer than 4 months and 23,000kms. the ONLY down side is the noise, they squeel alot when under light braking, when approaching a stop, if you push slightly harder the noise stops. These pads were approx 125$

Hawk pads, I have them on there now and they have only about a months use on them, they bite OK, are low dust. and are quiet, were 140$ . they are susposed to be a thicker pad material to help extend brake life. for what I paid and their performance I won't be using them again, I expected better,

NONE of the above pads are hard on the rotors, I replaced the rotors a while back as they were showing some wear, but it was faster to replace them instead of waiting for them to be re-surfaced. I kept them so I could turn them and re-use them the next time I was needing to replace them, just to speed up the down time.

I have read good things about EBC, but cant get them locally, so I stuck with what I could get. right now as soon as I've burned off the Hawks I'm switching the rotors and pads to the bigger 3rd gen brakes, I've already bought the caliper brackets and have 2 sets of factory chrome 3rd gen wheels (17inch) the difference between the 2nd and 3rd gens is huge.

here is how I rated the brakes, factoring in stopping power and longevity, and price, Plse note for each brand I bought the most expensive pad they carried in their line.
Bexdix: By far the best pad! just noisy, excellent stopping power, no fade under repeated hard applications
Raybestos: next best, good stopping power, and quiet
Hawk : Might last longer I dont know yet, but does not stop as good as the above 2 brands, they are close, but I would not buy them again even if they last longer.
Wagner: Quiet, better than OEM for bite, brake fade evident
OEM : cheap pad good if you dont use your truck under hard conditions
Local House brands: a waste of money, if the pads are cheap, thats exactly what they are

Take my opinion for what its worth, every one has brands they like, and use them under different conditions, remember my info is based on my use

infidel

Good write up Nick, thanks.

Stormin_Norman

Good information Nick, thanks.


I'm running NAPA premium, not as good of bite as the stock pads but they are wearing well. After reading Nicks post, I'll try some Bendix next time.

nickg

Thanks, you guys are welcome, I've learned lots from this site and enjoy giving back, I've spent lots of money on pads in a short period of time, hopefully someone else benifets from it as well. It did open my eyes as well, I've done virtually hundereds of brake jobs on everything from a Leopard Tank to a go-cart, and I fiqured a pad is a pad is a pad, I could not have been more wrong. I suspect because the brakes on this 8800# truck are so weak, it really stresses the brake pads. as I stated above, Likely I'll be buying the rotors and pads for an 3rd gen in the very near future, and I'll report how much better the bigger brakes actually are, I suspect I'll not be dissapointed.

sheriffav8r

nickg, sounds like you need to get the 3rd gen rotor upgrade. I did it and the results are like night and day. With the larger rotors you get 24 square inches more rotor area than the 2001 rotors. That's a lot of extra stopping power (especially when you double it for each side of the rotor and double it again for the other wheel). Two new front rotors give you a total stopping rotor area of 96 square inches! Total upgrade (rotors, calipers with brackets, and pads) comes to about $275 for the front....