BRAKE PAD COMPOUNDS – FROM DUSTY BEGINNINGS TO RACE-READY WEAPONS FOR IMPROVING TRACK TIMES.
If you want to start an argument in any pit lane, forget politics, religion or tyre brands - just ask the question: what pads are you running? For something that lives in the shadows of shiny calipers and giant discs, brake pads are some of the most crucial - and misunderstood - pieces of any car, road or race. They’ve gone from crude slabs of material that simply slowed cars down to sophisticated compounds that decide whether you make a corner or become part of the gravel trap scenery. The first brake pads weren’t really “pads” at all. In the early 20th century, drum brakes were king, and linings were made from asbestos. Yep, the same nasty stuff that builders now wear hazmat suits to avoid. Back then, asbestos was perfect - it handled heat, it was cheap, and it didn’t fade too badly. However, it was also highly toxic, and by the 1980s, regulations began phasing out asbestos brake linings. This opened the door for new blends: organics, semi-metallics, and eventually ceramics. Each compound solved problems but brought new ones, especially once racing started asking more from brakes than daily driving ever could. Non-asbestos organics (NAO) were the replacement for asbestos, made from fibres like rubber, Kevlar, and resins. They were quiet, cheap, and perfect for commuting cars. The downside? They wore out quickly, made loads of dust, and couldn’t handle sustained heat. In a race, they’d melt into goo faster than a marshmallow over a braai. Still, organics were the first step into safer brake pad tech, and they remain common on city runabouts today.
By mixing metals like copper, steel, and iron into organic bases, pad makers created semi-metallics. These pads offered better bite, more durability, and way better heat tolerance. They also squealed like a banshee and ate through rotors like termites in a timber shack. But racers didn’t care - you want stopping power, you pay the price. Even now, semi-metallics remain a staple in motorsport where budgets are tight but performance is critical - think grassroots racing, club track days, and even some endurance builds. Then came ceramic pads, not the “carbon-ceramics” you see on million-dollar hypercars, but a more road-friendly version. Made from ceramic fibres and copper, these pads are quiet, low-dust, and long-lasting. Perfect for daily drivers and sporty road cars. But here’s the catch - while they’re great for the road, ceramic pads don’t like extreme heat cycling. Take them on track, and they’ll lose bite, overheat, and sometimes even glaze over. Which is why track-day warriors often swap out their “civilised” ceramic pads for something more aggressive before hitting the circuit.
But racing laughs in the face of compromise. Pads for motorsport are built to do one thing: stop the car, lap after lap, without fading. Comfort? Forget it. Noise? Who cares. Dust? Enough to coat your pit garage in minutes. Race pads often use high levels of metallic content, exotic resins, and, in top-tier applications, carbon-based materials. They need serious heat to even work properly - try them cold on the road, and you’ll wonder if your pedal’s connected to anything. But once they’re hot, the bite is ferocious, the pedal feel is razor-sharp, and fade resistance is like nothing else. In fact, most racing series require drivers to “preheat” their brakes before a flying lap - weaving, dabbing the pedal, building temps so that the pads are in their happy zone. Street drivers who buy race pads and complain about poor braking in traffic missed that memo.
The ultimate evolution of brake pad compounds arrived in Formula 1: carbon-carbon. Unlike carbon-ceramics, which are used on road-going hypercars, carbon-carbon is pure racing wizardry. Both the discs and pads are made from carbon fibre composites, and they can handle temperatures north of 1,000°C. At those temps, carbon-carbon brakes deliver insane stopping power with almost no fade. The trade-off? They’re useless cold. Take F1-spec brakes onto a normal road, and you’d probably rear-end the car in front before they warmed up. This is why endurance racing (like Le Mans) often opts for carbon-ceramics instead - they strike a better balance between heat tolerance, cold performance, and longevity. Pad choice isn’t just about stopping power - it affects driver confidence, consistency, and even strategy. A pad that fades late in a stint might force earlier pit stops. A pad that bites too hard might lock tyres and ruin lap times. It’s one of the most finely balanced decisions in motorsport.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the MWU crew as they attempt to explain the differences in brake pad compounds and how they affect braking in extreme situations, and which is best for your specific applications: DON'T Buy The Wrong Brakes! | EBC Brake Pads Explained | MartiniWorks Unboxed
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