You may have heard of ceramic brakes, but how much do you know? Most people are aware they are generally fitted to high performance cars, but how different are they, and is it worth spending a bit extra to have them fitted to your car next time your brakes need replacing? As you might expect, ceramic brake pads are mostly made from ceramic fibres.
They also consist of various filler materials, bonding agents, and occasionally small amounts of copper fibres.
Ceramic is used because it dissipates heat exceptionally well; much better than metal does.
This improves performance as they don't suffer as much with brake fade where after repeatedly braking, metallic brakes can fail.
They also don't produce as much brake dust because they don't break down in the same way as metallic brakes.
This is more a cosmetic feature as the lighter coloured dust doesn't stick to the wheels while metallic brake dust turns wheels dark and grey fairly quickly.
As well as improved braking performance and reduced wear, ceramic brake pads are also very lightweight.
So why aren't they fitted to all different types of cars? To put it bluntly, they are simply much more expensive, and the improved performance isn't worth it for most cars.
High performance cars and sports cars are usually driven much harder than the average family saloon, so it is well worth spending the extra on ceramic brake pads that will stop you quicker and won't fade like metallic brakes.
The chances are your car is fitted with metallic brake pads.
These are not simply pure metal; they are carefully designed combinations of iron, copper, steel and graphite mixed together and bonded into the pad.
They are much cheaper, and for most cars, they are as durable as is needed.
They deliver good performance and are more than adequate at transferring the heat resulting from the friction between the brake pads and the discs.
Metal brake pads are also heavier than ceramic, which does slightly reduce the car's fuel efficiency.
As they are harder than ceramic, they also cause more wear to the brake discs than ceramic does, meaning they need to be replaced more frequently.
They also take longer to get going - they work most efficiently when they are warm so the first few stops on a cold morning will have longer stopping distances than when the pads are warm.
It may seem that ceramic brake pads have more positive aspects while their metallic counterparts have more negatives, but for most cars, those few positives for the metal brake pads carry more weight, and metallic brake pads are used on the majority of vehicles, from family saloons to heavy lorries.
The next time you have your brakes checked, ask your technician about which type will best suit your car.