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OEM Brake pad material

morricus

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Are the OEM pads semi-metallic or ceramic? Perhaps this is common knowledge, but I can't find an answer anywhere. I don't have a real problem with the OEM braking, but prefer Semi-metallic whenever possible. Brake dust is of no concern.
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morricus

morricus

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I'm almost certain the OEM material is ceramic. And ever since I lifted the Jeep and added 37s, the brake performance has degraded. Its not awful, but there is no initial bite. I ordered a set of Monroe semi-metallics and will be installing tomorrow. I have never used Monroe and would have preferred other brands, but these were only $40 and are good enough to test how semi-metallics compare to Ceramic. I hate ceramic, they absolutely suck. My Yukon XL came with Ceramic, which to me is stunning considering how heavy that thing is. I changed the front pads to the Police/Military spec semi-metallics and the difference was dramtic. A lot more dust, but a helluva lot more performance.
 

blnewt

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Look forward to your review of the Semi Metallics. I was thinking about ordering the Powerstop Z23 pad set in the near future, but those are a Ceramic based pad, and like you, not a fan of Ceramics :(
 

JP18

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Look forward to your review of the Semi Metallics. I was thinking about ordering the Powerstop Z23 pad set in the near future, but those are a Ceramic based pad, and like you, not a fan of Ceramics :(
OEM is definitely ceramic.

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"OE Ceramic" says it. Actually surprises me. I always found ceramic to be better but that's my experience.

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morricus

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"OE Ceramic" says it. Actually surprises me. I always found ceramic to be better but that's my experience.

JP18
I guess its what your comfortable with. There is nothing wrong with Ceramic. The main benefit is low dust. But the trade off is low initial bite, and high fade. I brake relatively aggressively, and Ceramics drive me nuts. The fact Semi-metallic is less compressible and has a higher coefficent of friction makes it far more comfortable for me, mainly on when I start braking, with that initial bite. I have three kids I cart around in this thing, and now that I've altered the Jeep significantly with the lift and tires, I'd like all the performance I can get, dust or otherwise.
And I personally don't care that semi-metallic wears rotors far faster. Its so easy to replace rotors and pads, both of which are cheap, I don't mind doing it more frequently. My labor is free.
 

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morricus

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I just got the pads, they're clearly too small. I used Monroe's online e-catelog to verify this worked with the Rubicon, which it said it would. I just tried the same e-catelog and input a Sport model, gave me the same part. That is clearly wrong. I called Monroe and they verified their e-catelog is wrong and they don't even make a part for the Rubicon. Nice. I'm returning these stupid things, will start my search again. Extremely irritating.
 

Arterius2

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I just got the pads, they're clearly too small. I used Monroe's online e-catelog to verify this worked with the Rubicon, which it said it would. I just tried the same e-catelog and input a Sport model, gave me the same part. That is clearly wrong. I called Monroe and they verified their e-catelog is wrong and they don't even make a part for the Rubicon. Nice. I'm returning these stupid things, will start my search again. Extremely irritating.
The Powerstop Z36 extreme duty brake pads worked wonderfully for me so just FYI. They are for the bigger brakes.
 
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blnewt

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The Powerstop Z36 extreme duty brake pads worked wonderfully for me so just FYI. They are for the bigger brakes.
I think they have sets for the base brakes too (I hope they do). Nice to hear they're working well!
 
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morricus

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They do, and their product finder/e-catalogue is correct as well.
Its really irritating when mistakes like this are made. I would prefer to use Bendix Fleet Metallic pads, but even their website lacks description. I'm waiting to hear back whether the metallic pad they have on their website is for the Rubicon.
The PowerStops look great, and I'm sure they work better than OEM. But ANYTHING that has Ceramic in them, even blended with Carbon Fiber, Spacedust, childrens tears or whatever, is really not of interest to me.
 

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morricus

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My semi-metallic pads came today, bought Bendix Fleet Metlock. I've used them before, worked out well. They are very aggressive, create a lot more dust and don't last as long, but perform much better.

The OEM pads have a rubber-like pad on them to keep them quiet, which is most likely contributing to the softer pedal feel I don't like. The Bendix also have an included pad, but its metal.

Its dark and still a humid 86 degrees in this garbage state I live in, so I'm going to wait till tomorrow to bed them in.

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morricus

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I'm very happy with these pads. Pedal is noticeably firmer, much more initial bite. I did about five 30-40mph to 0 hard stops around my neighborhood, then allowed it too cool off. Drove another 10 miles or so, but thats it. Considering how much better these are before they're even fully beded in, I'm excited to see how they perform in another 100 miles or so.

I'm going to look to do the same for the rears now, but its not a huge priority. For anyone that is interested, the Bendix part # is MKD1589FM. Amazon has them for $39.43 right now, which is more than reasonable. If you have your Jeep listed in your Amazon garage, it will tell you these pads don't fit. Ignore that. I called Bendix already and they confirmed it does work, something I can attest to.
 
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morricus

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I should add that I have a 2018 Rubicon Unlimited. I THINK the Monroe pads I originally purchased were for non-Rubicon brakes. They were much smaller, but I'm sure since they were Semi-metallic would offer a similar performance increase. That part was DX1273. On Amazon, even though I have my Jeep listed as a Rubicon, it says these pads WILL work. This is incorrect, will not work with Rubicon.
 

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I'm very happy with these pads. Pedal is noticeably firmer, much more initial bite. I did about five 30-40mph to 0 hard stops around my neighborhood, then allowed it too cool off. Drove another 10 miles or so, but thats it. Considering how much better these are before they're even fully beded in, I'm excited to see how they perform in another 100 miles or so.

I'm going to look to do the same for the rears now, but its not a huge priority. For anyone that is interested, the Bendix part # is MKD1589FM. Amazon has them for $39.43 right now, which is more than reasonable. If you have your Jeep listed in your Amazon garage, it will tell you these pads don't fit. Ignore that. I called Bendix already and they confirmed it does work, something I can attest to.
Mkd-1589-fm are the bendix front brakes? Do you have a four door? If so, do you have the part number for the rear pads? I have a 2018 JL rubicon 4 door hardtop
‘thanks for your time
 

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Mkd-1589-fm are the bendix front brakes? Do you have a four door? If so, do you have the part number for the rear pads? I have a 2018 JL rubicon 4 door hardtop
‘thanks for your time
Nice to see this thread revived, would be interested in current updates from @morricus regarding how those pads are holding up and how many miles you can expect them to last. That's the one downer w/ the Sport pkg, the smallish brakes, especially w/ larger & heavier tire/wheel sets. I'd bet the pad improvement would put the base brakes on par w/ the larger brake set w/ stock pads :)
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