Brake pads have been manufactured out of many different materials over the course of the past several decades. For many years, they were made of asbestos because of it’s properties of not burning up under extreme heat. But human health concerns caused regulators to phase them out in the late 1980’s. Then came steel pads which eliminated the hazardous material concerns. Technicians no longer had to worry about breathing hazardous brake dust when servicing vehicles for brakes. The metal pads performed well, but there were complaints of wear issues. So manufacturers tinkered and eventually came out with semi metallic brake pads. The problem with the semi metallic pads is they were noisy because of the steel in them. In their never ending quest to resolve problems, manufacturers came up with our current brake pad – Ceramic based brake pads.
Ceramic brake pads provide the best blend to date of wear, pedal feel, and noise. There are several added benefits of ceramic pads. The reduction of wear in the rotors, less vibration and the reduction in the production of brake dust. The latter is important in today’s market of high-end alloy wheels that need to look spiffy and shiny.
We carry two different brake cleaning units by KleenTec. The automotive and light truck EcoMaster 1435. Then there is the low profile truck Brake Washer, the CleanMaster 400. Both utilize a water based cleaning agent along with a flow thru brush to effectively clean brake dust and grime from brakes.
