My truck (92 Ford Ranger, rwd) has suffered from brake dust on the front wheels over the past few brake pad replacements. I don't remember it being this bad with the brake pads which were on the front wheels when I bought the truck (rear wheels have drum brakes).

Some time before the end of the year, I am going to replace the front rotors and pads. I want to try an experiment: install 2 different brands of brake pads to see if one performs better than the other, in terms of brake dust. I would probably install 1 "high quality" aftermarket pad, and 1 OEM pad. The rotors would be the same brand.

  1. Has anyone tried this before?
  2. Would this cause any problems?

You should NOT do this : for pads to produce less dust, the materials in the friction compound are different so changing the braking characteristics such as brake fade, heat dissipation, wear rate and friction coefficient, all of which lead to an imbalance in braking force across the front axle.

This imbalance could easily throw you in the ditch (if you are lucky) or in front of a truck if not...

  • Thanks. I figured there would be some difference in braking power between brands, but I did not know it could be this extreme. – Sam Jul 16 '18 at 22:13

As @SolarMike stated, you don't want to do this. It will definitely create an imbalance in the Force, and you'll find the Dark Side very quickly.

If you did want to do this, you'd have to purchase (at least) two sets of brake pads, anyway. So why not just purchase both sets and try both sets for one month each. Clean the wheels completely, then put one set of pads on. Then, one month later, take a picture. Then do the same thing for the second set of pads. Then compare the pictures (if the difference isn't obvious). You should be able to pick the set you like the best and go from there.

A better option yet is to just purchase low brake dust pads. Most ceramic pads are advertised this way and I can tell you from experience, they have a LOT less brake dust.

Your choice, but there are better options than risking your life and the life of others.

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