Ceramic or Semi Metallic Pads
 

I will be doing some brake work soon on my 07 Chrysler Town and Country and I know the semi metallic pads are OE on these 4th gen vans but curious if anyone else has went with ceramics and liked them? I have done a little research and the only con of the ceramics was that when cold they dont bite in good, I live in New Hampshire so good braking through the Winter months is important to me and my family. What is your view between these pads?

I'd stick with the specified brake pads if I were you. Ceramic pads aren't really for this (GV) type of vehicle. Also, if you have an accident and the investigators discover non-standard brake pads, your insurance could be invalid, leaving you wide open personally for any claim on you.
Do this one by the book...

Leedsman.

I would advise against fitting them to your Town and Country. I've used these in the past on my track/street cars; and for performance driving they're great. However, they do require a warm up period and are dreadful during the winder months until they warm though. So much so that I began removing them in favour of stock pads from November through March on both my Jaguar XJR and M5 BMW. I live in the far north of England so see winter temps down and around low teens F.

Thanks for the 2 replies, I have replaced these warn out pads with the OE semi metallics. I'm all for safety when it includes my family & self. On another note, I wish these front calipers were the 2 piston type just from personal experience with other vehicles that had them, they bite so much better.

I agree, in fact the brakes on my Grand Voyager are my only real complaint. I'd like a little more power but, the brakes are the big on. I find for where I drive they are at best barely adequate at times, fade being the biggest issue.

I'd hoped that Willwood or Baer would have a kit unfortunately, because of the hub carriers and calliper design, there's really not a great deal that can be done as far as upgrading.

Too much misinformation in this thread to correct in one sitting...

- try this then :

Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth

Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth,
And spotted the dangers beneath
All the toffees I chewed,
And the sweet sticky food.
Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth.

I wish I’d been that much more willin’
When I had more tooth there than fillin’
To give up gobstoppers,
From respect to me choppers,
And to buy something else with me shillin’.

When I think of the lollies I licked
And the liquorice allsorts I picked,
Sherbet dabs, big and little,
All that hard peanut brittle,
My conscience gets horribly pricked.

My mother, she told me no end,
‘If you got a tooth, you got a friend.’
I was young then, and careless,
My toothbrush was hairless,
I never had much time to spend.

Oh I showed them the toothpaste all right,
I flashed it about late at night,
But up-and-down brushin’
And pokin’ and fussin’
Didn’t seem worth the time – I could bite!

If I’d known I was paving the way
To cavities, caps and decay,
The murder of fillin’s,
Injections and drillin’s,
I’d have thrown all me sherbet away.

So I lie in the old dentist’s chair,
And I gaze up his nose in despair,
And his drill it do whine
In these molars of mine.
‘Two amalgam,’ he’ll say, ‘for in there.’

How I laughed at my mother’s false teeth,
As they foamed in the waters beneath.
But now comes the reckonin’
It’s methey are beckonin’
Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth.

................................... Pam Ayres

Please start off with one then and lets go from there, I'm curious on this.

Here's the short version:

1. On ceramics not "biting in good"

Modern ceramic pads are a great product. They brake just as well as semi-metallic pads, but without the dusting. I have them on all four wheels on an Aspen SUV, and have been nothing but pleased. They are rougher on rotors, but last a long time. They are OEM pads on many, many vehicles, and for good reason.

2. On ceramics not being for a certain type of vehicle

Ceramic pads are comparable to semi-metallic pads, and will work well in nearly any daily driver application.

3. On ceramics requiring a "warm up period"

Not in practice in most cases. I've never had this problem. I drive both vehicles I own (both have ceramic pads) in the dead of winter, and they stop as advertised right out of the driveway.

4. On Inspector Gadget finding non-standard brake pads after an accident

Most shops use preferred brands, not OEM brands. Even dealers use non-OEM brake pads, and it makes little difference. There are many aftermarket pads that are better than OEM pads. There is nothing illegal or insurance-endangering about using a good non-OEM brake pad.

Clearly, based on the posts here, some disagree with the above. I've been choosing and changing my own brakes for awhile now, and have nothing but positive things to say about using ceramic pads.

YMMV -- just a counterpoint to consider. If you are more comfortable using OEM pads, then go for it.

Thank you, at first I thought you were saying I was misinformed. I post things in here to either ask about a given situation or to explain a fix to an issue. Also at times will even argue a point when someone brings up a point and it turns out to be false, not just from my automotive experience but been wrapped up in it like a nice blunt(joking)with all sorts of books and so on, yes alot has been collected prior to the internet.
Even withe the new stuff I tend training courses on and love them in most cases. As i said in the earlier post, these semi metallics are working great. Thanks again for your 2 cents