Alright, so I’ve been browsing Tire Rack as well as some of the threads on here and there is one thing I’m unclear about…. I see some brakes that will say “OEM Compound”. What exactly does that mean in relation to OEM brakes that came originally with the car? Other than the compound, what other difference might there be? And I’m assuming I can only get the OEM brakes that came originally with the car from the dealer, correct?

 

Nope, as long as you get OEM sizes...you can get w/e kind of rotors or brakes you want. You'll find some ppl keeping the stock sized calipers but getting slotted or cross drilled and slotted rotors and aftermarket pads. Compared to what typical dealers charge for oem brakes you can get a nice upgrade for a similar or cheaper price. But as long as you get the sizes that match your vehicle you dont have to get oem brakes or oem brake compounds.

 

Sorry, I might have not been clear with my question. Basically what I want to learn is what's the difference between OEM brakes and aftermarket OEM compound brakes?

 

Diff makers have diff compounds depending on application. From oem type to full on race track types.

 

The major difference is that oem spend hundreds of thousands of dollars testing different compounds with different rotors to find a combination that fits most people's requirements.

Evey compound on earth is offered to oem and they only select one. Every compound is offered at the same price because of the high volume.

Don't let aftermarket lies fool you.

If you have a specific requirement that is different from the majority some after markets compounds might be better at some things and worse at others especially noise and wet and cold braking.

 

Aftermarket manufacturers are just matching the properties of the OEM pads to be compatible with the braking system in question. In order to stop the wheels there have to be friction between the pads and the rotor. This friction can be reach by abrasive friction and adherent friction so each replacement pad have to match the friction properties to which the system was design. There are other factors that might alter the composition but everything comes down to this.

 

Cool guys, thanks for the explanations!

I think I'm sticking to OEM pads, I like the way they stop... just going to get them from EverythingG35 as opposed to the local dealer.

 

Consider Hawk HPS pads... they are one of the best