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Brake pads are a component of the braking system of an automobile that contact and apply pressure and friction to a vehicle’s brake rotors, causing it to stop. A car with a good braking system is not only important for your safety, but also for the safety of others when driving. Good quality braking pads should be responsive, have high stopping power, be easy to install and perform quietly and smoothly. They should also produce low dust and low heat as well as withstand a great amount of braking with the least amount of fade. Duralast brake pads by Autozone offer all this and more for your vehicle’s stopping needs.
What Are Duralast Brake Pads?
The Duralast brake pads are affordable and dependable replacement pads that offer maximum performance. The Duralast brake pads are highly engineered both to match and outperform the original equipment for smooth, quiet stopping power and a longer life. There are five different types of Duralast brake pads: Duralast, Duralast Gold Semi-Metallic, Duralast Gold Ceramic, Duralast MAX, and Duralast GT.
Product Specs
The Duralast and the Duralast Gold Semi-Metallic are made of semi-metallic and organic friction material for quick and quiet stops. They include noise-reducing shims and have a powder-coated backing plate to resist corrosion. The gold Duralast’s shims are custom engineered to neutralize vibration and eliminate noise placing them at a step higher than the original Duralast pads. Metallic brake pads are hard and heavy, which makes them good at transferring the heat generated by friction with the brake rotors. The downside of being hard and heavy is that they can also cause more wear on the brake rotors than other types of brake pads.
The Duralast Gold Ceramic brake pads are made of ceramic, an advanced friction material designed for an even quieter braking, faster recovery after stop, ultra-low dust production and can handle higher breaking temperatures with less heat fade. The ultra-low dust production results in cleaner wheels. The Duralast Gold ceramic pads also have custom shims to neutralize vibrations and eliminate noise. They also feature an exclusive protective coating formulated to prevent corrosion for a longer lifespan.
The Duralast MAX brake pads have the same benefits as the Duralast Gold Ceramic but at a higher level. The MAX pads offer superior friction materials and are designed to outperform OE formulations for exceptional stopping power, reduced noise, and longer life. If you are in the market for maximum brake pad performance, choose Duralast MAX brake pads.
The Duralast GT brake pads are best for racing cars, towing, high GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) vehicles, police cars, and fleets. These brake pads are engineered to withstand great amounts of intense braking and extreme heat with least amount of fade. Their V-slot design reduces heat build-up thus reducing wear and increasing stopping power. Their nitrile-weave construction absorbs vibration and reduces noise while their high-temperature carbon formulation reduces fade and improves temperature resistance.
Pricing
It’s easy to overlook the Duralast brake pads because of their price, but don’t let that fool you. Not only are Duralast brake pads made in the USA, but they are also made of the highest quality materials and specifications, with budget-friendly prices to match. The Duralast brake pads prices range from $23 to $85. They can be purchased at a local AutoZone retailer near you or online at autozone.com. You can save time by buying online and picking up in a store. You can also buy them online and return them to any store; or better yet, if you choose to have your parts shipped, Autozone offers free shipping on orders over $35 with an excellent return policy.
How It Compares
We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare. We compared the following brands:
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Duralast Brake Pads
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ACDelco 17D1367CH Professional Ceramic Front Disc Brake Pad Set
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Bosch BC905 QuietCast Premium Ceramic Rear Disc Brake Pad Set
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Wagner ThermoQuiet QC1324 Ceramic Disc Pad Set
Duralast Brake Pads
Price $
Sometimes you just need brake pads that will do their job and deliver on performance, without breaking the bank. Duralast brake pads come at a fair price range of $23 to $85.
Braking Power 4/5
Ease of Installation 4/5
Design Quality 5/5
Duralast brake pads are made from an alloy with improved friction materials that dampen noise. They have custom engineered shims, which are noise-free pads that do not sacrifice the overall wear life. The premium grade carbon used in their manufacture acts as a lubricant against the rotor for longer-lasting pads. High-quality steel fibers also minimize wear and deliver greater stopping power. They have a protective coating powder that protects the steel backing plate from corrosion.
Warranty 5/5
Duralast brake pads are covered by a limited lifetime warranty. That means that if your brake pads fail during the warranty period shown on your receipt, you can bring the brake pads to an AutoZone store and you will receive a replacement or refund.
Pros
- Improved performance
- Limited lifetime warranty with 100% parts and labor guarantee
- Engineered to resist corrosion
- Noise-dampening shims
- Made in the USA
Cons
- Duralast original brake pads have some noticeable vibration
- They do not come with lube and hardware kit
- Not copper-free
ACDelco 17D1367CH Professional Ceramic Front Disc Brake Pad Set
These brake pads are made of ceramic, semi-metallic, and organic formulas that have undergone Noise/Vibration/Harshness (NVH) and durability/wear testing for assurance of quality and to provide safety and reliability. They also have a stamped backing plate which allows for proper pad movement within the caliper assembly, reducing noise, brake pulsation, and helping to protect against premature wear.
Price $$$
The ACDelco 17D1367CH professional ceramic front disc brake pads come as a full set of pads and retail for around $40-$50 at major auto parts retailers, and online at Walmart.com, ACDelco.com and Amazon.com.
Braking Power 5/5
These ACDelco professional ceramic brake pads have a smooth braking power with low fade and responsive braking. We gave them a 5 out of 5-star rating.
Ease of Installation 5/5
These pads come as a set with complete hardware installation kit and an easy-to-follow guide.
Design Quality 4/5
ACDelco brake pads are well made in that they are engineered to OE expectations for exceptional applications that require enhanced performance, including police vehicles. However, these brake pads are not yet 100% copper-free.
Warranty 3/5
ACDelco brake pads have a limited lifetime warranty as long as the original purchaser owns the vehicle. Quite disappointing if you don’t own the vehicle.
Pros
- Include noise dampening shims
- Engineered to resist corrosion
- Smooth braking power
- Installation hardware/kit included
Cons
- Fit may be a problem especially in older model vehicles and European vehicles
- Some users have reported a break-in period
- Not copper-free
Bosch BC905 QuietCast Premium Ceramic Rear Disc Brake Pad Set
Like the Duralast brake pads, these brake pads are made of ceramic, semi-metallic and organic materials that guarantee durability. What makes these stand out compared to the Duralast brake pads is that they are fitted with a pre-attached rubber core shim that is heat and pressure cured between two layers of steel–a shim style predominantly used by OE manufacturers to promote a stronger and silent operation.
Price $$
These brakes retail for about $35 and are readily available on Amazon.com and other auto part retailers. This is a great, mid-level price when you need to upgrade your brakes without sacrificing quality. A 5 out of 5-star rating here.
Braking Power 5/5
These brake pads have an incredible stopping power with a terrific bite, zero brake dust, and silent stopping power.
Ease of Installation 5/5
We gave the Bosch QuietCast Ceramic brake pads a 5 out 5-star rating for ease of installation as they come complete with hardware (where available) and synthetic lube and easy-to-follow installation instructions.
Design Quality 5/5
These brake pads have a unique OE-style rubber core multilayer system for silent operation. It features a design that replicates OE slots and chamfers for optimum fit. These pads are made of an advanced aerospace alloy of patented copper-free ceramic friction formula that definitely makes the Bosch Quietcast pads stand out.
Warranty 1/5
These brake pads do not have any clear warranty information attached to them and you would have to contact the original place of purchase for warranty consideration or contact Bosch for technical support. We gave them a measly 1 out of 5-star rating for warranty.
Pros
- Copper-free ceramic, thus environmentally friendly
- Very easy and ready to be installed right out the box
- Rubber core shims that result in a quiet performance
- Engineered to resist corrosion
- Best in in-class coverage for domestic, Japanese and European vehicles
Cons
- Wears down faster compared to other brands as reported by other consumers
- No clear warranty information
- Not all kits include the necessary hardware
Wagner ThermoQuiet QC1324 Ceramic Disc Pad Set
These are good quality, durable brake pads made of a complex matrix of materials that replicate functions of copper but with superior performance, greater stopping power and quieter performance than other pads on the market. These brake pads feature a one-piece-design of an integrally molded sound insulator that spreads sound, heat, and vibration evenly across the entire pad. This solves consumers’ number one complaint about noisy brakes.
Price $
With a retail price at around $28-$35 and being readily available at Walmart, Amazon and other auto part retailers, these brake pads give the Bosch ceramic and the Duralast Gold brake pads a run for their money.
Braking Power 5/5
We rate these pads as a 5 out of 5 stars in braking power because of the laser shaping technology/feature that optimizes the pad to rotor interface to give you maximum stopping power.
Ease of Installation 5/5
We gave the Wagner ThermoQuiet Ceramic brake pads a 5-star rating because they come complete with an installation kit for a straightforward and easy installation.
Design Quality 5/5
Thanks to an exclusive technology called IMI (Integrally Molded Insulator) these Wagner brake pads stand out in the design department. The IMI technology used in the manufacture of these brake pads eliminates the need for a conventional shim to dampen the brake noise. This design dissipates the heat and vibration evenly, for a quieter performance.
Warranty 5/5
The Wagner ThermoQuiet ceramic pads are backed by a full manufacturer’s warranty, earning them a 5 star rating.
Pros
- Quieter braking than other brake pads on the market (35% quieter per manufacturer)
- Superior stopping power than other brake pads on market (15% better per manufacturer)
- Come with clips/installation kit
- Less dust, cleaner wheels, and longer pad life
- Zero and low copper compliance
Cons
- May not fit some European and Japanese-made vehicles
- Lack the range the Duralast brake pads offer
Conclusion
The Wagner ThermoQuiet Ceramic brake pads and the Bosch brake pads are superior in terms of noise and vibration reduction technology and being environmentally friendly with being zero copper compliant. That being said, we still prefer the Duralast brake pads overall, giving them a 4 out of 5 stars. Not only are they exclusively made in the USA, but they are backed by a lifetime warranty and a 100% noise guarantee.
They also come in different varieties at different price points. If your car won’t stop as fast as it used to, produces screeching sounds while braking, has a lot of dust around the tires, or has been driven for about 40,000 miles since your last brake job, then it’s time to change your brake pads. We recommend the Duralast brake pads.
