Choose the Best Performance Friction Pad for your needs.

What is Carbon Metallic®?
Carbon Metallic®, sometimes called CM in the industry, is the brand name of PFC's most well known brake pads and will be the brand best suited for the majority of people. Carbon Metallic® offers superior braking, pedal feel, and longer life without fade at high temperatures There are over a dozen varieties of Carbon Metallic®, each custom manufactured for a specific vehicle application. Carbon Metallic® is completely different from an organic or semi-metallic pads, which often use clay as fillers to reduce costs. Fillers also diminish performance ñ something PFC takes very seriously and will not compromise. Carbon Metallic® unique friction formula contains no fillers - no asbestos, no lead, and no kevlar.

The phrase Carbon Metallic® is now used in the industry for brake pads - much like Kleenex® is for tissue paper. Stated another way - we ARE the Kleenex® of the brake industry. The branding power that our name commands is synonymous with performance in all categories.

What is Carbon Metallic Z-Rated®?
Carbon Metallic Z-Rated® is the brand name given to a newer set of PFC compounds specifically designed for high-performance vehicles such as BMW, Corvette, and Mustang, SUV's, as well as for severe-duty applications and tow vehicles. An ultra high performance, integrally molded disc pad, Carbon Metallic Z-Rated® is the most advanced carbon based pad available. Delivers unrivaled pedal feel, stopping power, rotor compatibility, and quiet braking - offers the longest rotor and pad life at a lower cost-per-mile in it's class.

What is Silent Ceramic™?
Silent Ceramic™ is PFC's newest pad developed for people who want lower dust and lower noise, but that same great PFC pad and rotor life. We recommend using Silent Ceramic™ for applications where OE was also a ceramic, such as the Asian Imports. This formula is also ideal for those who like to show off their shiny wheels - without sacrificing normal stopping power while on the road.

Is Carbon Metallic® for a racecar or for street/highway use?
Both. Carbon Metallic® was originally designed in compounds suitable for racing applications and in formulas well as for off-highway/heavy duty fleet use. For racers, there are multiple racing compounds available under the Carbon Metallic® brand. All are very powerful and can help to improve lap time, increase pad life, eliminate fade, and enable drivers to get on and off the brake much quicker.

For street applications, Carbon Metallic® is offered in application specific formulas for pad upgrade and replacements on domestic and imports, including fleet vehicles. Carbon Metallic® pads come with shims attached in most cases for street pads and utilize our patented Multi-layer Technology™ to reduce brake noise.


Can I really tell a difference if I use Carbon Metallic®?
Different brake pads have different characteristics. Two performance attributes that change among pad compounds is the friction coefficient and their temperature capability before they fade. Numerous studies have been done at the Bosch Proving Grounds comparing other brands to PFC's Carbon Metallic® - and all have shown there is a lot of performance to be gained by investing in a premium, high-performance compound like CM. Carbon Metallic® pads keep fade in check by tolerating up to 50-80% higher rotor temperatures.

PFC Carbon Metallic® are extremely strong which, in addition to safety, offers superior brake pedal feel. This strength also makes Carbon Metallic® more compatible with ABS. Less strong organic/organic based or semi-metallic pads can actually compress, especially when hot. Carbon Metallic® pads continue to grip even when hot, offering safety and consistent braking and pedal feel.


Why doesn't PFC use rivets in its Carbon Metallic® pads?
PFC believes that having an integrally molded pad offers the highest shear strength. Through our unique Ionic Fusion process, we have achieved the highest shear strength in the market - the bond between the pad and the backing plate was deemed "phenomenally strong" by testing engineers. Riveted pads also pick up sand and other contaminants that can destroy rotors.

How safe are Carbon Metallic® pads compared to other manufacturers?
Carbon Metallic® pads are very safe. They meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 105 and 135. Not all brake pads sold in the aftermarket meet these stringent standards. Carbon Metallic® are also Original Equipment on over 3,000,000 Ford and GM vehicles. Carbon Metallic® is the safest brake you can buy, with the highest shear strength in the brake industry.

Many manufacturers put a good, better best ranking to their brakes, and market them according to sales price. At PFC, there is no good, better, best - they are all the best - and there is only one Carbon Metallic®.

Why are Fleets so big on PFC's Carbon Metallic® and Carbon Metallic Z-Rated® pads?
Many fleets including FedEx, Ryder, Penske Truck, and the U.S.P.S. have found that switching to PFC's Carbon Metallic® or Carbon Metallic Z-Rated® has greatly reduced the number of needed rotor replacements, lowering their cost per mile dramatically. Anyone who chooses Carbon Metallic® brands should benefit by longer pad and rotor life, a higher degree of safety, and a reduction in cost-per-mile.

FAQ Silent Ceramic™

What does ceramic really mean?

Ceramic is nothing new to brakes, there have been some ceramic fibers in friction material for years particulary for the Japanese imports.

The definition of a true ceramic pad is one that is non-ferrous, contains NO IRON and NO LEAD - two great metals known for their stopping power. The trade off for using a higher ceramic fiber content to achieve low dust and low noise is usually reduced stopping power and shorter life.

We've put even more R&D into our ceramic formulas so that you wouldn't have to sacrifice stopping power and pad life. The result is a superior, premium pad that integrates all the great PFC qualities we're famous for - with less noise and less dust.

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