But you might ask yourself: "What do I need to know about the brake pads and how can I choose the right ones"? In this article we are going to give you some practical tips on how to choose and where to buy German brake pads without any intermediaries.
You can always buy brake pads from Germany from Orient Global GmbH. We work directly with the manufacturers of spare parts and as official dealers of auto products, our company can offer a wide range of brands and spare parts from Germany at great prices.
One of the main criterion for choosing the brake pads is their hardness or softness. These terms are constantly used by salesmen of specialized stores or regular drivers. In reality though, the braking parameters are influenced by a plethora of other factors, and sometimes the sellers of spare parts either do not know this or do not want to reveal the much needed information to their customers.
Brake pads manufacturers call the ability of the materials to compress under pressure and load - stiffness. According to the European standard, this figure should be within 2% at normal temperature and not exceed 5% when heated up to 400 C. The stiffness characteristic indicates the ability of the pads to provide the usual normal feeling when you press the brake pedal. "Soft" brake pads have a sufficient coefficient of friction, they are easier to make, but these parts do not provide the proper level of safety.
The buyer should be interested in other parameters of brake pads as well. First of all, the composition of the friction material should be taken into consideration when choosing the brake pads for your vehicle. Modern models are made from dozens of different materials in order to meet a wide variety of safety regulations and other requirements. Sometimes these can be mutually exclusive.
The pad should provide effective braking regardless of the ambient temperature. It must not "boil", "fume" or cause other issues when heated, and it must also not "stick" to the disc. Brake wear particle emissions may appear within reasonable limits but they should not block or stop the moving parts of machinery from working properly. These particles do not cause much harm to humans or the environment, but they certainly reduce the service life span of other parts.
All the materials which are usually used during the manufacturing process of brake pads can be divided into two main types. The first type, also called by some "European", contains a minimum amount of steel. The second type, or "Asian", is based on asbestos-free organics. But there is also a third group - Semi Metallic, which usually contains around 40-65% of steel fibers. Such pads are characterized by a high thermal conductivity, effective albeit, higher pitch braking. Due to the careless handling of brake discs and increased particles emission this type is mostly installed on commercial vehicles.
Brake pads with a small amount of steel - up to 30% (Low Steel) are the most well known and popular on the European auto market. They have a friction coefficient of 0.38-0.5 thanks to the patented components and substances used in their formula. They are also known for their great durability, ability to remove rust from brake discs and great stability at higher speeds. Their balanced braking performance allows the driver to use them at high speeds and be confident that these will not fail prematurely. You are more than welcome to buy German brake pads from Orient Global GmbH. We deliver the brake pads from Germany directly to our customers at low prices.
Brake pads that do not contain steel, produce a minimum of particle emissions. They contain a wide variety of alternative NAO (Non-Asbestos organic) fibers. These pads are usually made for the Japanese market but you can also find them in the USA, where the amount of certain metals in mechanisms is controlled by law. Although NAOs are very quiet when you brake and produce the least amount of particles, performance wise they are slightly worse than "Low Steel". Also an important thing to note, NAO products are typically more expensive than Low Steel. Due to this fact, cars with different parts can be shipped to the Japanese, European, and US markets even though these can be the same models.
The following models or brands of brake pads deserve mentioning here: German manufacturers Textar (Low Steel), TRW, ATE, FERODO, as well as Nisshinbo - the Japanese representative of NAO. The German manufacturers offer a wide variety of models, which are characterized by high temperature tolerance and great friction coefficient. Their brake pads are quiet, do not produce a lot of particles when braking and do not overheat. TMD Friction, for example, achieved this thanks to a special composition of the friction mixture, which includes 25 substances.
Manufacturers of brake pads constantly test their products under extreme conditions, on their own test tracks, simulating all kinds of scenarios, including professional racing or mountain driving. This arduous testing is the reason why the market has so many models of brake pads that are suitable for all conditions and styles of driving. The German manufacturers are the unquestionable leaders in this business. All brake pads meet all the requirements of European standards ECE R90. Textar, TRW, ATE, FERODO products are compatible with most European car brands which include - MINI, Skoda, BMW, Volvo, Audi, Seat, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and others.