Technical Articles

Fade resistance is evaluated by (1) the temperature at which brake fade occurs, and (2) how little the coefficient of friction changes after brake fade occurs.
Brake fade is the decrease in braking power. Brake fade occurs when high temperatures causes a part of the resin material to vaporize. This creates a film between the disc and pad, which significant decrease the coefficient of friction. In general, OEM pads have a fade point (the temperature at which brake fade occurs) of around 300℃～350℃. Performance brake pads usually have a fade point around 400℃～700℃. (The fade point varies by material and the type of use.) Performance brake pads are made to have a higher fade resistance rate to minimizes the decrease of the coefficient of friction, even after brake fade occurs. The fade resistance rate is based on ratio of the coefficient of friction before and after the brake fade, so 100% would mean no change in the coefficient of friction. In general, OEM brake pads have a fade resistance rate of 40～50% where as performance brake pads have 60～80%. At DIXCEL, our goal is to increase the temperature at which our brakes fade and minimize the decrease of the coefficient of friction after brake fade. The research and development is ongoing to come up with better mixture of resins and materials to sell the best brake pads.