Do I Choose Genuine Brake Pads or Aftermarket Brake Pads?
Of course, genuine manufacturer parts are good quality, or the manufacturer would not fit them in the first place.
However, there are certain tested and approved aftermarket brands that are 100% equivalent to genuine parts under the European R90 brake safety regulations, and these are explained here, especially for European built vehicles where these are very important.
The rules basically state that if an aftermarket brake pad carries R90 approval, it is a perfectly legal and safe replacement for original manufacturer parts.
This is what an R90 approved pad looks like, it has a unique number matched to every vehicle:
However, there are some drawbacks to using or buying original parts as replacements, as explained here:
- R90 does not test for durability, so an aftermarket pad may even last longer than original.
- R90 does not test for dust and, for many people, original pads – which are almost always semi-metallic and contain steel fibre – can be very dusty.
- The big point for many drivers is that R90 limits the upper levels of braking performance for any given pad. If the pad is too grippy, it will not pass, and if it is not grippy enough, it also will not pass. So, R90 keeps brake pads within a defined performance range. The job of aftermarket brake pad manufacturers is then to push those limits and, at EBC Brakes, we make our compounds as grippy as possible while remaining within the maximum permitted levels.
- THE PRICE… in almost all cases, aftermarket parts are far cheaper than original parts. However, don’t select a brake pad based on price alone, or you may downgrade your brake system significantly. Buy based on what you need by using our brake selector tool to choose your ideal EBC brake compound.
- Often, original pad sets include hardware that does not normally require replacement, so why pay for it? Take slider shims or pressure clips, for example. Our recommendation is that if the hardware is not bent or dented, clean it up – including any loose pad pins – and reuse it, as a lot of low-cost aftermarket hardware does not match the original parts or shapes exactly. If you do need to buy new hardware, that’s when we recommend buying original parts, which are almost always sold separately by reputable vendors and, in most cases, cost under $10.
