are ceramic brake pads any good?
It depends on your definition of good. What kind of vehicle are they going on? I have changed quite a few vehicles that came with semi metallic pads to ceramic pads. They feel to give a lot smoother breaking action. Very little braked dust, and they do seem to last longer, but that could just be me or the driving conditions. If your changing a semi metallic equipped car to ceramic pads, one of the downsides, the ceramic pads don't bite like semi pads do. when you apply brake pressure to the pedal with semi pads, they have a tendency to grab ceramics don't. This can be a little annoying or make someone think that the pads don't stop as well.
I work on a fleet of police cars, and have begun converting them from metallic pads to ceramic pads due to noise complaints from the deputies who ABUSE these cars. Ceramic pads are quieter, offer better resistance to brake fade under heavy use, and produce less dust. the pedal feel is only slightly different than the metallic pads. The downside is that ceramic pads wear rotors out at a much greater rate, and due to their heat resistance, have a tendency to hard spot and warp rotors that are not designed for heavy use. If the car/truck you are planning to install them on is your daily driver, your satisfaction with ceramic pads will be dependent upon how hard you use them. they are great for high performance and severe service applications (given that you have made the appropriate mods to the rest of the system), but be ready to pay the piper if all you are doing is installing pads.
Uhm. what year? If it is new enough to have a fully electronic transmission, then getting 8 MPG would not be caused by just not using overdrive.
