I was looking around for brake pads for my 6 and I came across KEVLAR pads (The same material they make bulletproof vests out of). I was curious if anyone has used them OR if anyone has any info.? They supposovely out-proform OEM pads by more than 30% and are advertized as "quiet". What do you guys think? Thanks
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Kevlar is a trademark of duPont for aramid fiber. Aramid is related to nylon. It originally was developed (under the code name "Fiber B") as a fabric for both the sidewalls and the belts of tires. Because it is expensive and difficult to work with, it ended up being used for tire carcasses only for bike tires; as a belt material, it is in many respects superior to steel, but it lacks marketing pizzazz. The few aramid-belted tires that have been introduced have been rejected by consumers in favor of the sexy-sounding steel belts.
Kevlar is strongly resistant to tearing when it is stretched laterally. The way Kevlar works in bulletpioof vests is that it is sandwiched with a soft material (usually polyester) that will yield and turn a direct penetration into an angular attempt to stretch the cloth.
Performance Friction ,EBC, Axxis, and perhaps others use Kevlar in their brake pad material. There is marketing advantage to using the trademark Kevlar instead of the "organic" generic nomenclature used with other brake composites. EBC YellowStuff brake pads, Performance Friction brake pads, and Axxis Ultimate brake pads are highly regarded. Are they good
because of the Kevlar? Or are they good formulations in which one of the ingredients just happens to be Kevlar?