A comparative analysis of original and aftermarkets brake pads sold in the Brazilian market

Abstract

The current paper addresses a comparative analysis of performance (friction and wear) and acoustic characteristics of an original and 3 aftermarket brake pads. All brake pads selected in this study belong to the same vehicle and they were purchased at the local market in Brazil. The braking tests were performed on a laboratory-scaled tribometer, which is located on the University facilities. Five parameters were used to characterize the brake pads: (1) average magnitude of friction; (2) friction variation; (3) percentage of fade; (4) specific wear rate and (5) overall average of vibration. A quality index (Qindex) was created aiming to take into account all those parameters. Results of the Qindex pointed out the original brake pad as the “best” material followed by the aftermarket 1, aftermarket 2 and aftermarket 3, respectively. As a criterion for approval the aftermarkets materials, a cutoff point was set at 70 % of the Qindex obtained by the original brake pad. Based on that criterion, aftermarket 1 and aftermarket 2 were approved, while aftermarket 3 failed. It means that aftermarket 3 could not achieve a minimum level of quality in terms of the parameters analyzed in this study.