Lots of good choices at various price points. Like many other parts, there are fewer manufacturers than there are brands, because one company can make pads for several different names, all built to their own specifications. For example, rumours are that Akebono makes the OEM pads that came in your truck brand new. They also make aftermarket brands at several different quality levels. They may also make the pads for AC Delco. AC Delco has several levels as well. The "Advantage" line is the economy pad, and the "Professional" line is the premium pad.
On the first brake job (before I bought the truck) they replaced the OEM pads with AC Delco Advantage. When I began to notice a lack of initial bite about 2 years later with those AC Delco pads, I replaced them with the Akebono Pro-ACT. They felt much better and lasted four years but got torn up pretty bad by a bad rotor that was delaminating on me. (A failed experiment in slotted rotors. Dumb idea, with zero benefits and shorter life in northern climates.)
The best pads I have ever owned are last ones I installed - the NAPA Adaptive One pad.
Personally, I would never install cheap pads. Ironically, cheap pads and the most expensive pad in the world are going to stop in just about the same stopping distance, but to me the FEEL of the brake pedal is important. I also run my pads for years - I am very easy on brakes - and want pads with not just for long life, but for consistent feel throughout their useful life.
If you are interested in a bit of trivia about high-end brake pads (the only ones I would use today) then look for the pads with an NRS-certified backing plate. NRS stands for NUCAP Retaining System, which was created by NUCAP of Canada as a better way to keep pads from peeling off the backing plate in hard use. I began to research NRS when testing heavy-duty pads for police vehicles. (I am the police vehicles editor for a national police magazine, so I get to drive police cars around race tracks as part of what my wife laughingly refers to as "a living." She even parenthesizes it with air-quotes.) Raybestos has a line of fleet pads, and they include this aggressive waffle pattern backing plate with sharp hooks to hold the braking pad material in place on the backing plate 10,000 times better than the usual bonding.
However, you do NOT want fleet pads in your truck. They last forever, but the feel is very hard and numb. They are perfect for taxi drivers who can tell the brake from the gas two times out of five - 80% of the time.
For our platform, Raybestso uses the NRS backing plate in their very high end Advanced Technology line of pads. NAPA uses almost the exact same design for their Adaptive One pad. (I suspect Raybestos makes the pads for NAPA.)
So, in my experience, I would suggest there are actually four lines of brake pads:
- Super-economy pads, such as the cheaper Akebono and other brands often sold on Ebay, or sold as "lifetime" brakes by speedy brake chain stores. Better than nothing, but be prepared to replace them sooner than the others, and be prepared for a noisy pad.
- Economy pads, such as the AC Delco Advantage and the higher end Akebono. They tend to last longer and can be quieter but the feel may change with wear.
- Premium pads, such as AC Delco Professional, NAPA Premium, Raybestos Professional Grade Ceramic and Akebono Pro-ACT. I would put the Wagner Thermo-Quiet in here too. They don't use backing plates, and they seem to be highly rated on some platforms and not others. (I like them on my S-10 Blazer, but Trailblazer owners seem decidedly mixed on the Thermo-Quiet pads.)
- High-end super-premium pads with NRS backing plate technology. So far on our platform, there is only the Raybestos Advanced Technology, EBC Extra Duty and the NAPA Adaptive One.
Would I spend the extra $10 or $20 for the super-premium? Once I saw the NRS technology, I wouldn't have anything less.
Regardless of the price, here are three pieces of advice:
#1 - Buy ONLY ceramic pads. They came from the factory with ceramics, and semi-metallic is old technology.
#2 - If your pads need replacing, you might as well do rotors too. No one ever machines rotors anymore. They are almost as cheap to buy new as they are to machine them. Don't try to save the $20 per side.
#3 - Regardless of whether they say it is necessary or not, properly bed your new pads.
Follow this procedure:
- Once the new pads and rotors are installed, pump the brakes a couple of times before driving away. Use them normally; they will work just fine.
- Find a gravel or other slippery road and hammer on the brakes a few times, enough to get the ABS to cycle. This will improve your brake pedal feel immensely.
- As soon as you can, find a quiet road and bed the pads. Do about 5 to 10 light stops, a minute or two apart. This helps heat the pads and rotors up a bit. Then do 2 to 3 VERY HARD stops in a row from 60 MPH, backing off the pedal just before it comes to rest. This should get your pads and rotors smoking hot. Don't let the vehicle come to a full stop. After the 2nd or 3rd stop, drive normally for 10 to 15 minutes while using the brakes very sparingly if possible. Try to pick a quiet road so you can avoid coming to a full stop with the pads resting in one spot on a very hot rotor.
Brake pads contribute a lot to the feel of your brakes. As far as the rears go, you don't need the super-premium ones. Rears contribute very little to overall braking. I used NAPA Premiums on the rear when I put the NAPA Adaptive Ones on the front.