I need to put front brake pads on Wifey's Explorer.

I went to O'Reilly's Auto today and they had a set for 58 dollars and a set for 14 dollars.

I asked for a set of pads "somewhere in the middle" of those two figures.

It was then that he told me he was out of the price range in the middle....37 dollars.

Question.....Will this 37 dollar set of pads be sufficient for my wifey's stop and go shopping from stores all over town?

I don't understand the great variance in price of these pads at all, but I did not want to take the time and effort to put on a set of 14 dollar pads until I can find out what the big deal is on brake shoes.

I looked on the net but only got more confused.

Does anyone know about brake pads and if the O'Reilly 37 dollar pads will be adequate for the Ford Explorer?

Thank you, Chuckwagon

get the $37 or $58. dont waste money on the $14 pads. dont go cheap on something that important. the $37 pads will work fine as long as they're semi-metallic or ceramic. dont get organic, too much heat fade.

Thanks Big C. I ordered the 37 dollar pads and they are semi metallic. The guy said they would be in "Monday morning".
Thanks again for the quick reply.

Chuckwagon

While I can't comment on the quality of any brakes sold at O'Rilleis I can say this, IMHO besides tires, brakes are the most important feature on a vehicle. Never cheap out! The safety of your family & the family in the car next to you is worth good parts.

I have used cheap, mid priced with regular warranty and expensive with lifetime warranty. I will use the expensive with lifetime warranty from now on. They last longer, and I don't have to pay for them again. Autozone lifetime warranty is what I will use for now on. My wife drives an 01 Explorer and I put the cheapies on the first time and changed them after about 20K miles.

I do all the brake job's on all of my car's (4). I have used the lifetime pad's. I do not like them. They made an annoying grinding sound and sometimes a slight squeel. Before asbestos was outlawed, the sintered pad's were good. The lifetime pad's will indeed last, but something has to give. They last because of the higher metal content. What's going to start to give is the rotor's. You'll start to notice small grooves wearing into the rotor's with the expensive pad's. The more expensive the pad, the higher the metal content. Metal on metal, something's going to lose. You can go through a lifetime of changing $14 pad's every 5-7 year's for less than the cost of changing rotor's eventually. Brake fade is not a problem for the average driver, just keep off the stock car track!

Not saying your decision is bad. I don't live in a big city. The frequent stop and go in the traffic jams around DFW is much harder on brakes than what I experience. Just my 2 cent's.

ceramic work great but are really expensive. they work good cold, and work better hot.

imo the best pads out there are the wagner thermo quiet, no dust, no squeaks and last a long time. but the price is up there.

I used Motorcraft Super Duty Pads for my F150 cost $41.00, but it last longer 30K miles already (3/4 pad)