John ButlerAre you trying to decide between StopTech and Centric brake pads? They’re both premium brands. We’ll help you go over each option and reach the best decision.
What many people don’t know is that StopTech and Centric are both part of the same company. It doesn’t mean that both brands produce exactly the same brake parts. So what’s the difference between both brands? Which one is better for your car?
The Purpose Of Each Brand
Each brand serves a certain purpose. Let’s talk about each one.
StopTech’s Purpose
StopTech is Centric’s high performance and racing division. StopTech makes world-class brake components and systems for:
- Production-based high-performance street vehicles
- European, exotic, Asian, modern muscle, and trucks
- Production-based racing vehicles
StopTech engineers its brake components and systems to offer exceptional performance and durability. Even under the most strenuous racing situations.
StopTech’s brake pads come in three different compounds:
- Street
- Sport
- Race
StopTech designs each compound to perform well in the condition for which it’s intended.
Centric’s Purpose
Centric is the parent company of StopTech, and it also produces high quality products. Centric makes high quality brake components and systems for street vehicles. Centric designs its brake pads to offer superior performance and a long life.
Centric’s engineering team makes a point to solve the most common issues with brake pads, including:
- Difficult installation
- Inconsistent performance
- Brake fade
As a result, Centric brake pads are as high quality as they come. Centric offers several different types of brake pads. Each has a different friction formula:
- Semi-metallic brake pads
- Ceramic brake pads
- Posi-Quiet semi-metallic brake pads
- Posi-Quiet ceramic brake pads
- Posi-Quiet extended wear brake pads
It’s important to think about which friction formula you choose. It makes a big difference in your vehicle’s braking system performance.
Quality Differences
Both Centric and StopTech are considered industry leaders in brake components. Centric brakes are already high quality, but StopTech is an upgraded version of Centric products. It doesn’t mean that you should always choose StopTech over Centric.
StopTech choses materials better suited to demanding driving situations. It also manufactures its products with more complex methods. For example, extra machining goes into StopTech’s slotted or drilled rotors. That’s why StopTech parts are generally more expensive than Centric parts.
StopTech brake components and systems are specifically designed for high performance driving. So if you have a daily driver street vehicle, Centric brake pads may be better suited for your vehicle. You’d save some money, and Centric brake pads will still serve your vehicle very well for a long time.
Factoring Your Driving Style Into Your Decision
If you can’t decide between StopTech and Centric brake pads, consider your driving style. Some common driving styles include:
- Normal commute
- Performance street driving
- Towing
- Driving with oversized tires
- Street racing
- Track racing
Centric brake pads are more “universal”. That means if you have a daily driver, a set of StopTech brake pads would be overkill. Centric brake pads would do just fine.
What if your vehicle is not a daily driver? What if it’s a high performance vehicle, towing vehicle, or something else? Choosing the right brand takes a little more thought. That’s why we took the time to evaluate every StopTech and Centric brake pad we have in stock. Some of the criteria we look at include:
- Stopping power
- Performance over stock
- Noise level
- Pad life
- Dust levels
Check out our selection of StopTech brake pads and Centric brake pads. If you need help deciding on the right brand and type of brake pad for your vehicle, please contact us. We’ll be happy to find the right brake pads for your application!
