What is Carbon Metallic®?
Carbon Metallic®, sometimes called CM in the industry, is the brand name of PFC's most well known brake pads and will be the brand best suited for the majority of people.  Carbon Metallic® offers superior braking, pedal feel and longer life without fade at high temperatures.  There are over a dozen varieties of Carbon Metallic®, each custom manufactured for a specific vehicle application.  Carbon Metallic® is completely different from an organic or semi-metallic pad, which often use clay as fillters to reduce costs.  Fillers also diminish performance - something PFC takes very seriously and will not compromise.  Carbon Metallic's unique friction formula contains no fillers, as well as no asbestos, no lead and no kevlar.  The phrase Carbon Metallic® is now used in the industry for brake pads - much like Kleenex® is used for tissue paer.  Stated another way - we are the Kleenex® of the brake industry.  The branding power that our name commands is synonymous with performance in all categories.

What is Carbon Metallic Z-Rated?
Carbon Metallic Z-Rated® is the brand name given to a newer set of PFC compounds specifically designed for high-performance vehicles such as BMW, Corvette, Mustang, SUVs and 4WDs, as well as for severe-duty applications and tow vehicles.  An ultra high performance, integrally moulded disc pad, Carbon Metallic Z-Rated® is the most advanced carbon based pad available.  It delivers unrivaled pedal feel, stopping power, rotor compatibility and quiet braking.  It offers the longest rotor and pad life at a lower cost per mile in it's class.

Is Carbon Metallic® for a racecar or for street/highway use?
Both.  Carbon Metallic® was originally designed in compounds suitable for racing applications and in formulas for off-highway/heavy duty fleet use.  For racers, there are multiple racing compounds available under the Carbon Metallic® brand.  All are very powerful and can help to improve lap time, increase pad life, eliminate fade and enable drivers to get on and off the brake much quicker.
For street applications, Carbon Metallic® is offered in application specific formulas for pad upgrade and replacements on domestic and imports, including fleet vehicles.  Carbon Metallic® pads come with shims attached in most cases for street pads and utilize our patented Multi-layer Technology™ to reduce brake noise.

Can I really tell the difference if I use Carbon Metallic®?
Different brake pads have different characteristics.  Two performance attributes that change among pad compounds is the friction coefficient and their temperature capability before they fade.  Numerous studies have been done at the Busch Proving Grounds comparing other brands to PFC's Carbon Metallic®, and all have shown there is a lot of performance to be gained by investing in a premium, high performance compound like CM.  Carbon Metallic® pads keep fade in check by tolerating up to 50-80% higher rotor temperatures.  PFC Carbon Metallic® are extremely strong which, in addition to safety, offers superior brake pedal feel.  This strength also makes Carbon Metallic® more compatible with ABS.  Less strong organic/organic based or semi-metallic pads can actually compress, especially when hot.  Carbon Metallic® pads continue to grip even when hot, offering safety and consistent braking and pedal fee.

Why doesn't PFC use rivets in its Carbon Metallic® pads?
PFC believe that having an integrally moulded pad offers the highest shear strength.  Through our unique Ionic Fusion process, we have achieved the highest sheer strength in the market - the bond between the pad and the backing plate was deemed "phenomenally strong" by testing engineers.  Riveted pads also pick up sand and other contaminants that can destroy rotors.

How safe are Carbon Metallic® pads compared to other manufacturers?
Carbon Metallic® pads are very safe.  They meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 105 and 135.  Not all brake pads sold in the aftermarket meet these stringent standards.  Carbon Metallic® are also Original Equipment on over 3,000,000 Ford and GM vehicles.  Carbon Metallic® is the safest brake you can buy, with the highest shear strength in the brake industry.  Many manufacturers put a good, better, best ranking on their brakes and market them according to sales price.  At PFC, there is no good, better, best - they are all the best - and there is only one Carbon Metallic®.