What To Look For When Buying Brake Pads In Bulk
Whether you run a chain of car garages or you sell car parts to consumers and businesses, the chances are that you’re often looking for quality brake pads. Being able to offer your customers the very best brake pads is important: after all, your reputation is at stake every time you supply someone with a product. When buying brake pads in bulk from brake pad manufacturers, there are lots of things to look out for – we’ve rounded up some tips below.
Think about performance
Whatever your budget and the needs and requirements of your customers, it makes sense to only source and supply the best quality brake pads. So when reviewing and testing brake pads, think about weather performance: the pads should perform well in all climates, whether it’s hot, cold, wet, dry, or muddy. It’s also worth thinking about the brake pads’ Maximum Operating Temperature, and Friction Response to ensure the safety of your customers and their vehicles. Manufacturers should be able to give you such information.
All brake pads are prone to wear and deterioration over time – something else to consider when reviewing the performance of your brake pads is their average lifespan, so you can pass this information on to your customers. This is even more important if you offer minimum guarantees or warranties on your products to ensure you can maintain a generous margin.
Other performance aspects to consider include noise and vibration – a good brake pads supplier will have conducted thorough tests and should be able to supply you with all of the information and performance analytics you need before you place an order.
Choose the right brake pads
Whether you’re working on a client’s car or you’re offering advice to your customers, it’s always worth looking at the manufacturer’s recommendations when choosing the right brake pads, but more often than not, they’ll recommend only using replacement parts that have been manufactured by them.
Depending on the make and model of the vehicle, the chances are that the brake pad will have been manufactured from one of three materials. Many years ago, organic pads were manufactured from asbestos, but the material has since been banned around the world, and so composite materials are used, such as glass, rubber, fibre, and more.
Although organic brake pads are quieter than some alternatives, they don’t last as long, which is why they’re no longer as common or popular as they once were. Still, you’ll likely find them in some high-end and luxury vehicles, so you may still need to stock them.
Most vehicles on the road today now use semi-metallic brake pads. These pads are made from copper, iron, steel, and other metals, as well as graphite lubricants which reduce the build-up of heat. They’re also used for heavy-duty vehicles like delivery trucks, as they stand the test of time and reduce friction, helping heavier vehicles stop faster and more efficiently. However, in recent years, many manufacturers have been making the move towards ceramic brake pads, manufactured from hardened ceramic material combined with copper fibres. They are long-lasting and can withstand high temperatures, though don’t offer great performance in colder weather conditions. They’re also the most expensive brake pad due to the cost of their materials and manufacturing process but are often the most cost-effective.
If you’re still not sure which type of brake pad you should be offering to your customers, we’ve put together a guide offering the performance differences between Semi-Metallic Brake Pads, Low-Metallic Brake Pads, and Ceramic Brake Pads. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about working with Frontech for your brake pads.
Decide whether you need OEM components
As brake pads wholesale suppliers, we’re often asked by customers whether OEM components are necessary. The truth is, they’re not. Although some vehicle manufacturers require OEM components for warranty purposes, most manufacturers accept the use of OEM-equivalent brake pads and parts that are manufactured by others. At Frontech, for example, we’re TUV certified and our products follow the same production line as OEM.
As a car parts supplier, you might decide to offer both aftermarket products and official OEM products to your customers, albeit at different price tags. When choosing a brake pad manufacturer, we recommend working with trusted names and checking the warranty and certifications of each brake pad to ensure safety and peace of mind. As a supplier, speaking directly to your brake pad manufacturer can ensure important safety questions can be answered – and that you can pass such information on to your customers when selling them.
At Frontech, we’re proud to distribute high-quality brake pads to customers in more than 139 countries, building our reputation as the top chassis supplier in the industry. If you have any questions about working with us, click here to drop us a message or call +86-546-7766444.
