Are semi-metallic and carbon-metallic pads the same thing?

 

I did a little research and they are different the carbon-metallic pads will take more heat and I'm going to guess they have some carbon in them too.
I would get some Ceramic pads I have semi-metallic auto-zone pads on my Z28 and I get brake fade from them.
when I had Ceramic pads or the stock ones on I got no brake fade.

 

Funny you should mention picking up the ceramic pads.

I ask the pad question, because I've been having a terrible time with my brakes. I did the LS1 conversion and they have not worked well at all. I've been troubleshooting the ABS, bleeding the system, looking over the master cylinder etc.

I've been more than frustrated at this....

I've run performance friction carbon metallic for a few years, on my old LT1 brakes and for the LS1 brakes. The LS1 upgrade seemed only slightly better than my LT1 brakes....and they were bad.

When I started down this road on the upgrade.....the fluid in my brake system was bad. It had even turned a dark color. It had been that way since I got the car....and has gotten worse over the years. The brakes on my 3.8 V6 were way better than on my Z28.

So when I did the LS1 upgrade....I fully flushed the system, did the swap, and put Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads in the calipers. As noted above....barely any improvement. Note I was also running those type pads in my LT1 setup.

When compared to my wife's car or my truck....my Z28 brakes were pathetic.....getting down right dangerous.

I purchased the Motive bleeder(which works EXCELLENT.....just don't blow up your master cylinder reservoir) After using it, the brake pedal feel is the best I've had in this car. However stopping was still horrible.

Finally, I got to thinking about the pads. Wondering if the performance friction carbon metallic pads need heat to work correctly. So, after I posted this question...I went down to Autozone and got a set of LS1 ceramic pads(just as you suggested). I installed them in about 20 mins(LS1 calipers are so easy to swap pads).

I just got back from a test drive. The ceramic pads are not broken in yet, but the difference is amazing. They stop 2x-3x better than carbon metallic pads(not even broken in yet).

I just can't believe I've been fighting a pad issue this entire time. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have found the problem...but I feel so stupid.

I would not recommend to anyone to use carbon metallic pads for street use.....heck, I don't know how they would perform in a race setting....but if it's no better than a street setting.....then they are junk.

 

I glad you got it all worked out.
I saw the pictures of the master cylinder.
I use a vacuum on my brakes and it works great.

 

Yeah, I was quite shocked when it blew(mortified was more like it). Especially with Chevy's stated pressure of 30-35 psi to flush.

In speaking with Motive(their technical and customer support is excellent) they told me that, with larger reservoirs, the pressure on the seals at 15psi can be over 400 pounds. That is why they recommend 10-15psi for flushing and certainly not to exceed 20psi. However I had to follow the GM manual....then BOOM!

Once I cleaned and repainted everything, I flushed it at 15psi and it worked great. Much easier(and less painful) than dragging the wife out to the hot garage to pump the brake pedal.