Shimano Brake Pads Codes

[Christofison]

So I'm buying some new pads for my SLX M-675 brakes and there are a crazy amount of compatible options out there. Is there anyone who can decipher Shimano's brake pads coding? I am assuming it works as follows, correct me if I'm wrong:

 

-The first letter obviously refers to type ie. G...=standard non-finned, F...=finned & J...=revised fin angle design? Are there any other types that would work with the M-675?

 

-The middle numbers refer to pad compound ie. ...01...=resin, ...02...=revised resin, ...03...=metal & ...04...=revised metalic? Does anyone have insight as to what changes were made to the newer revised resin 02 compared to the original 01? I'm not so interested in the differences between resin and metal, as there is a ton of info out there.

 

-The last letter refers to backing plate material ie. ...A=aluminium, ...S=steel, ...Ti=titanium & ...C=combination stainless steel base plate with aluminium fins? These obviously effect heat conductivity. So aluminium will allow heat to pass through realitively quickly thus a greater risk of boiling the brake fluid? Stainless steel and titanium will not allow heat to pass through very easily, thus heating up the rotor and a greater risk or brake fade?

[usxorf]

Forget about all those codes and just buy these. Bought 5 pairs 2 years ago, commute with them. Plenty of other commuters I know use them as well. They last just as long, brake just as well as the originals.

[Eugene Brown]

Basically it's steel backing and resin material for SLX, aluminium and resin/metal/fin for XT, and Titanium and resin/metal/fin for XTR. They all work, resin has better "early bite" according to the gurus, and metal lasts better in muddy conditions.

 

Its the same as asking Shimano or SRAM, just depends on your personal preference, exacting needs (if any) and your budget.

 

I buy the finned resin pads from CRC in sets of 8 for our 4 bikes, and they last us a year. This way it's cheap enough to not worry about issues from Ali.whatever.

 

Also check the local guys, sometimes you find a bargain!

[bikebloke]

[Christofison]

Thanks for the response Eugene. When you categorise SLX, XT & XTR, you're referring to the original pads that come standard with the brake system, right? Because all the type-G, F & J pads are compatible with across the range of SLX, XT, XTR & Alfine.

 

 

It seems that there is little to no difference between 01 & 02 resin pad compound, and the same with 03 & 04 metallic pad compound. 01 & 03 were for all the old generation brakes and now 02 & 04 are recommended on the new M7000, M8000 & M9000 generations, but are obviously backward compatible.

 

Anyway, I have discovered that the 'meat' of a metallic pad allows heat to pass through way more than that of a resin pad. And as mentioned above aluminium allows heat to pass through way quicker than steel or titanium. Thus, you don't get a metallic pad with an aluminium backing plate as this would superheat the piston, caliper and fluid. Likewise, the resin finned pads are all aluminium but the metallic finned pads have the stainless steel backing plate combined with aluminium fins.

 

I hope someone with the same questions finds this information helpful.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhQqM3OjDXc&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=LoveMTB