---
title: "What is a Brake pad made of?"
description: "A friction compound of fibres, fillers and resin, moulded and bonded onto a steel backing plate. Every component, the material it uses, and the constraint that made "
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/brake-pad/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What is a Brake pad made of?

**What is a Brake pad made of?: A friction compound of fibres, fillers and resin, moulded and bonded onto a steel backing plate.**

The material history of brake pads is a history of banned ingredients. Asbestos was the original fibre and was phased out of most markets from the 1980s. Copper replaced much of it, then turned out to be a significant pollutant in road runoff, and US legislation now limits pads to under 0.5% copper by weight from 2025, with the familiar "N" and "B" edge codes marking compliance. Pads never grip through the friction material alone: braking transfers a thin layer of pad material onto the disc, and bedding-in new pads is the process of laying that layer down evenly. Skipping it is how new brakes end up with a pulsing pedal that gets blamed on warped discs.

## Component by component

*Every material is a choice, and the third column is the constraint that drove it.*

| Part | Material | Why that material |
| --- | --- | --- |
| backing plate | stamped steel, often with a stainless or zinc coating | It spreads the caliper piston load across the whole pad and is the part that has to survive corrosion in a wheel arch. |
| binder | phenolic resin, cured under heat and pressure | Phenolic holds its strength to around 300 °C; when it is driven past that it decomposes and releases gas, which is brake fade. |
| reinforcing fibres | aramid, steel wool, glass, mineral or copper fibre depending on type | The fibre network stops the pad crumbling; steel gives bite and noise, aramid gives quiet and dust that is easier on wheels. |
| friction modifiers | graphite, rubber crumb, metal sulfides, ceramic particles | They tune how the coefficient of friction changes with temperature — a pad that grips harder as it heats is much harder to drive smoothly. |
| shim and slots | rubber-coated steel shim, chamfers and a slot across the face | They break up the resonance that makes brakes squeal, which is a vibration problem rather than a friction one. |

## Other cars and driving objects

- [Car tire](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tire/) — Several different rubber compounds reinforced with steel and textile cord — closer to a composite than to rubber.
- [Car battery](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/car-battery/) — Lead and lead dioxide plates in dilute sulfuric acid, in a polypropylene case — mostly lead, by weight.
- [Airbag](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/airbag/) — A coated nylon bag inflated by a small solid-propellant gas generator in about thirty milliseconds.
- [Windshield (windscreen)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/windshield/) — Two sheets of ordinary glass laminated to a tough plastic interlayer, which is what stops it falling out.
- [Spark plug](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/spark-plug/) — A ceramic insulator carrying a centre electrode of nickel, platinum or iridium inside a steel shell.
- [Seatbelt](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/seatbelt/) — Woven polyester webbing designed to stretch a controlled amount, plus a locking retractor and a pyrotechnic pretensioner.

## Common questions

### What is a Brake pad made of?

A friction compound of fibres, fillers and resin, moulded and bonded onto a steel backing plate.

### What is the backing plate of a Brake pad made of?

Stamped steel, often with a stainless or zinc coating. It spreads the caliper piston load across the whole pad and is the part that has to survive corrosion in a wheel arch.

### What is the binder of a Brake pad made of?

Phenolic resin, cured under heat and pressure. Phenolic holds its strength to around 300 °C; when it is driven past that it decomposes and releases gas, which is brake fade.

## Related pages

- [Car tire](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tire/)
- [Car battery](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/car-battery/)
- [Airbag](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/airbag/)
- [Windshield (windscreen)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/windshield/)
- [Spark plug](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/spark-plug/)
- [Seatbelt](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/seatbelt/)
- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/)
- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/)
- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/)
- [Golf ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/golf-ball/)
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/)
- [Glass](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glass/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)