It has been 12 months since Australian Automotive Parts (AAP) launched its latest range of Ceramic, Heavy Duty and 4WD disc pads – the new ranges complementing Ultimas extensive range of braking products.
The new range has proved very popular with brake specialists and mechanics alike, offering great value and, more importantly, low dust and no noise.
The range has quickly grown to over 300 part numbers with new additions arriving monthly. The ceramic range creates little to no dust. The formula in each application is matched to the vehicle application with consideration also given to whether the pad is for the front or rear brakes.
The manufacturer has a capacity of over 13 million sets a year and has ECE R90 European accreditation for more than 1400-part numbers.
In Europe all aftermarket disc pads must have this accreditation which insures the compound of the pad is the same as the original disc pads supplied by the car maker. All Ultima ceramic pads carry this certification.
Within this new range are vehicle specific Heavy-Duty pads for light commercial vehicles along a new 4WD specific compound for 4×4 applications. These provide excellent fade characteristics and good wear under heavy load.
All Ultima pads are copper free. The entire production process is fully automated starting with the automatic mixing system which mixes the various compounds and materials for each part number in a production run. The production process is done through 100 per cent positive tooling in Hot Press machines and computer-controlled Oven curing – the latest technology available in disc pad production.
All Ultima disc pads have a three-layer rubberised shim developed in Germany. Cold rolled steel is encased in an NBR rubber coasting and bonded to the pad. This reduces pad vibration and noise. New shipments will also include a sachet of synthetic moly brake grease to apply to the backing plate and guide points on calipers to help ensure best fitment practices and will be included in every set of disc pads.
Ultima Disc pads are available from most leading resellers and Brake and Clutch specialists.