Brake Pad BS (Marketing vs Actual Friction Rating)

I've been going down the brake pad rabbit hole for the past month or so. (I have a super heavy rig and need more stopping power).
I thought I finally picked my pads.. Just the Hawk LTS. Seemed like a good all around pad for my needs. Claim to have a higher coefficient of friction than OEM, w/ 20% more stopping power.

BUT, all street legal brakes are tested by the DOT, and given a friction code, independent of what the manufacturer wants.. LTS pads from years ago are FF. The ones I just received are FE. (E friction rating is bare steel! So, might as well have no pad). And OEM pads are rated GG! (Higher letters have more friction, more grabby)

SO.. is all aftermarket brake marketing just BS? I know hawk will NOT give out the actual specs like the friction code if you call and ask them.. I tried! And then saw other forums of other people also not receiving that information from them. It looks like the same model pad from them can have vastly different friction ratings! Also saw others post about that in other forums. So they certainly lack consistency, and I guess their little charts can't be trusted if the DOT tests show different results.

And last, the OEM pads are ceramic, while everything I read says ceramic are worse for cold stopping and other things.. But in reality, that GG friction rating means scientifically, they have much more bite than the lower rated FF or FE pads. I can't find ANY aftermarket pads which have over FF rating for the tacoma.. So I think that means OEM ceramic are the best option, technically, scientifically, engineering speaking.. which goes against others experience.. (although I doubt 'others' have tested anything, and just think their new pads they spend money on are great)

I guess I'm just ranting here.. I doubt anyone has a bunch of technical info they can add.. But if anyone does know the DOT friction code for any other aftermarket pads, please post.

 

I don't have any info on brake pad friction ratings. If you want your truck to have outstanding brakes though:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-2006-tacoma-brake-upgrade-edited.652471/

 

I don’t know any thing about friction rating either.
But I do know different material will have different results depending on test setup.

I’m like most people, as long as it stops with out squealing and shaking, I’m good.

 

In my experience ceramic pads typically have a really good cold bite but don’t have the high heat range capabilities of a high metallic compound pad.

 

I worked for PFC brakes (Performance Friction) on the pad side for a few years. The code is printed on all PFC pads. 0976.20 is the part number, and yes they are FF. They can be found on RockAuto at the cheapest price. O'reillys has them but sells for like 50% more. Or you can get them thru a distributor.

They work well in my opinion. No squealing, no dust, stops well, copper free. Designed and made in Clover, SC. I got an extra set before I quit there.