Yes. All of the disc brake pads sold by IDEAL Brake Parts are 100% made in Canada and manufactured at our facility in Guelph, Ontario. Unlike the majority of replacement brake parts sold in Canada, IDEAL Brake Parts are not imported.
Many imported parts contain elements harmful to installers and the environment, and they aren’t tested to any kind of safety standards. When you choose IDEAL Brake Parts, you can be confident that you are using a high-quality product that will protect the safety of you and your passengers.
In one word: pollution. Brake dust and debris is a major contributor of copper pollution in our waterways. Anytime it rains, or you wash your car, very fine particles of copper are washed into storm drains and eventually reach our water systems. Large concentrations of copper have been shown to be harmful to aquatic life and are also known to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm.
The NSF LeafMark™ symbol denotes the quantity of copper used in an aftermarket brake pad. The LeafMark™ is a trademark of The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association.There are three levels of LeafMark™ compliance:
- Level A regulates the amount of cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury, while the pad will still contain copper.
- Level B is the same as Level A, but the copper content must be less than 5% by weight.
- Level N is the same as Level B, but the copper content must be less than 0.5% by weight.
All IDEAL Brake Parts are Level N and, to take it one step further, we have eliminated all copper from our brake pad formulas. For more information on the regulations, please visit the NSF website.
No. IDEAL Brake Parts do not and have never contained any asbestos. This mineral was used for decades in brake pads because it was inexpensive and provided excellent heat resistance and long durability.
Although many commercial uses for asbestos have been banned since the late 1970s, asbestos is still present in aftermarket brake pads. When asbestos-filled brake pads begin to deteriorate, they can deposit harmful asbestos fibres into the air. Breathing in these fibres can cause them to become embedded in a person’s lungs, leading to serious illnesses such as asbestosis or mesothelioma.
At IDEAL Brake Parts, we are committed to adopting a socially and environmentally responsible approach to manufacturing aftermarket brake parts. That’s why we’ve never used asbestos as a component in our brake pads.
Over the years, we have seen a shift in the components used to manufacture disc brake pad friction material. Whether through legislative changes, new regulations, or changes to OE compounds, different elements have been altered, reduced, or even banned from friction materials.
IDEAL Brake Parts has never used asbestos in any of our pads, and we have currently eliminated all copper from our formulation. Our R&D team has worked tirelessly to find viable alternative compounds to replace the harmful elements, while maintaining a quality brake pad with superior braking performance.
The Brake Effectiveness Evaluation Procedure (BEEP®) and testing are the industry-accepted standard for brake performance. BEEP® is a registered trademark of the Brake Standards Association.
BEEP® Testing ensures that a replacement brake part will perform at least as well as OE braking standards. BEEP® Testing uses the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J2784 dynamometer test and, although not mandatory, IDEAL Brake Parts submits our brake parts to this industry testing standard.
A dynamometer, or ‘dyno’ for short, allows the testing of friction materials (in our case, brake pads) in our own facility as an alternative to on-vehicle testing. These dyno tests are approved by vehicle and axle manufacturers, and government relevant authorities. They are able to simulate vehicle driving conditions more rapidly than road testing.
There are no regulations in place for the replacement of brake pads in North America.
While there have been instances where materials used to fabricate offshore brake pads have proven harmful to human health, the government has not set requirements for either product performance or content.
In August 2010, California passed legislation that mandates the elimination of copper in motor vehicle brake pads by 2025. This mandate emerged from findings that copper used in friction materials was proven highly toxic to fish.
Our advice — don’t assume that replacement parts are safe. Make sure you ask about the origins of your replacement brake pads to protect yourself and the environment!
