When applied to brakes 'ceramic' is just a generic term.
The actual materials used vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. I can only speak for the products that I deal with. We reckon a front wheel weight saving of about 4.5 lbs. when changing like for like, but when you reduce the size of discs being used the weight saving increases further.
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In addition, the ceramic matrix composite material has a higher coefficient of friction than ductile iron - which has a higher mu than stock stainless steel rotors. Ultimately, the best way to improve brakes is to use materials that increase the frictional braking force between pad and rotor.
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That is absolutely correct. But there are also other things to consider. Ceramic brakes run even hotter than carbon brakes, but their conductivity is about 60 times faster than steel, so they heat up very fast, but also cool down very fast. The pads that are used must cope with this. In addition the calipers (and the pistons inside) that are used must be able to deal with all these variable heat gradients without transmitting the heat into the brake fluid.
We do not think that standard pads and/or calipers should be used with ceramic discs. Quote:
but would they be any use on the road, or just the bling factor??
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Absolutely they would be of use on the road. They work when they are cold and they work when they are wet. Also the life of the discs is of a totally different magnitude altogether when compared to carbon discs.
Look out for tests and reviews in the magazines soon.
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