In the old days, brake pads were as much as 50% asbestos. But because of health hazards, they were mandated away. This faze out continued into the late 80s when the SHO was introduced.

Because of the faze out of asbestos pads, semi metallic pads became extremely common for street use, and were stock from Ford on the SHO. Many after market "premium" pads are also semi-metallic. They work very well in the majority of cars. But they don't seem to work too well in the SHO. At least not SHO's with 10.1 inch rotors. I believe it is because the SHO works these pads too close to their upper temperature limits. Fred Puhn says semimetallic pads begin to melt at 1000 F. However test data reveals they can begin to suffer fade as low as 500 F! That's a range where our brakes operate, and we will feel it, even on the street. From Ford's perspective they are good for one good panic stop, and will stop the car, but a high priority was probably not given to fade under this rare(?) circumstance. Stock semi-metallic pads are a compromise of low noise, low dust, long life, and normal low temperature performance, with one panic stop fade resistance. We SHO owners, as auto enthusiasts, would probably prioritize the previous pad characteristics very differently.

The following engineering data is courtesy of Raybestos Brake, Larry Narcus of Carbotech and Mark Price of Performance Friction:

(These temperature limits are really the onset of noticeable fade.)

Generalized Pad Characteristics:

Organic pads are very susceptible to fade from pad outgassing. They have a high level of  volatile organic binders that will outgas when heated (giving that classic burnt brakes odor).  The gas gets between the rotor and pad surface, reducing the friction level significantly. These pads are the reason slots and holes in rotors sometimes improve braking. They typically have an EE DOT edge code rating.

A typical premium street pad is semi metallic (SM) in composition, including the stock Ford SHO pads. Normally still have some organic content. These seem to work reasonably well on most cars on the street, but they are designed for long life, low noise, low cost, great effectiveness at low temperatures, and one panic stop capability. But moderately aggressively driven SHO's with 10 inch rotors seem to easily go beyond what they can handle with regard to fade. They will hold on up to 900 F or so, but  fade in the 500-900 range can be pretty severe, up to 20% or more. But SHO owners also say these pads work much better on the 96 brakes' 11.6 in. rotors. The engineers say they start to melt at 1000 F or so and will do a lot of rotor damage at that point.

Most semi-metallic pads are still susceptible to fade from pad outgassing due to their organic content. Usually FF DOT rated.

Full race organic pads are available but they only work well at race temperatures (1100 F) and have drawbacks too severe for street use, such as at low/no friction at low temps. Softer organic race pads are available, and they do work better at lower temps, but their wear rate can be extreme. Typically only EE rated for friction.

Carbon fiber pads came of age due to asbestos being regulated out of brake pads in the late 80s. They have vastly superior temperature resistance on the track. Formula One uses full carbon pads with full carbon rotors for up to 3000 F operating temperatures with no fade! However the costs are nearly as high! These exotic pads would be HH rated by the DOT because of their extrordinarily high friction coefficient.

Carbon fiber enhanced semi-metallic (CM) pads have been a 90s era cost effective development and have become the weapon of choice on the race track in many race classes from SCCA to Nascar to Indy Cars for their superior temperature resistance. These pads have basically come into their own after the SHO was introduced in 89. Several companies, like Raybestos, Performance Friction, Hawke Brake and Carbotech have even more recently come out with streetable versions of carbon fiber enhanced metallic (CM) pads. These appear to be ideal for high performance street cars like the SHO! They will even tolerate high speed track use! They'll go as high as 800-900 F before fade begins kicking in. They'll even handle a little more, like 1100-1200 F without fading away completely. Sixty SHO owners reported 60% less fade while using CM pads, as opposed to SM pads, during a recent brake survey.

Most of these pads appear to have very little organic material, which greatly reduces fade from pad outgassing. However this may vary by brand. Because of this material composition change, holes and slots should be much less effective at improving performance with this type of pad, leaving only the negative features of drilled rotors for you to live with; cracks! These pads are typically rated FF by the DOT.

Sounds like a lot of great features, but more than one club member has reported that these pads are incredibly dusty. BTW! (FF rated).

Club members input: Very linear pedal response. Slightly firm (stiff) pedal, but has a more solid feel with less squishiness than the previous semi-metallics. Original developed for rental car and police car fleet use, so they are extremely long-lasting pads and very easy on rotors. "65K mi. and they're only half gone..." was echoed by more than one member. Little fade unless really abused. Some members report success on the race track, others do not. Moderately dusty, about the same as Ford semi-metallics. Hard to go wrong by choosing these pads. Readily available, and a great value, especially if you get them through Autozone for as low as $29. (FF rated).

Member input: 10% more fade resistance and 10-15% higher friction coefficient than the standard Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pad. They do deliver on this, the higher C.F. gives a welcome lighter pedal. Has a slightly increasing C.F. with temperature. A little un-nerving at first to feel them heat up good in a hard stop and they begin to grab 10% harder than before. They also do this cold. They are pretty weak stone cold, even in spring temperatures, but warm up quickly in the first stop or two from 30-40, and then you will feel them grab much better. Under very hard stops, the noise changed pitch and turned into an almost metallic grinding sound. I had them on for 30k mi, with a projected life of 60k mi. plus. They wear a little faster than the std. PFCM pads.

Could not get these to fade even with very aggressive street usage. Finally, brakes I had confidence in! Autocross type street charging was now possible. Mark Price of Performance Friction says these pads will tolerate limited race track/ time trial usage. They will not fade away even with red-hot rotors. He has purposely subjected a stock Dodge Intrepid rent a car with these pads to 70 consecutive laps at Road Atlanta with no problem.

One big negative, these are the dustiest pads I have ever seen in my life. The wheels would look dirty after one 30 mile ride to work, and would be pitch black in two days. I was washing the front wheels only, 2-3 times a week. The improved stopping performance was welcome, but what a price to pay! - Leigh Smith  (FF rated)

Word is these are a little dusty. (FF rated)

Member input: Carbotech answered a lot of technical questions for me, and that's why I gave him my business.Plus he specializes in custom / low volume applications. The F pads are Carbon fiber /semi-metallic in construction, and have no organics to create gaseous fade. They are uniquely processed in that they are CRYOGENICALLY treated. This process anneals or hardens the pad material and changes some of its characteristics. It feels like an entirely different pad after the treatment. This cryogenic process is used by many cutting edge race teams in Nascar, Indy, and SCCA, for everything from entire engine assemblies to short-track brake rotors for its metal hardening / stabilizing qualities. (You can read up more on cryogenics here:  http://www.onecryo.com/motorsp.htm )

Carbotech now recommends these for use as low as 150 F. However they admit the pads warm up very quickly, even during one stop. I used them in 10 F weather and found no problem. By the time I left my neighborhood and made two light 30 mph stops, they would give no cold fade if used hard. The only way I could notice any cold fade/stiff pedal was to hit them hard during that first blocks' 30 mph stop. They are a lot better cold than either of the two PFCM compounds.

I have not observed any noticeable fade with these pads even with 600 F rotor temps or 100-0 stops. And there is virtually no dust, or  noise. They are smooth and have a lighter than stock pedal feel due to the extremely high C.F. of around 0.48. They are easy to modulate because the pedal feel is solid with little sponginess. I have gone as much as a month in the winter without washing the car or the wheels, which is more than I can say for any other pad I have tried.  In short, they beat every other pad I have tried, in every category, and seem to have no vice.

Grassroots Motorsports Magazine proclaimed them "possibly the best autocross/high performance street pad we have ever tried." That was the reason I called, and I now agree with their analysis 100%.

Also unlike most of the other high C.F. pads on this list, they are available to fit any of the five FMSI pad backing plate shapes for the SHO, including all three front types and both rear pad types! They can even be had in the proper size for the 96 rotors (598). And ideally, a high C.F. pad should be run front and rear to keep the car balanced. (FF rated).

Panther Pads may well be ideal for an all around pad that can handle anything you can throw at it from stop and go traffic to Mid-Ohio! They will tolerate 1300 F with no fade. They are of a ceramic/carbon fiber construction. Yes, ceramic, a lot like the old and excellent Corvette ceramic drum brake shoes from the sixties that took on the 24 hours of LeMans, with fade-free drum brakes! The CF is very high, 0.55! Enough to earn them a DOT GG edge code rating. And yet they warm up very quickly. Carbotech recommends them for as low as 150 F, to as high as 1300 F. I doubt you'd need any more heat resistance than that, because 1300 F is where the rotors are glowing red-hot.! They can be used on the street if you are cautious on your first stop. Word is they are much dustier, and wear much faster then the "F" Super Street pads. But they are GG Rated by the DOT!.