Can you make meatloaf or chocolate chip cookies exactly like your mother’s? probably not. Brake pads are one of the few components on a vehicle that can not be duplicated by just physical measurements and simple testing. Carmakers do not say to replacement brake pad manufacturers, “Here is the recipe for our friction material for the 2006 models.” No, replacement brake pad manufacturers have to figure it out on their own and it is not easy or inexpensive. But, here is the good news, as a vehicle gets older chances are the replacement brake pads will get better because the manufacturer will have more data in the form of real world miles.