1987 sedan. 120,000 miles. Will be doing all 4x wheels. What are best brake pads to use ?? Are IPD's pads good ? Other brand reccomendations ? This car is mostly driven locally and rarely at high speed highway driving. Thanks.
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' 86 manual sedan nearly 200,000 and ' 87 auto sedan about 120,000

I've been driving 240's for almost 30 years and I am the Pit Crew Chief and Primary Insuree of four of them at this moment. To say I have tried a few sets of brake pads is an understatement. From that prospective I can only answer your question one way: AUTHENTIC OE VOLVO BRAKE PADS. Believe me, the thoughtful engineers at Volvo worked out all the variables in brake pad formulation a long time ago.

Rich

Ive been using NAPA premium pads for years, and they seem fine, no brake squeel and last reasonably well

Hi
I had changed to PBR Metalmasters which are I think one step less than ceramics from PBR . I did not change rotors same issue as yours (Moreover they were not worn much). So far so good . Dust is very less as compared to volvo OEM pads . They are quite good after they are warm. There is some improvement from stock system .Harder pads will resurface the rotors ;-) .
Changing to better rotors will surely make bigger difference as Ken is saying.
Regards
Gopesh

Oh, boy, are you in for a load of mail! This is almost as big a draw as 'best tire', or 'best motor oil'!

Trouble is, just like tires (and somewhat lesser, motor oils), different examples are designed for different priorities, and it would be useful if you gave us more information about your needs. You did say mostly Local Driving and rarely Highway. Some other things to specify: how do you feel about dust, noise, wear (and wear on the rotors, a separate issue), response time when wet (it is often rainy where you are), etc.

Generally, Volvo pads are good for stopping, especially stopping one time (fade not an issue) and stopping in wet weather; but they're really very dusty (lots of black dust over (especially) the front wheels).

I use PBR Deluxe (from IPD) -- good high speed fade resistant, less dust than Volvo's, but a perceptible hesitation when wet (despite using slotted rotors).

There are other good ones (in one or more ways) that I'm thinking of trying next time I change pads and rotors -- e.g., EBC's "Green Stuff", even though they're more abrasive on rotors (won't last as long).

A tip: I wouldn't recommend changing pad formulations without also changing rotors (and I would be sure to learn about proper "break in" of new pads and rotors, too). The reason is that properly broken-in pads leave a residue of pad material on the rotors, and I don't know how these interact between different pad materials, so I'd prefer to start with "virgin" rotor surfaces.

Good luck.

Thanks for reply Ken. Dust doesn't bother me too much. Noise would. I do not currently have finances to change the rotors too. Is this necessary ?
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' 86 manual sedan nearly 200,000 and ' 87 auto sedan about 120,000

re: "...do not currently have finances to change the rotors too. Is this necessary ?..."

Well, I'm sure you could have stoppable brakes without doing this (and I'm sure lots of folks would say they've changed pad materials without any ill effects).

On the other hand, if I wanted to gain an improvement from the new (presumed better) pads' formulations (because I really wanted something significantly better), I would want to have the materials on both sides (rotor and pad). So I would change rotor and pads. Not changing the rotors would only be disappointing.

You could have your rotors "turned" (in other words, lathed) to remove the old pad deposits -- but that just thins the rotors and leaves less mass to absorb heat energy and resist temperature rising -- IMHO never a good idea. And if you consider doing that, your near the cost (in your time and fees) of just replacing them with new rotors anyway.

Are the pads that you're using that bad that you have to change formulations? If you just need new pads because they're worn thin, just get the same kind -- and save up for when you can afford to do rotors and pads together if you really lust for a significant upgrade.

Some folks may disagree, but others may understand my reasons and agree.

You might also study further on pads and rotors from this website, among others:
http://stoptech.com/technical/
to study the subject and make your own educated conclusions.

Good luck.