About PowerStop
PowerStop is a brake parts manufacturer founded in 1995 by Arvin Scott and headquartered in the Chicago metro area (Bedford Park, Illinois). The company built its reputation on carbon-fiber ceramic brake pads and pre-matched 1-Click brake kits that pair pads with rotors for a single-purchase upgrade, and its current lineup extends into brake rotors and drums, calipers and caliper kits, big brake kits, brake shoes, pad wear sensors, and PowerClear wiper blades. Products are distributed nationwide both online and through O'Reilly Auto Parts stores.
PowerStop tests its pad compounds using the LA Traffic Test, the same dynamometer methodology used by automotive manufacturers to simulate stop-and-go city driving, and its brake pads are 100% copper-free, meeting the friction-material restrictions in California's SB 346 and Washington's SB 6557 ahead of their phase-in deadlines. Its Z-series brake kits carry a 36-month or 36,000-mile warranty against defects, plus a separate 60-day no-questions-asked exchange window from the purchase or install date.
Brand website: powerstop.com
What PowerStop makes
PowerStop's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Carbon-fiber ceramic brake pads (Z-series)
Z23, Z26, and Z36 compounds for daily driving, performance, and towing applications -- featured on RevRated — featured on RevRated
1-Click brake kits
pre-matched pad-and-rotor kits sold as a single part number
Brake rotors and drums
drilled and slotted rotor designs sold separately or as part of a kit
Brake calipers and caliper kits
loaded caliper assemblies for full brake-system replacement
Big brake kits
upgraded rotor and caliper packages for larger wheel fitments
PowerClear wiper blades
beam-style wiper blades sold under the PowerStop brand
Why we recognized PowerStop
The RevRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. PowerStop earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, run on real vehicles, and judged on merit.
PowerStop products we rated highly
PowerStop Z36 Truck & Tow Z36-1084 Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads
Engineered with a carbon-fiber ceramic compound built for the sustained heat and load cycles of towing, a condition where passenger-car ceramic pads can fade. In our testing, owners towing trailers and hauling heavy payloads reported stronger, more consistent stopping power than stock pads, and dust stayed low despite the higher-performance formulation -- a combination that's rare in a heavy-duty pad. The 916-plus review base backs up the no-squeal reports even after extended towing sessions.
Read the 7 Best Brake Pads of 2026 guide →
PowerStop Z26 Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Rear Brake Pads with Hardware, Z26-1718
The Z26 carbon-fiber ceramic compound targets the chronic brake-dust problem on factory Brembo-equipped performance cars: owners of Corvette, Camaro SS, and Mustang GT350 applications reported 90 to 95 percent less dust than the OEM Brembo pads these cars ship with. In our testing it matched OEM stopping power with fade-free performance at highway speeds, and the stainless-steel shims and pin bushing kit included in the box made for a true bolt-on install without extra parts purchases.
Read the 7 Best Brake Pads of 2026 guide →What earned PowerStop the recognition
- PowerStop's brake pads are 100% copper-free, meeting the friction-material restrictions in California's SB 346 and Washington's SB 6557 ahead of their phase-in deadlines, at a time when copper-free compliance is becoming a national requirement.
- Pad compounds are validated on the LA Traffic Test, the same dynamometer methodology automotive manufacturers use to simulate stop-and-go city driving, rather than a proprietary in-house test.
- Z-series brake kits carry a 36-month or 36,000-mile warranty against defects, plus a separate 60-day no-questions-asked exchange window -- longer combined coverage than the standard 12-month terms common among aftermarket brake pad brands.
- In our testing, the carbon-fiber ceramic Z36 and Z26 compounds solved two different heavy-duty problems -- stable stopping power under towing load and dramatically reduced brake dust on performance-trim vehicles -- backed by a combined review base of more than 1,500 ratings.
- Founded in 1995 and headquartered in the Chicago area, PowerStop has built a nationwide distribution footprint that includes both direct online sales and O'Reilly Auto Parts retail availability.