Sintered pads are better for stopping power in wet conditions – actually work better in the wet than in the dry!

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/brake-pad-information-2009.html

Sintered are more fade resistant and better in the wet. However they push more heat into the brake fluid and have less initial bite.

However because of this they modulate better – and oil overheating can be countered by running Motul 600 or Castrol SRFF. Not to mention that the oil volume in the Tech 3 V4’s is borderline ridiculous and the caliper is in itself, considering it’s sheer size…a giant heat sink.

Sintered is IMO the best compound for British trail riding or downhill.

Resin/organic pads work poorly in wet conditions because resin is not porous. Water gets trapped between the rotor and pad and the pad hydroplanes. Sintered (by definition) means “pressed metal powder” and is porous so water is absorbed and evaporates as the pad and rotor heats up. Google “sintered base” to see why sintered bases are preferred over extruded bases in the ski/snowboard industry (they are harder and absorb wax). Semi-metallic is an often used term by pad manufacturers nowadays. These pads are mostly resin pads with a metallic substance added in place of some of the Aramid and Hemp and other organic goodies in an organic pad. They wear less than organic, are quieter than sintered, transmit less heat to the caliper than sintered and wear the rotor less than sintered but they are still resin based so will still suffer some hydroplaning in the wet.

Not sure if that is true or not, but it’s from the comments section in the article I posted.

Decent pads make a huge difference. Switching from superstar to Rahox pads in my SLXs made a huge difference wrt modulation and power. Mostly modulation though. Plus they last much longer

Interesting stuff. Didn’t know that! Will be buying sintered next time then!