Any regrets with aftermarket brake pads?

[mrspecter]

Has anyone made the switch back to OEM brakes after using aftermarket pads?

I really love the feel of the OEM brake pads and I don't want to change to other pads, but the competition wheels are an annoyance to keep clean so I may consider going aftermarket.

Akebonos are high on my list because of their solid performance, but I heard that you do give up on the initial bite.

[spazzyfry123]

How do you use the car?

[drivetolive]

I switched to low-dust pads on my old E46 and hated it. I didn't even think twice about using OEM pads when time came for another brake job. I plan on sticking with OEM on the M3, too.

If you clean your car regularly, brake dust isn't too much of a nuisance. But if really hate cleaning the ZCP wheels, then give low dust pads a try.

[mrspecter]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

How do you use the car?

Mainly for daily street driving. I have plans to do autocross and maybe some track in the future, but not anytime soon.

[mrspecter]

Originally Posted by drivetolive

I switched to low-dust pads on my old E46 and hated it. I didn't even think twice about using OEM pads when time came for another brake job. I plan on sticking with OEM on the M3, too.

If you clean your car regularly, brake dust isn't too much of a nuisance. But if really hate cleaning the ZCP wheels, then give low dust pads a try.

Which low dust pads did you try?

[dparm]

Originally Posted by mrspecter

Has anyone made the switch back to OEM brakes after using aftermarket pads?

I really love the feel of the OEM brake pads and I don't want to change to other pads, but the competition wheels are an annoyance to keep clean so I may consider going aftermarket.

Akebonos are high on my list because of their solid performance, but I heard that you do give up on the initial bite.

Akebonos are ceramic and won't really perform much better than a stock pad for daily driving. The reason people like them (and other ceramic pads like Centrics) are because they make a lighter colored dust that's harder to see on the wheels. If you are going to do performance driving events (track days, autocross, whatever), then you will need to switch pads.

Also, a protip to cleaning the ZCP wheels: get a second wash mitt that you use only for the wheels. Way faster than any brush.

[EricSMG]

No aftermarket pad can touch the OE BMW pads in terms of overall consistency, cold friction and power for 99% of street driving, in my experience, with the E36 and E46 M3s.

Everything is always a step down in one or more attributes while gaining nothing elsewhere - a true downgrade across the board.

Now, I'm super picky and so have very little tolerance for compromises in the original BMW "feel" and so that's not to say that you might not be happy with something that I might not be. For example, the Stoptech "street" pads are decent. Decent bite, very low dust, quiet and good price. This might be the ideal pad for someone... I hated them due to their notable reduction in bite.

To me, consistent stopping power regardless of temp is critical for a car like this. I've gotta have complete confidence that I'm going to get FULL power coming off the freeway at 100mph with stone cold brakes, for example. This may not be necessary for other people and so a trade off in power for less dust might make sense.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by EricSMG

No aftermarket pad can touch the OE BMW pads in terms of overall consistency, cold friction and power for 99% of street driving, in my experience, with the E36 and E46 M3s.

I would largely agree. Everything is about compromises but the OEM pad seems to be the best balance.

[drivetolive]

Originally Posted by mrspecter

Which low dust pads did you try?

If I remember correctly, I had Akebonos. Prior to that I also had Hawk HPS. As the poster above mentioned, nothing comes close to OEM pads for basic street driving (the above pads also felt worse on the track than the OEM pads).

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by EricSMG

No aftermarket pad can touch the OE BMW pads in terms of overall consistency, cold friction and power for 99% of street driving, in my experience, with the E36 and E46 M3s.

Everything is always a step down in one or more attributes while gaining nothing elsewhere - a true downgrade across the board.

Now, I'm super picky and so have very little tolerance for compromises in the original BMW "feel" and so that's not to say that you might not be happy with something that I might not be. For example, the Stoptech "street" pads are decent. Decent bite, very low dust, quiet and good price. This might be the ideal pad for someone... I hated them due to their notable reduction in bite.

To me, consistent stopping power regardless of temp is critical for a car like this. I've gotta have complete confidence that I'm going to get FULL power coming off the freeway at 100mph with stone cold brakes, for example. This may not be necessary for other people and so a trade off in power for less dust might make sense.

I use Stoptech Sport pads, not to be confused with Stoptech Street pads. Sport used to be called Street Performance until 2016 so there's always some confusion in my mind when people say "street." I have not noticed any reduction in ultimate bite compared to OEM but I have noticed the pedal is more linear in terms of initial bite, which I slightly prefer. Personally I would go with whichever is cheaper between OEM and ST Sport. Both work very well for DD purposes.

[Gooner5643]

Just ordered but not yet mounted Ferodo DS2500 pads since I started to fade the oem’s going pretty hard in the canyons. There’s always a trade off with pads. For most people oem is more than plenty for the street and should switch to full track pads on the track anyway.

[byroncheung]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

I use Stoptech Sport pads, not to be confused with Stoptech Street pads. Sport used to be called Street Performance until 2016 so there's always some confusion in my mind when people say "street." I have not noticed any reduction in ultimate bite compared to OEM but I have noticed the pedal is more linear in terms of initial bite, which I slightly prefer. Personally I would go with whichever is cheaper between OEM and ST Sport. Both work very well for DD purposes.

Couple of months ago I switchd from OEM to stoptech street performance too. I thought I will get used to the "more linear" bite but I think I still miss the sensitive initiate bite of the OEM pad.

Also mine squeak quite a bit. Bedded it according to the instruction, not sure why...

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by byroncheung

Couple of months ago I switchd from OEM to stoptech street performance too. I thought I will get used to the "more linear" bite but I think I still miss the sensitive initiate bite of the OEM pad.

Also mine squeak quite a bit. Bedded it according to the instruction, not sure why...

Mine used to squeak a bit when they were new but eventually it went away.

[Z K]

Originally Posted by EricSMG

No aftermarket pad can touch the OE BMW pads in terms of overall consistency, cold friction and power for 99% of street driving, in my experience, with the E36 and E46 M3s.

Everything is always a step down in one or more attributes while gaining nothing elsewhere - a true downgrade across the board.

Now, I'm super picky and so have very little tolerance for compromises in the original BMW "feel" and so that's not to say that you might not be happy with something that I might not be. For example, the Stoptech "street" pads are decent. Decent bite, very low dust, quiet and good price. This might be the ideal pad for someone... I hated them due to their notable reduction in bite.

To me, consistent stopping power regardless of temp is critical for a car like this. I've gotta have complete confidence that I'm going to get FULL power coming off the freeway at 100mph with stone cold brakes, for example. This may not be necessary for other people and so a trade off in power for less dust might make sense.

There's a lot of pads that meet your criteria. OEM pads are built to meet a budget. It's not great for performance or brake dust. They overheat easily on track and they produce a ton of brake dust in street use.

Definitely lots of good alternatives out there but they'll cost more. I've run Endless MX72s for street use - much superior in cold stopping power, heat handling and dust compared to OEM. Otherwise I run Project Mu HC-CS track pads on track for it's superior heat handling. Of course these options are 3-4 times the price of OEM pads. You get what you pay for!

[byroncheung]

sorry for semi thread jacking but this is related...

when i changed my pad my mechanic told me i cannot just change pad but not rotors, because different pad material might react badly with the pad material already deposited on the rotors... is there any merit to this?

how do you guys manage swapping between track pad and daily pad then do you change the rotor as well?!

[Z K]

Originally Posted by byroncheung

sorry for semi thread jacking but this is related...

when i changed my pad my mechanic told me i cannot just change pad but not rotors, because different pad material might react badly with the pad material already deposited on the rotors... is there any merit to this?

how do you guys manage swapping between track pad and daily pad then do you change the rotor as well?!

The answer is yes and no. It really depends on the brake pads you are swapping between. You may need another bed in after swapping pads if your pads are a significantly different compound.

But in the majority of cases, there's no need to change rotors.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by byroncheung

sorry for semi thread jacking but this is related...

when i changed my pad my mechanic told me i cannot just change pad but not rotors, because different pad material might react badly with the pad material already deposited on the rotors... is there any merit to this?

how do you guys manage swapping between track pad and daily pad then do you change the rotor as well?!

You will need to bed the brakes if you are swapping pads but not rotors.

https://www.zeckhausen.com/catalog/i...Path=6446_6443

[dparm]

Originally Posted by Gooner5643

Just ordered but not yet mounted Ferodo DS2500 pads since I started to fade the oem’s going pretty hard in the canyons. There’s always a trade off with pads. For most people oem is more than plenty for the street and should switch to full track pads on the track anyway.

DS2500 is pretty much the pinnacle of hybrid pads. They will be freight train/garbage truck loud and kinda sloppy when it's below 50 degrees -- you have been warned.

[Gooner5643]

Originally Posted by dparm

DS2500 is pretty much the pinnacle of hybrid pads. They will be freight train/garbage truck loud and kinda sloppy when it's below 50 degrees -- you have been warned.

With a proper bed in I’m hoping they won’t be too loud. I can deal with a minor squeal. And she sits all winter anyway so cold driving shouldn’t be a problem.

[EricSMG]

Originally Posted by Z K

There's a lot of pads that meet your criteria. OEM pads are built to meet a budget. It's not great for performance or brake dust. They overheat easily on track and they produce a ton of brake dust in street use.

Definitely lots of good alternatives out there but they'll cost more. I've run Endless MX72s for street use - much superior in cold stopping power, heat handling and dust compared to OEM. Otherwise I run Project Mu HC-CS track pads on track for it's superior heat handling. Of course these options are 3-4 times the price of OEM pads. You get what you pay for!

The OE pads meet my criteria to a "T". They are street perfection, aside from the dust. Extremely high performance, smooth, powerful and quiet.

Why would I spend more money to get the same thing? I can't imagine wanting MORE cold stopping power than OE pads - they're borderline too much as it is. But any less sucks.

That said, I'm having a hard time buying that there is an aftermarket pad that offers truly no compromise over the OE pads aside from costing more. I do fully agree that you get what you pay for and so I'm not saying that a more expensive option doesn't exist, BUT, the standard run of the mill aftermarket crap (Hawk, Stoptech, Axxis, Akebono, etc.) are generally compromises and less well rounded.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by Gooner5643

With a proper bed in I’m hoping they won’t be too loud. I can deal with a minor squeal. And she sits all winter anyway so cold driving shouldn’t be a problem.

Then I think you will be quite happy. I ran those on my StopTech ST40 kit and they handled track duty fine, with almost no noise on the street. I even used them on my Corvette -- also for double duty, with no major problems.

The only downside is price, but you're getting what you pay for.

[Solo_M_Tech]

If you want a brake pad that's equal to OE on the street but can handle some light to moderate track abuse, go with Cool Carbons. Honestly they are a great compromise pad but trust me, though they say they can handle track days, they cannot. They barely lasted 1 day with me on a short technical track. Wore from brand new, down to 2mm thick in 5 20 minute sessions.