Initial thoughts on these ABT pads:
- The initial bite is nowhere near like OEM. It's even less than I expected to be honest.
- Pedal travel feels longer now to get the same sort of feel/braking power.
- Not sure if braking distances have increased, but it's likely.
- There is virtually zero dust, as in, after bedding them in and driving around the wheels look as clean as driving down the block with OEM pads. That was a very pleasant surprise.
I need to do some backroad runs to really get a feel for how these perform during spirited driving to see if the new pedal feel/longer travel takes away substantially from the precision driving experience this car offers. As of my immediate 1 hour test drive on highways and straight roads, I'm not entirely convinced I like these enough to keep them. The spirited driving test will determine if I keep the or throw the OEM ones back in.
EDIT: After bedding them in again more thoroughly, I can confidently say the pedal travel is much more in line with what I was expecting and greatly improved compared to the initial impressions I posted above. The initial feel is also markedly improved. After taking it on a nice 3 hour drive through some twisty roads, I can definitely say the ABT pads hold up very well to spirited driving on the
street. The immensely reduced dust (honestly, it's like 99% less than OEM!) is a huge blessing and worth the small trade-off in the initial "bite" when compared to OEM pads in my opinion.