What brand of brake pads are best?

[slvrb7]

Ok so i can only find old posts of who thinks what pads are best and why. so now i'm looking for an update on what pads out there are the best for street use and the occasional track use. Now im a pretty spirited driver constantly b.c i only drive my car on the weekend so let me know what people have had that they like or what they dont like i currently have carbotech bobcats on order but havent seen the best reviews. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[slvrb7]

looking for feedback asap so that if i do install the bobcats i wont be disappointed also I'm doing new drilled/slotted rotors any opinions on that i hear people have had issues with drilled rotors cracking and im going slotted for the heat release to help with fading

[naiku]

I recently put EBC green stuff pads on mine, and love them. Stop really well with blank rotors, no dust, and no fading that I have noticed on street usage.

[Inked]

I recently put EBC green stuff pads on mine, and love them. Stop really well with blank rotors, no dust, and no fading that I have noticed on street usage.

this.

Some say the redstuff pads have even less dust, but ive had great results with the greenstuff also.

[CorneliusRox]

I really like the Hawk Ceramics that I have now. almost no dust as well.

[rave]

hawk hps

[LJO]

I am running EBC red stuff with stoptech drilled rotors. Love the EBCs, very little brake dust and no squeal.

[SinCityA6]

Akebono Euro. Ceramic pads with great bite and no dust. I am also running Adams rotors with dimpled/slotted discs. I too have heard of cracking on fully drilled rotors but cannot speak to any personal experience.

[swoardrider]

Very hard to find a civil pad for the street that will also work well on the track on our cars. The A4 is just so heavy that it is hard on brakes at the track. If your search AZ (not the b7 section, but b5, b6, s4) forums, you will find lots of Audis on Bobcats for the streets and XP8, 10, or12's for the track. My advice is to run the bobcats for the street and the xp10 for the track. If there was a magic pad that did both well, we'd all be using them.

[fordyoz]

i got hawk hps and they are titties mcgee

[vwnobby]

I run Hawk HPS for daily driving. I tracked them once before and they held up, but started to fade. I continue to run the Hawk HPS for daily driving and I now use Porterfield R4s for the track. The Porterfields bite like no other.

[DRAKLORE]

Stoptechs street/track pads.
I think they are more track than street though :/ as they have a bigger warmup characteristic than I was expecting

[Jay-Bee]

Akebono Euro. Ceramic pads with great bite and no dust. I am also running Adams rotors with dimpled/slotted discs. I too have heard of cracking on fully drilled rotors but cannot speak to any personal experience.

I wish I could find someone in canada who would ship me these, had them on my Golf and they were awesome.

I'll prob be going for Hawks or EBC reds.

[jimrobbington]

Yep, I too love my Akebono's. Better than oem for sure.

[Jay-Bee]

Yep, I too love my Akebono's. Better than oem for sure.

Where did you get them? Amazon wouldn't ship them cross border last time i checked and I can't find anyone in Canada with them.

I already got a line on rotors within canada with free shipping!

[jimrobbington]

Pretty sure I ordered from ecs tuning. If not, then europaparts

[mcpcartier]

Yep, I too love my Akebono's. Better than oem for sure.

try rock auto....I see both the canadian and us flags next to the akebono part. I assumed this means they ship to canada as well. They have front and rears for about $135, seems like a decent price.

[yungcotter]

I really like the Hawk Ceramics that I have now. almost no dust as well.

This . HPC's FTW i love them

[jimrobbington]

sounds like a good price. I only paid $180 for my rotors, and the pads weren't much cheaper.

[slvrb7]

So not to many with bobcats i see and yeah i saw the other platforms talking about bobcats but like i said not to many great reviews i am second guessing my decision on the bobcats now.

[slvrb7]

anyone here run drilled or slotted rotors? or a combination of both?

[slvrb7]

nvm i see jim that you do how have those been for you no problems with cracking?

[slvrb7]

i have also read some negative reviews on the hawk hps but yall seem to love them again those were older reviews maybe they have gotten better within the past couple years?

[swoardrider]

So not to many with bobcats i see and yeah i saw the other platforms talking about bobcats but like i said not to many great reviews i am second guessing my decision on the bobcats now.

Real simple, Google "carbotech bobcat brake pads review". There are tons of reviews on other forums. Then make your decision. That's how I made mine, and don't regret them at all.

[yungcotter]

anyone here run drilled or slotted rotors? or a combination of both?

I run Zimmerman drilled rotors there pretty inexpensive and good quality.


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[Jay-Bee]

Pretty sure I ordered from ecs tuning.

Oh LAwd no, not ordering anything from them again... shipping was retarded, and I even paid them extra from USPS so I didn't have border fees, and i still had a 18$ charge waiting for me at the pickup depot.

Oh and their revent "awesome" sale for the engine cover panels? Yeaaaa 65$+ in shipping haha.

[devvan]

I've tried oem, red stuff and stoptech. Red stuff is the best imo , almost zero dust and very good braking even when cold . The stoptech ones are even dustier than oem and they feel kind of sluggish when cold :(

[wildcat333]

Where did you get them? Amazon wouldn't ship them cross border last time i checked and I can't find anyone in Canada with them.

I already got a line on rotors within canada with free shipping!

I ordered Akebono ceramic pads from TireRack.com on sale last week. They still might be. I also got stainless steel lines.

In fact, UPS just called, and they are waiting for me after work

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

We carry Hawk, Akenbono, and EBC. I'd be happy to help with some recommendations. I personally use Hawk HPS pads and I couldn't be happier.

Let me know!

Jason

[Stewy]

Upfront i'm running slotted & drilled rotors with Pagid (Porsche OEM) pads. Very little dust, and great bite. I've had no issues to date with warping or cracked rotors. I need to swap out my rear pads, they're OEM and we all know the dust is horrible. Good read through this thread, I'm leaning towards either the Hawk HPS or the EBC Redstuff myself.

[shiro1745]

Green stuff EBC leave a lot of brake dust. Whoever above said no dust it means they never had ceramics. I bought a set of green stuff and hated them so much, after a few weeks I sent them back.

Do yourself a favor and get ceramic pads, i've had hawk and have akebono now, i love both. I've heard good things about red stuff too. I had slotted rotors, I now have drilled. If you don't need the looks save some money and get solid zimmermann, they're priced decent and they are actually making the oem ones too, great quality. U cannot go wrong with them. And to be honest you won't feel much difference between solid and slotted/drilled.

[Charles.waite]

If you want good, cheap pads, get some posi-quiet semi-metallics. If you want good, linear performance, go for a ceramic pad like Akebono Euro or Hawk Ceramic. If you want a little more initial bite, then go with HPS.

I've heard nothing but good things about The carbotechs. Keep in mind, a positive braking feel is very subjective. Some people equate initial bite with braking performance (nothing wrong with that) and thus like a grippier pad like the HPS. I personally prefer a more linear feel with a bit more pedal effort, so I like the ceramics. But people who buy them expecting one feel and then getting another will give it a bad review. Honestly, you can't REALLY go wrong with any of the performance street pads. They'll be better than OEM and offer less dusting, and less fade. Initial bite is really what sets them apart and that really comes down to personal preference.

On the track, pads can make a huge, measurable difference in braking. On the street, there won't be much of a measurable performance difference, but there will be a subjective "feel" difference. If that makes sense.

[chrislane31]

I just installed my 3rd set of Hawk HPS and very happy all around with them and I always use plain face OEM S4 front rotors and plain face OE type rear rotors. Also installed the TyrolSport caliper stiffening kit and was quite pleased, a must for higher mileage cars.

[wildcat333]

Also installed the TyrolSport caliper stiffening kit and was quite pleased, a must for higher mileage cars.

Can you please elaborate about this? I am not sure if I have ever heard of this.

[chrislane31]

It replaces the oem rubber guide that the caliper pins slide in. The rubber is soft and wears away. Mine needed to be replaced anyway and instead of putting in a new soft rubber piece it replaces it with brass and metal parts and new slide pins.

[Jay-Bee]

I ordered Akebono ceramic pads from TireRack.com on sale last week. They still might be. I also got stainless steel lines.

In fact, UPS just called, and they are waiting for me after work

Guess not, Listed at 87$ for the fronts, and 57$ for shipping.

Will someone "rent me a room" in their house in the states so I can drop ship stuff there? lol.

autopartsways.ca always has good deals, zimmerman rotors and Hawk pads for about 280$ to my door... gonna be going for that.

[wildcat333]

Guess not, Listed at 87$ for the fronts, and 57$ for shipping.

Will someone "rent me a room" in their house in the states so I can drop ship stuff there? lol.

autopartsways.ca always has good deals, zimmerman rotors and Hawk pads for about 280$ to my door... gonna be going for that.

for your front axel only I assume?

[slvrb7]

Thanks for all the info, looks good to me. Like i said i already have the carbotech bobcats on the way so i guess ill keep even though they set me back 280 for fronts and rears. Also i have on order the drilled/slotted from neuspeed but i think stoptech actually makes the rotors. The only down fall is that they were suppose to be here this week but got pushed back again and i was told i could trade out and just get slotted in this week and it would save some money, so now im trying to decide whether or not it is worth the wait or should i just get slotted I have been told by my tuner that slotted rotors would help with heat dispersion and that drilled may help lighten but do nothing performance wise but look good.

[slvrb7]

to add to that so should i wait on the drilled/slotted or just get slotted and save some money but not have the looks of the others?

[Charles.waite]

for your front axel only I assume?

Yup, front brakes only. The rear brakes already have solid slide pins.

LINK

Its on my mnust have list for when I finally upgrade my fronts to S4 calipers...

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