What brake pads should I use? - Just kidding (New Pad Choice)

[s4nicetry]

I thought I'd add another set of pads to our short list of options for the 4.0T "S" cars, the bonus is they are really cheap as well. I was one of those people that couldn't stand the squealing when coming to a stop and the insane amounts of dust produced by the stockers. It was time to shop for something else. I have been a huge fan of Akebono for a long time, have used them on many of my other street cars over the years and was very disappointed to find out they didn't make fronts for our S's. Seeing how I have no intention in taking this boat to the track I wanted a ceramic pad with low dusting, no noise and functioned as close to the stockers as possible.

My first thought was EBC redstuff, but I did have a bad experience with them years ago and while that doesn't mean anything for the S6, I have heard a couple of complaints and with their high price I decided to keep looking. Disk Italia's seem to be liked but here in Canada getting my hands on a set was a pain and the cheap Wearever pads are nearly impossible to get my hands on as well so the search continued. Snooping around I came across Powerstop Evolution Z16 ceramics. Searching the interweb they seem to have great reviews on many forums including Corvette and BMW forums which complained about noisy, heavy dusting oem brakes like us and seemed to be very satisfied with these Z16 pads. So I said screw it and decided to get myself a set to try out.

Well it's been a month or two now, I've got about 1,000km(ish) on the car and so far am very impressed! Quality seemed great, they came with the weights mounted on the fronts like OEM, the wear sensors fit perfectly, and the backing plate was identical to oem. One install note I'd like to mention is I bought the car from the dealer in Feb. and it did come with new pads and rotors so my plan was to pry off the anti vibration dampers and reuse them. Well to my surprise when I removed the first front caliper there was no anti vibration dampers installed! I was pissed but was already elbows deep into the job so I decided to take pictures for the dealer to complain and carry on with the install. I just used some synthetic anti rattle like any other brake set install and put it all back together.

They have a bedding procedure for the pads which I went out and performed immediately and so far the brakes are fantastic. I constantly try to get them to squeal by using diffent braking methods. Light, medium, aggressive, cold weather, warm weather, nothing, silent. Brake dust is 80-90% reduced I'd say, the difference is night and day and driving wise these pads perform great as well. Very oem in feel, almost too grabby for my taste. I perfer a more progressive pedal though without the harsh initial grab like Akebono's have always been for me, but I know a lot of people prefer the hard initial grab that stock pads have.

That's all I got for now, I will keep on trying to get these to squeal so I can go and raise shit at the dealer for not using the anti-vibration shims like they should have, but so far so good and I couldn't be happier with my choice. A cheap pad that does essentially everything I want it to on the street. This should be another good option for people and hopefully this review will help those still on the fence.

[Swirv]

I thought I'd add another set of pads to our short list of options for the 4.0T "S" cars, the bonus is they are really cheap as well. I was one of those people that couldn't stand the squealing when coming to a stop and the insane amounts of dust produced by the stockers. It was time to shop for something else. I have been a huge fan of Akebono for a long time, have used them on many of my other street cars over the years and was very disappointed to find out they didn't make fronts for our S's. Seeing how I have no intention in taking this boat to the track I wanted a ceramic pad with low dusting, no noise and functioned as close to the stockers as possible.

My first thought was EBC redstuff, but I did have a bad experience with them years ago and while that doesn't mean anything for the S6, I have heard a couple of complaints and with their high price I decided to keep looking. Disk Italia's seem to be liked but here in Canada getting my hands on a set was a pain and the cheap Wearever pads are nearly impossible to get my hands on as well so the search continued. Snooping around I came across Powerstop Evolution Z16 ceramics. Searching the interweb they seem to have great reviews on many forums including Corvette and BMW forums which complained about noisy, heavy dusting oem brakes like us and seemed to be very satisfied with these Z16 pads. So I said screw it and decided to get myself a set to try out.

Well it's been a month or two now, I've got about 1,000km(ish) on the car and so far am very impressed! Quality seemed great, they came with the weights mounted on the fronts like OEM, the wear sensors fit perfectly, and the backing plate was identical to oem. One install note I'd like to mention is I bought the car from the dealer in Feb. with ext. warranty still remaining for six months. I figured that would be enough time to figure out if the car was a lemon or not and so far zero issues. Now they did come with new pads and rotors so my plan was to pry off the anti vibration dampers and reuse them. Well to my surprise when I removed the first front caliper there was no anti vibration dampers installed! I was pissed but was already elbows deep into the job so I decided to take pictures for the dealer to complain and carry on with the install. I just used some synthetic anti rattle like any other brake set install and put it all back together.

They have a bedding procedure for the pads which I went out and performed immediately and so far the brakes are fantastic. I constantly try to get them to squeal by using diffent braking methods. Light, medium, aggressive, cold weather, warm weather, nothing, silent. Brake dust is 80-90% reduced I'd say, the difference is night and day and driving wise these pads perform great as well. Very oem in feel, almost too grabby for my taste. I perfer a more progressive pedal though without the harsh initial grab like Akebono's have always been for me, but I know a lot of people prefer the hard initial grab that stock pads have.

That's all I got for now, I will keep on trying to get these to squeal so I can go and raise shit at the dealer for not using the anti-vibration shims like they should have, but so far so good and I couldn't be happier with my choice. A cheap pad that does essentially everything I want it to on the street. This should be another good option for people and hopefully this review will help those still on the fence.

Great review/find! Thanks for the feedback and I’ll be following the thread to see your future feedback.


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[MolonLabe300]

Thanks for this post! I am going to try these out.

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[ntsantos]

I just checked compatibility for an S8. At $35 a pair, they'd be worth trying. Especially if they have the grab you're describing. Nice post.

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[15 Phantom S6]

I use these pads for my Golf R's upgraded BBK and like you say, they do have really nice initial grab and they don't produce alot of dust at all.. I previously had EBC yellows and the dust is drastically lower with the Powerstop Z16 Ceramic pads..

My only negative is that on extremely hard braking from high speed, these pads will fade. I have slotted and drilled rotors, was very surprised they fade like this. For my BBK, I also upgraded the brake fluid to RB600 at the same time, so it is a pad issue and nothing else..

For normal and even short sprints driving on the street, they have never faded, squealed, or given any issues. With the nice initial bite, it gives you confidence in braking (until they fade, if they do). Not sure if the additional weight our cars have will have any impact on the fade issue. To sum it up, these are a really good street pad, just not sure if I would hit the track with them. I've been using these pads for roughly 20k kms.

Of course my experience on a different car may not carry over to this platform, just though I would share my experience..

[Swirv]

I use these pads for my Golf R's upgraded BBK and like you say, they do have really nice initial grab and they don't produce alot of dust at all.. I previously had EBC yellows and the dust is drastically lower with the Powerstop Z16 Ceramic pads..

My only negative is that on extremely hard braking from high speed, these pads will fade. I have slotted and drilled rotors, was very surprised they fade like this. For my BBK, I also upgraded the brake fluid to RB600 at the same time, so it is a pad issue and nothing else..

For normal and even short sprints driving on the street, they have never faded, squealed, or given any issues. With the nice initial bite, it gives you confidence in braking (until they fade, if they do). Not sure if the additional weight our cars have will have any impact on the fade issue. To sum it up, these are a really good street pad, just not sure if I would hit the track with them. I've been using these pads for roughly 20k kms.

Of course my experience on a different car may not carry over to this platform, just though I would share my experience..

What do you mean by "Fade"?

[15 Phantom S6]

What do you mean by "Fade"?

Pressing the brake pedal hard and it sorta feels like there is grease in between the pad and rotor requiring more distance to stop... Again, has only ever happened with really high speed stops or multiple hard braking stops in succession..

[s4nicetry]

I use these pads for my Golf R's upgraded BBK and like you say, they do have really nice initial grab and they don't produce alot of dust at all.. I previously had EBC yellows and the dust is drastically lower with the Powerstop Z16 Ceramic pads..

My only negative is that on extremely hard braking from high speed, these pads will fade. I have slotted and drilled rotors, was very surprised they fade like this. For my BBK, I also upgraded the brake fluid to RB600 at the same time, so it is a pad issue and nothing else..

For normal and even short sprints driving on the street, they have never faded, squealed, or given any issues. With the nice initial bite, it gives you confidence in braking (until they fade, if they do). Not sure if the additional weight our cars have will have any impact on the fade issue. To sum it up, these are a really good street pad, just not sure if I would hit the track with them. I've been using these pads for roughly 20k kms.

Of course my experience on a different car may not carry over to this platform, just though I would share my experience..

Thanks for posting, it's good to hear others experience with this pad as well. I haven't experienced any fade yet but I've only had a number of medium to hard slow downs so far from 180km/h(ish)
somewhere around there and they were fine, no noticable fade. Again I certainly wouldn't track these pads, especially not on this boat but so far as a street set up they are doing great.

As a final note it's been pretty cold around here these days so that might factor in for my resistance to fade so far. It's going to warm up a lot though this week so I might hit the mountains for a little canyon carving this coming weekend and see how they do.

[ntsantos]

I just installed these pads. I've only put about 50 miles so far. They definitely do grab like OEM, it's hard to believe for a ceramic pad. I need t ok really clean my wheels after break in, then I can report back on dust. Highly recommend so far, and as long as they're low dust as ceramic pads should be. Great share OP.

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[p3u]

Pressing the brake pedal hard and it sorta feels like there is grease in between the pad and rotor requiring more distance to stop... Again, has only ever happened with really high speed stops or multiple hard braking stops in succession..

Can you be more specific on what speeds you experienced fade at? Starting deceleration speed, speed at which fade happened and what you eventually slowed to?

Everyone has different views of fast, so it's why I ask.

Thanks for your insight!

[15 Phantom S6]

Can you be more specific on what speeds you experienced fade at? Starting deceleration speed, speed at which fade happened and what you eventually slowed to?

Everyone has different views of fast, so it's why I ask.

Thanks for your insight!

Just want to state again that my experience is on a different platform, but I'e had fade from these pads in 2 different scenarios..

First, I've had fade when ripping it auto-cross style for a period of time, so max acceleration, hard brake to slow down, make turn, max acceleration and repeat. After a few of those, I will experience fade.. No super speeds in those situations, just lots of on and off from max acceleration..

The high speed fade I experienced a coupe of times was from about 200-230km/hr (120mph-140mph) to almost a stop. By the time I'v slowed down to about 50km/h or so I start feeling the fade.. I first had it happen when doing logs. I would run 4th gear to redline and then mash the brakes hard to bring the car back to legal speed.. Speeds are not crazy fast at the top of 4th, but doing it repeatedly gets them to fade..

I'm not 100% sure, but it also felt like it was just starting to happen when braking at the end of the drag strip, but I could be wrong because I don't really hammer the brakes, but with my moderate braking, it felt like once I got to the end of the braking zone and need to turn, the brakes felt like they were starting to fade. I'm trapping 118mph-120mph, so roughly the same or a little slower than the speeds on the street where I experience it.

The brake pads in my golf are probably half the size of the S6 brake pads, not sure if would make any difference (positive or negative)

I don't want to sway people away from this pad, the experience on the C7 platform with it's monster rotors and pads may be different. I haven't changed them on my golf because I like the "grabby-ness" of them and the low dust. For 95% of my driving, I'm very happy with its performance.. I don't drive drive like a maniac all the time, so it's not like it happens frequently, and for the times it did happen, I was still in full control..

[s4nicetry]

I just installed these pads. I've only put about 50 miles so far. They definitely do grab like OEM, it's hard to believe for a ceramic pad. I need t ok really clean my wheels after break in, then I can report back on dust. Highly recommend so far, and as long as they're low dust as ceramic pads should be. Great share OP.

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Cool, I'm glad your liking them as well. Currently I'm around 2,000km on them and have yet to hear a single squeak, and again that's without those anti-vibration pads, I am impressed. While there is still some dust for sure, it is sooooo much better then the stockers. I haven't experienced any fade to date like "15 Phantom S6" had on his other platform with these pads but I haven't really pushed them to see how far they'll go yet. I was playing in the mountains a bit the other weekend but temps were pretty chilly so I wasn't pushing it too hard. I definitely got the brakes up to temperature and experienced no fade though. As a street pad these are great, I'm very happy with my choice.

[F430viperS7]

Thanks for the info. Just bought these pads. Will report back after I install.

[ntsantos]

So after a few hundred miles later, and almost fully broken in...holy sh*t do these grab. And still no dust. This may be the unicorn pad. Maybe not for track purposes as there are other dedicated track options, but for everyday use, these are the real deal.

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[kpriv]

Thanks all. Keep up the feedback. I switched to the wearevers but these sound intriguing. May try them out in a year or so


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[jsilas]

Subbed. The brake squeal is driving me absolutely mad.

[ichi d]

yup the noise and dust i can not take anymore. i might have to order these asap and put them on. op can u post a link as to where you got them?

[s4nicetry]

yup the noise and dust i can not take anymore. i might have to order these asap and put them on. op can u post a link as to where you got them?

Here you go...
https://www.tdotperformance.ca/

[snohman]

4 years and 28k miles - going to try these as well. appreciate the post OP!

[ichi d]

Here you go...
https://www.tdotperformance.ca/

thanks

[zcd2.7t]

Yep, these are even cheaper than the Wearever Gold pads I and others have installed. Reason for that is that they're ceramic, which yes means low dust, but which generally also means poorer performance at higher pad temperatures, such as those seen in enthusiastic street driving and on track. This is likely also why some users have experienced brake fade.

The Wearever Golds for the C7 are semi-metallic like the OEM pads, and retain the OEM pads' brake feel but without all the dust. They also maintain their performance under heavy use, with mine surviving a track day at Road America with no issues.

The cool thing about the PowerStops though is that they're yet ANOTHER reason not to waste money on "branded" ceramic pads such as Disc Italia or EBC Redstuffs as long as you never intend to use them on track.

Amazon carries them, too: https://www.amazon.com/Power-16-1575...13%3Aaudi%3As6

[digdah]

Interesting. I am honestly disappointed with my EBC Redstuff and maybe after replacing my motor mounts I might replace the brakes with these.

[snohman]

Yep, these are even cheaper than the Wearever Gold pads I and others have installed. Reason for that is that they're ceramic, which yes means low dust, but which generally also means poorer performance at higher pad temperatures, such as those seen in enthusiastic street driving and on track. This is likely also why some users have experienced brake fade.

The Wearever Golds for the C7 are semi-metallic like the OEM pads, and retain the OEM pads' brake feel but without all the dust. They also maintain their performance under heavy use, with mine surviving a track day at Road America with no issues.

The cool thing about the PowerStops though is that they're yet ANOTHER reason not to waste money on "branded" ceramic pads such as Disc Italia or EBC Redstuffs as long as you never intend to use them on track.

Amazon carries them, too: https://www.amazon.com/Power-16-1575...13%3Aaudi%3As6

Actually got a great deal on the Wearever's for $75 total - will try those out, and keep the Power Stop on standby. Like the idea of keeping it semi-metallic similar to OEM. Thanks!

[zcd2.7t]

...Thanks!

NP

[R3.]

Having these installed right now. So sick of the dust !


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[R3.]

IMG_3331.jpgIMG_3332.jpg


New pads are missing these attachments points for the pistons. Did you’re have that issue ???


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[kpriv]

If you’re talking about the shims, they’re an expensive add on part from audi. I and many others have used a razor to get them off of the old pads (they’re just stuck on with glue) and re use them with the new. Getting them removed without damaging them was the biggest hassle in the pad swap for me.


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[R3.]

If you’re talking about the shims, they’re an expensive add on part from audi. I and many others have used a razor to get them off of the old pads (they’re just stuck on with glue) and re use them with the new. Getting them removed without damaging them was the biggest hassle in the pad swap for me.


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Yeah they are just going to reuse them.


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[s4nicetry]

IMG_3331.jpgIMG_3332.jpg


New pads are missing these attachments points for the pistons. Did you’re have that issue ???


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Those are the anti vibration dampers I was talking about. Those don't come with pads they are from the factory and quite expensive. If you can carefully peel them off the old pads and put them back in the calipers pistons. That was my plan to re use them but when I removed the pads on my car they didn't even have those dampers period, the dealer just didn't bother to install them before they sold the car to me. Pisses me off but so far even without these the new brakes haven't made a squeak so I'm not going to worry about it, for now.

[R3.]

Those are the anti vibration dampers I was talking about. Those don't come with pads they are from the factory and quite expensive. If you can carefully peel them off the old pads and put them back in the calipers pistons. That was my plan to re use them but when I removed the pads on my car they didn't even have those dampers period, the dealer just didn't bother to install them before they sold the car to me. Pisses me off but so far even without these the new brakes haven't made a squeak so I'm not going to worry about it, for now.

Cool, I just had them reuse them. 100 miles later .... NO DUST. feels good man, feels good.

[frigga]

Great thread, thanks for sharing your experience with these pads, OP.

Question:
1. Did you change your rotors at the time you swapped out the pads? What km did you swap the pads out (just curious).
2. How difficult was it to pry off the backing plates (vibration plates) from the stocks? Do the EBC Redstuffs include the plates, maybe that's why it's so expensive?

[s4nicetry]

Great thread, thanks for sharing your experience with these pads, OP.

Question:
1. Did you change your rotors at the time you swapped out the pads? What km did you swap the pads out (just curious).
2. How difficult was it to pry off the backing plates (vibration plates) from the stocks? Do the EBC Redstuffs include the plates, maybe that's why it's so expensive?

1) I didn't do the rotors as the dealer did new pads/rotors right before I bought the car. It had 6,000 - 7,000km on the brakes before I changed pads. No real discernable lip on the rotors yet, still very good shape.
2) I didn't have any vibration pads to remove. Dealer didn't replace them when they did the brakes. I believe most were getting them off with a razor blade. I don't think EBC or anyone is selling the dampers with their pads. The dampers alone are ~$350CAD if you need a new set. It was Sunday when I did my brakes, everything was closed so I said screw it and just installed the pads without. I'm not going to tell you not to bother with them, but so far going without has caused me zero issues. Unless something changes, I'm just going to leave it alone.

[frigga]

Much appreciated! I'm pulling my wheels off next weekend to see the condition of the rotors and see if I can swing changing my pads.

Anyone else looking to buy pads, TdotPerformance has a deal on right now - not much, but you save like $20.

1) I didn't do the rotors as the dealer did new pads/rotors right before I bought the car. It had 6,000 - 7,000km on the brakes before I changed pads. No real discernable lip on the rotors yet, still very good shape.
2) I didn't have any vibration pads to remove. Dealer didn't replace them when they did the brakes. I believe most were getting them off with a razor blade. I don't think EBC or anyone is selling the dampers with their pads. The dampers alone are ~$350CAD if you need a new set. It was Sunday when I did my brakes, everything was closed so I said screw it and just installed the pads without. I'm not going to tell you not to bother with them, but so far going without has caused me zero issues. Unless something changes, I'm just going to leave it alone.

[15 Phantom S6]

Just as an FYI, Powerstop makes 4 different types of pads for our cars. They make a Z16, Z17, Z23 and Z26. The Z23 & Z26 claim to have their "Low Dust Brake Technology"...

Z16 & Z17 are ceramic Pads. I believe the Z16 and Z17 are the same (I could be wrong), just one comes with hardware (not sure if that means the shims that are so expensive from Audi)

Z23 are "Carbon infused ceramic brake pads" and are marketed as a pad upgrade for the daily driver and claim to have their "Low Dust Brake Technology"

Z26 are "Street Performance Carbon ceramic brake pads" and are marketed as a pad upgrade for performance / muscle cars and claim to have their "Low Dust Brake Technology"

https://www.powerstop.com/products/#...0brake%20discs > then hit the "Pads" icon at the top of the page..

I couldn't find the Z23 or Z26 from any of the dealers listed in their site so I emailed them. They said the Z23 & Z26 are a new application and would be available in the next 90 days.

I think these are also good alternatives to the current pads out there.. I'm gonna try the Z26 once it's available..

[s4nicetry]

Good info, I saw those options as well but couldn't find anyone with anything other then the Z16's. Z17 is Z16's with hardware, pretty sure it wouldn't include vibration dampers though. On other cars it was new rattle clips and a new mounting bolt or something if necessary. The Z23 and Z26 did sound good but I couldn't find them anywhere either. I would love to hear how good they are though. If you could gain some trackability and maintain low dust and no noise I'd be all over it.

[eunsangie]

just purchased z16.

now i've read somewhere that we only need one brake pad sensor for front, or is it one each side (driver,passenger)?
and what brand or part number are you guys using?

[frigga]

Just purchased the z16 too. Waiting on shipping because there is a back order. Looking forward to throwing these on and cleaning the damn wheels less.

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[ichi d]

im about to do the same. dust is just driving me nuts.

[slobdogg]

im about to do the same. dust is just driving me nuts.

I just got my S7 last month. I couldn't believe the amount of dust. So quickly it looks like I don't care about my cars appearance.

[ntsantos]

I'm just about at the 1 month mark and close to a thousand miles later, still no dust.

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