m1964

The brake dust eats my eyes, however my experience with Ceramic pads from Akebono and Hawks was not good - with either pad set I had to "push" brake pedal harder, Akebono ceramic pads did not feel right after first 4000-5000 miles on them, the brakes (Volvo XC90) felt "dull" like it needed more time and effort to stop.
However, my wife did 46000 miles on those brakes with NO dust at all, but at the end the brakes did not feel "right", even that the pads were not worn out completely.

I installed new rotors and Hawks Cermic pads, which did not feel right from the beginning (at least akebono felt OK first 4K-5K miles), so I took Hawks out and installed OEM Volvo pads I took off when installed akebono at 400 miles(XC90 was 2 weeks old then).

I have better experience with EBC ceramic pads which I installed on my LR2- I have now about 16k miles on EBC pads with almost no dust, they feel OK, but the bite is not as good as OEM LR pads.

I like the feel of Audi brakes, and can't "push" myself hard enough to change to ceramic pads...

Any one cares to comment?

Thanx

Coolieman1220

i had Hawk HPS on my G35 and they were GREAT!!

m1964

I installed Hawks on Centric rotors maybe that is why the brakes did not feel right?

What rotors did you use on G35?

hawke94

I had Akebonos on my 02 A4 3.0 and they were great. Granted, not as sensitive as the stock pads, but stopping power was just as good, dry, wet, cold, and snow. I didn't notice any brake fade either. Best of all, no noise or brake dust! I think the stock pads are either metallic or semi-metallic, which is explains the noise, brake dust, and rotor replacements when it came time to replace the pads. Were your brakes bedded right after installation? If they weren't, that might explain why yours never felt right.

HaveBullDogWillTravel

I bought a set(F&R) of Hawk PC pads...still waiting for the rears to come in B4 I install. I expect they'll be very low dust...very little fade in heavy braking conditions...and probably will need to warm up before the initial bite approaches OEM. Nothing I can't get used to in short order. Full report forthcoming...probably 2-3 weeks away.

ELEVENS

I'm using Centric Posi Quiet semi-metallic pads on the front of the Q5 and at all 4 corners on my RS4. The upside is almost no dust and zero noise. The initial bite and wet performance is not as good as Audi OEM, but I think the OEM pads were too grabby anyway. I find the Centrics very acceptable for the street and they are reasonably priced ($59) and easy to install.

I got them here: http://store.zeckhausen.com/catalog/...h=44_2617_2618

Coolieman1220

powerslot? cyro rotors? it was all part of a Stoptech Stage 2 package w/ stainless steel lines.

ELEVENS

I really need to put Centrics on the rears too. After only one day of light around-town driving, now the rear wheels are black and the fronts are clean! Exactly opposite of what used to happen with stock pads.

m1964

My wife LOVES the feel of the OEM brakes, so I just ordered a gallon of Griot's wheel cleaner...
When OEM pads wear out, I will probably try aftermarket

m1964

Coolieman,

you had HPS pads on G35, I tried Hawks Ceramic pads on XC90, not HPS ( I don't know if they produce HPS pads for SUVs/CUVs).

I might try LTS on Q5 after OEM pads wear out, if I do I will get OEM rotors, so at least rotors are the same when comparing different pads...