[therealm3]

I am trying to figure out which pads I will go with for my 335 this spring and was hoping to get some feedback from those of you who swapped to aftermarket performance street pads. Stop tech, Hawk HPS, Cool carbon, Porterfield, etc. Ceramic pads need not apply. Basically I am curious about how hard the dust is to wash off your wheels. In the past I had trouble with HP+ dust sticking to my wheels and was especially bad if it got wet. Any such problems with the pads mentioned above? I am leaning towards Cool Carbons, but haven't ruled out HPS or StopTech performance street, but am curious what you guys have experienced. The OE pads from 07 make tons of dust, but it's very easy to wash off. And there is no pitting on the wheels. The hose itself gets about 90% of it off. I am looking forward to some better pads, but not if they take a ton of time to clean up after.

Thanks for the help!

[therealm3]

no one has any feedback?

[GaryS]

There isn't much dust from Cool Carbons and it wipes off easily.

[DaFish]

I will have Stoptech pads on the car in a few weeks I think. I'll let you know how that works when I write my review.

PowerSlot rotors though, with stoptech street pads, and Stainless lines, 600 fluid - so it won't be stock and new pads.....

[brocklanders]

i had hawk hps on my previous e90 325, i loved them and will be putting them on my new car even though the first brake job is free and there is a huge improvement in brake pads from 2006 to 2011 as far as dust is concerned. i liked the hawks better because they held on longer then the stock pads, they didnt have the initial bite but when you stomp on the brakes the hawks started feeling better the longer you stayed into the pedal. as far as stoptech is concerned i had rotors on my old car and will not buy another stoptech product, i felt the quality was poor, do a search and you will see a few complaints about all sorts of stoptech products.

[David1]

I drank the cool carbon cool aid and they are just as dusty as my stock 09 pads are. I am switching back to Hawk in the spring.

[therealm3]

thanks for the info guys.

Seems like GaryS and David1 have different results from the Cool carbon pads. I've been leaning towards them based on reviews saying they have decent cold bite, but maybe I'll go with HPS instead. Sure would nice if there was an REI like return policy on car parts. ;-) try em out and if you don't like it, full refund. Oh well. I don't need them till the spring so I'll keep digging.

Would love to hear from others too.

Thanks!

[stratplaya06]

I have been running the porterfield r4-s pads for about 9 months and I really love them. They have much better fade resistance than stock, and are SILENT. The first stop of the day always requires a bit more effort than usual, but after that it's all good. Whenever I drive my roommate's 335 with stock pads I almost rear end people because it doesn't stop as well as mine from high speed. I am extremely hard on brakes, and I am very pleased with these pads.

[kevin @ eas]

We have Cool Carbon pads on many of our cars and also have installed on many customers.

We see considerably less dust than factory pads (about 50%) and with a very nice increase in performance and ability to modulate the brakes. We use these on the street and on the track with good results.

The only possibility that we can think of for a dust complaint would be the possibility that the calipers may not be fully releasing allowing the pad to
remain in constant contact (dragging) on the rotor surface or alternatively that the piston clip is not fully engaged in the internal groove in the
caliper piston which could also cause the pad to remain in contact with the rotor and create more dust.

Please feel free to PM if we can offer further assistance

[therealm3]

Originally Posted by stratplaya06

I have been running the porterfield r4-s pads for about 9 months and I really love them. They have much better fade resistance than stock, and are SILENT. The first stop of the day always requires a bit more effort than usual, but after that it's all good. Whenever I drive my roommate's 335 with stock pads I almost rear end people because it doesn't stop as well as mine from high speed. I am extremely hard on brakes, and I am very pleased with these pads.

good info, Thanks! how is the dust from these pads?

[mike-y]

I've had the HPS pads for about 6 months or so. much less dust than stock and it's easy to wipe off. The dust is also more of a brown color than a gray/black color from the stock pads.

[boostd92]

I had Akebono Euros on my E46. I think they are available for E9x now. As with all dustless-type pads, initial bite is reduced over stock but my Akebonos were nearly dust free for the first 50% of their life, and slightly more dust after that. The dust wasn't jet black like OEM though, it was more of a grayish silver dust that didn't hardly show at all on the wheels.

[David1]

Originally Posted by kevin @ eas

We have Cool Carbon pads on many of our cars and also have installed on many customers.

We see considerably less dust than factory pads (about 50%) and with a very nice increase in performance and ability to modulate the brakes. We use these on the street and on the track with good results.

The only possibility that we can think of for a dust complaint would be the possibility that the calipers may not be fully releasing allowing the pad to
remain in constant contact (dragging) on the rotor surface or alternatively that the piston clip is not fully engaged in the internal groove in the
caliper piston which could also cause the pad to remain in contact with the rotor and create more dust.

Please feel free to PM if we can offer further assistance

Not on a car with 6500 miles. a 60k plus miles car and I would entertain that. My neigbors E46 M3 is no different with the CC pads.

[stratplaya06]

Originally Posted by therealm3

good info, Thanks! how is the dust from these pads?

I'd say it's a slight bit less than stock, but when I am not too hard on the brakes the wheels will stay clean for a few days longer. It doesn't end up being a huge difference, but it's certainly a bit less than stock.

[therealm3]

Originally Posted by mike-y

I've had the HPS pads for about 6 months or so. much less dust than stock and it's easy to wipe off. The dust is also more of a brown color than a gray/black color from the stock pads.

I noticed a similar brownish color from a different Hawk pad (HP+) on my previous car and over time it discolored my wheels slightly. Nice to hear the HPS is easy to clean up, the plus's were not.

Originally Posted by boostd92

I had Akebono Euros on my E46. I think they are available for E9x now. As with all dustless-type pads, initial bite is reduced over stock but my Akebonos were nearly dust free for the first 50% of their life, and slightly more dust after that. The dust wasn't jet black like OEM though, it was more of a grayish silver dust that didn't hardly show at all on the wheels.

Good info, but I am not into ceramic pads. They do offer very little dust, but give up performance. I am ok with some dust to keep stock like or get better performance, just don't want more than I have now, or hard to clean up.


From what I am reading here and elsewhere it sounds like the Porterfield and Cool Carbon pads offer less initial bite but better higher temp performance characteristics with reduced dusting for some and about the same as stock for others. Hawk HPS on the other hand seems to have less dust and slightly less initial bite than stock, but improved stopping power and slightly better fade characteristics. Hmmm, decisions, decisions…. Leaning towards the HPS with 35is rotors up front and OE on the rear.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[kevin @ eas]

Cool Carbons do not have the grabby feel that the OE pads have which apply about 20% of total braking immediately. The Cool Carbons allow full modulation from 0 to 20% and all the way up to ABS.

In terms of stopping power they are hard to beat and very linear.

Most find that dust from these pads is easily less than 50% of stock; there have been several that may not have fully engaged the piston clips allowing pads to drag on the rotor surface causing dust but which is easily corrected. They will dust slightly more initially until fully bedded.

Cool Carbons have an increasing friction level with heat and work to above 600C/1115F; they are extremely fade resistant and work very well for
performance street driving and additionally well for Auto Cross and some track usage.

We run them on our own cars here and have many satisfied customers.

Please PM if we can be of further assistance