[Rollo`]

I just purchased premium blank rotors from R1 Concepts and Akebono Euro ceramic pads + new sensors from Amazon.

My initial review:

The rotors look great; as you may know, R1 sources their rotors from the same people that make Stoptech. I elected to go with the blanks because I felt the rotors look kind of small behind the 18s on the E92 and I don't want attention drawn to them. I have used their drilled/slotted on previous cars and was happy with those as well. I highly recommend R1--good products and good customer service.

The akebono ceramics: I have used ceramic brake pads on previous cars, most recently my G35S a few years ago. There was a small reduction in initial bite on that car but it was hardly noticeable.

On my 328i the difference is enormous. I bedded them in try to improve their feel but the difference is just huge. My initial impression was that these brakes will not stop quickly enough on a wet road to engage ABS. After bedding them in and when they warm up a little they are better but still the difference is really significant.

I am probably going to stick with them for now but before I give the car to my son in 3 years I will definitely be going back to a semi-metallic pad. I don't know if the rotor and pad area are too small to use ceramics or what but hopefully I will get used to stomping on the brakes to stop. I can't recommend these pads to others right now.

UPDATE:

After about 1000 miles of use the performance has drastically improved. I began noticing very significant improvement by around 500 miles. The percentage of initial bite missing has been reduced enormously and the performance is definitely within acceptable parameters.

The lack of brake dust is a wonderful thing--less noticeable since it has been frigid and therefore impossible for me to detail my car--but still very nice.

I would now recommend these pads with the caveat that performance for the first few hundred miles may be significantly degraded compared to stock pads. As always, the R1 rotors are great and highly recommended.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by Rollo`

I just purchased premium blank rotors from R1 Concepts and Akebono Euro ceramic pads + new sensors from Amazon.

My initial review:

The rotors look great; as you may know, R1 sources their rotors from the same people that make Stoptech. I elected to go with the blanks because I felt the rotors look kind of small behind the 18s on the E92 and I don't want attention drawn to them. I have used their drilled/slotted on previous cars and was happy with those as well. I highly recommend R1--good products and good customer service.

The akebono ceramics: I have used ceramic brake pads on previous cars, most recently my G35S a few years ago. There was a small reduction in initial bite on that car but it was hardly noticeable.

On my 328i the difference is enormous. I bedded them in try to improve their feel but the difference is just huge. My initial impression was that these brakes will not stop quickly enough on a wet road to engage ABS. After bedding them in and when they warm up a little they are better but still the difference is really significant.

I am probably going to stick with them for now but before I give the car to my son in 3 years I will definitely be going back to a semi-metallic pad. I don't know if the rotor and pad area are too small to use ceramics or what but hopefully I will get used to stomping on the brakes to stop. I can't recommend these pads to others right now.

I did the Akebono pads in the front and I agree the loss of initial bite is noticeable. For me, it doesn't seem like the stopping distance of the car has changed (much if any), but the initial bite was something I really liked about my car when I bought it. Will probably go back to oem when Akebonos wear out.

Glad you liked the rotors, I'm going to check them out on Amazon.

[Rollo`]

Sorry...R1's aren't on Amazon, you get the best price by contacting them via this forum. Pads and sensors came from amazon.

After driving about 100 miles tonight their performance has improved. Hopefully they will continue to get better.

[r1concepts]

Thanks for the review! Glad are rotors are up to par with your standards. Going with a ceramic pad from OEM pads, you will feel a big difference in braking because a ceramic pad is softer compound. According to everyone on this forum, OEM has the best initial brake bite. However, they are really dusty which people hate. This is why some will switch over to Stoptech pads which is comparable to OEM but they don't have the same initial brake bite like the OEM pads.

[1QuikWS6]

Guess everyone has a different opinion on the Akebono's - I use them with Geomet Crossdrilled/Slotted Rotors & I love them

You couldn't get me to switch back to OEM pads if you gave them to me for free

I do notice a slight difference in initial braking, but nothing earth shattering. The OEM pads do have more initial bite, but then they drop off - the Akebono pads are more linear in their braking characteristic.

I use ceramic pads on all (3) of my cars so maybe i"m just used to them - and yes, you can get the ABS to kick in

Akebono pads require no bedding procedure, which I also like, as I don't have time to fool around, nor is there a untraveled road near me to use for the procedure.

Best of all is the minimal to no dusting compared to OEM. Having to clean totally black wheels every 3 days (and have that dust eating the paint off) was a PITA. I've also had many cars with organic pads that were no where near that bad. Shame on BMW for putting pads like this on a car with the prices they charge - don't see other brands of car with this problem - I guess that means all the other cars have crappy brakes


I've tried quite a few different pad mfg. on my cars - used Hawk HPS on my T/A & vette - good braking characteristic, but even after proper bedding, they tend to make noise for no apparent reason, even with new rotors, I don't use them any more - no noise with Akebono either


And finally - the Akebono are more 'rotor friendly' Every time I did a pad change with OEM I had to replace the rotors also due to the deep 1/16" lip left after the pads had eaten the rotors. Don't have that problem with Akebono - rotors look same as day I bought them after 2 yrs...

[mike-y]

I also didn't like the akebonos and removed them after about 3-4 months. I just didn't feel like I could safely stop the car enough in an emergency situation. especially when they were cold.

I'm using hawk HPS now, which have a lot more initial bite, and still dust a lot less than stock.. unlike the poster above, mine don't make any noise though.

[Rollo`]

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

Guess everyone has a different opinion on the Akebono's - I use them with Geomet Crossdrilled/Slotted Rotors & I love them

You couldn't get me to switch back to OEM pads if you gave them to me for free

I do notice a slight difference in initial braking, but nothing earth shattering. The OEM pads do have more initial bite, but then they drop off - the Akebono pads are more linear in their braking characteristic.

I use ceramic pads on all (3) of my cars so maybe i"m just used to them - and yes, you can get the ABS to kick in

Akebono pads require no bedding procedure, which I also like, as I don't have time to fool around, nor is there a untraveled road near me to use for the procedure.

Best of all is the minimal to no dusting compared to OEM. Having to clean totally black wheels every 3 days (and have that dust eating the paint off) was a PITA. I've also had many cars with organic pads that were no where near that bad. Shame on BMW for putting pads like this on a car with the prices they charge - don't see other brands of car with this problem - I guess that means all the other cars have crappy brakes


I've tried quite a few different pad mfg. on my cars - used Hawk HPS on my T/A & vette - good braking characteristic, but even after proper bedding, they tend to make noise for no apparent reason, even with new rotors, I don't use them any more - no noise with Akebono either


And finally - the Akebono are more 'rotor friendly' Every time I did a pad change with OEM I had to replace the rotors also due to the deep 1/16" lip left after the pads had eaten the rotors. Don't have that problem with Akebono - rotors look same as day I bought them after 2 yrs...

As I said, I have been happy with ceramic pads before--maybe because other cars don't have the bite of the BMWs the drop off wasn't so noticeable. Thanks for contributing to this thread...there are thousands of people who are happy with the akebono ceramics. I am not exchanging them, just reluctant to fully endorse them.

I am looking forward to easier wheel cleaning though.

[Rollo`]

See first post for update...I now recommend the Akebono ceramic pads as their performance after 500 miles of use is excellent.

[Dannyboy]

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

Guess everyone has a different opinion on the Akebono's - I use them with Geomet Crossdrilled/Slotted Rotors & I love them

You couldn't get me to switch back to OEM pads if you gave them to me for free

I do notice a slight difference in initial braking, but nothing earth shattering. The OEM pads do have more initial bite, but then they drop off - the Akebono pads are more linear in their braking characteristic.

I use ceramic pads on all (3) of my cars so maybe i"m just used to them - and yes, you can get the ABS to kick in

Akebono pads require no bedding procedure, which I also like, as I don't have time to fool around, nor is there a untraveled road near me to use for the procedure.

Best of all is the minimal to no dusting compared to OEM. Having to clean totally black wheels every 3 days (and have that dust eating the paint off) was a PITA. I've also had many cars with organic pads that were no where near that bad. Shame on BMW for putting pads like this on a car with the prices they charge - don't see other brands of car with this problem - I guess that means all the other cars have crappy brakes


I've tried quite a few different pad mfg. on my cars - used Hawk HPS on my T/A & vette - good braking characteristic, but even after proper bedding, they tend to make noise for no apparent reason, even with new rotors, I don't use them any more - no noise with Akebono either


And finally - the Akebono are more 'rotor friendly' Every time I did a pad change with OEM I had to replace the rotors also due to the deep 1/16" lip left after the pads had eaten the rotors. Don't have that problem with Akebono - rotors look same as day I bought them after 2 yrs...

+1
This pretty much sums up my experience with the Akebonos.

[Volasko]

Originally Posted by Rollo`

UPDATE:

After about 1000 miles of use the performance has drastically improved. I began noticing very significant improvement by around 500 miles. The percentage of initial bite missing has been reduced enormously and the performance is definitely within acceptable parameters.

I would agree with the above statement that these pads get better after some time with them. Other than the very first brake application when it is freezing cold out, these pads seem to bite close (still not as good) to OEM.

[e90bmw328i]

I just did Zimmerman rotors on the front with Akebono pads on both front and rear. My rear rotors are still oem as they were holding pretty well (no lip or unevenness). After putting on about 250miles on them, the initial bite drop off is really noticeable and infact I was worried I may messed up the install. But sounds like everyone has similar opinion.

There is very little feedback on the pedal for the first 1/3rd of the pedal travel and then the car seems to quickly come to stop. OEM pads had very good initial bite and the moment you tap on the brake pedal, the car would slow down immediately. After these pads are worn, I am certainly going back to the OEM's.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by Volasko

I would agree with the above statement that these pads get better after some time with them. Other than the very first brake application when it is freezing cold out, these pads seem to bite close (still not as good) to OEM.

Same story here. It took a good 1k miles, but now the pads have very good initial bite cold or warm, and they are still very progressive and controllable. I would say that before the 1k mark, the OEM pads were feeling better, now the Akebonos feel better.

In any case, they braked very powerfully when mashing the pedal from day one, so they were always safe (I had the same "long pedal travel" that describes more the weird initial bite than anything, essentially the pads have a strong initial bite, it just happens deep into the pedal travel, but that goes away as well).

[e90bmw328i]

I have about 600+ miles now and still lacking the initial bite feel. I am almost tempted to put brake cleaner or something to make sure its not some brake dust or zinc layer still preventing the pads to bed in.

One thing I did notice is that when I drive hard for the first few miles and warm up the brakes, they do tend to perform much much better. Although not close to OEM performance. The rotor face looks clean still and I dont see the blue tint you are supposed to have when the pads and rotors have completely bedded in.

I also did a brake flush 2 weeks ago and that certainly seem to have brought some stiffness to the brake pedal.

[mlifxs]

On the dust / initial bite trade-off: you can "compromise" with a very good sealant like opti-coat on the wheels, if you decide to stick with oem (or even if you go low dust). My rear pads are still oem (but Akebono up front), but my rear wheels are opti-coated and it helps tremendously with cleaning. The Akebono fronts are low dust and the wheels slowly get dirty. The rears get dirty quickly but they clean up much easier than if not coated. I will be opti-coating the fronts before I rotate.