325xi brake pads

So I have brake dust covering my rear wheels. I am needing new brake pads and probably new rotors also.

Any recommendations on brake pads that don't leave a lot of brake dust? And any recommendations on how to remove the current brake dust from the wheels?

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-34...ci-z3-set.aspx

I went with Axxis Metal Master pads. I really like them, they bite in any weather condition and leave very very little brake dust. A world of a difference compared to stock.

There's many dustless pads to pick from. One concern is some of them have poor cold performance. Meaning, unless the pads are warmed up, they have bad grip requiring more pedal pressure etc. Some owners may not care about cold fade like the track crowd who know this and warm them braking before hitting the course. They want no fade when hot and often swap between street and track pads per event. Dustless street pads including ceramics may have this cold fade property and you may not like it.

Running stock composition pads will produce dust but it's certainly manageable. When dust is fused to the wheel requiring solvents and elbow grease to remove, we're talking a neglected car. Normal build-up basically washes off every couple weeks with a hose and a little wiping. I have a sponge stick with a micro-fiber material wrapped around it that when jabbed around the spokes can zoom through a wheel in 30 seconds rinsing shiny clean. That's every two weeks or so.

The stock pad design will yield the best braking feel and pedal feedback in all conditions. There are dustless flavors that come close. I think with all the suppliers out there, that BMW would have changed over if something had equal to or better performance with less dust? So far they haven't.

Originally Posted by White_Knuckles

There's many dustless pads to pick from. One concern is some of them have poor cold performance. Meaning, unless the pads are warmed up, they have bad grip requiring more pedal pressure etc. Some owners may not care about cold fade like the track crowd who know this and warm them braking before hitting the course. They want no fade when hot and often swap between street and track pads per event. Dustless street pads including ceramics may have this cold fade property and you may not like it.

Running stock composition pads will produce dust but it's certainly manageable. When dust is fused to the wheel requiring solvents and elbow grease to remove, we're talking a neglected car. Normal build-up basically washes off every couple weeks with a hose and a little wiping. I have a sponge stick with a micro-fiber material wrapped around it that when jabbed around the spokes can zoom through a wheel in 30 seconds rinsing shiny clean. That's every two weeks or so.

The stock pad design will yield the best braking feel and pedal feedback in all conditions. There are dustless flavors that come close. I think with all the suppliers out there, that BMW would have changed over if something had equal to or better performance with less dust? So far they haven't.

I found the metal masters to be a happy medium. I haven't ever felt any problems with them in the cold. They've seen temperatures of -30 and still didn't have a problem.

^^ Good information. I'm sure they're less-dust not dust-less.

Performance Friction Z-compound outperform BMW pads in all areas.

Pads I have used: Padig Sport Pads, less dusting and very good all round stopping power and no fade. Metal Masters, very little dusting but cold they require more "pedal pressure" and slightly more fade in heavy wetness. Full ceramic pads, almost no dusting, very good stopping power cold or hot with no fade, will squeal a little bit first application of pedal when damp, i.e. sitting overnite in the rain as some dampness "seeps" onto rotor surface and pad surface, goes completely away during first application, i.e. backing out of driveway.

Originally Posted by Kubica

Performance Friction Z-compound outperform BMW pads in all areas.

yeah but they still dust like pigs



i like my axxis/pbr deluxe (ceramic) for daily driving

Originally Posted by tomoyer

Pads I have used: Padig Sport Pads, less dusting and very good all round stopping power and no fade. Metal Masters, very little dusting but cold they require more "pedal pressure" and slightly more fade in heavy wetness. Full ceramic pads, almost no dusting, very good stopping power cold or hot with no fade, will squeal a little bit first application of pedal when damp, i.e. sitting overnite in the rain as some dampness "seeps" onto rotor surface and pad surface, goes completely away during first application, i.e. backing out of driveway.

So, with that experience, what is your preferred choice next order? Ceramic? What brand?

I've just outfitted my other E46 with a complete set of cross-drilled rotors and full ceramic pads from R1 Concepts. Perfect fit of the rotors (and yes I know there are quite a few of you here that swear only by OEM BMW rotors for street use) and the full ceramic pads they have are great. What little dusting there is washes off easily without using wheel cleaner(s) and the inside of the wheels stay clean. No fade in heavy rain or in very spirited twisty driving. Didn't like the Metal Masters because of having to "warm" them up first like racing pads so that they would work, however, once warmed up, they worked excellent. The Pagid Sport pads are now very hard to get and are very expensive, they were much better than the Pagid "Reds" (my opinion) that are easy to come by. I might be tempted to try Cool Carbons next time around to see if they are in any respect better than the full ceramic pads from R1 Concepts.

^ ^^ I don't know why anyone would use ceramic pads- they barely stop the car.

PFC-Z dust rinses off with just a bit of water pressure. I ruined a set of Pagid Sports in an hour at the track- not a good product.

PF makes the best pads for a BMW- by far the most popular at the track too.

I really like Hawk brake pads. HP Plus or HPS would be great depending on what kind of driving you do. HP Plus stops better, HPS is a better pure-street pad.

Hawk HPS are very low dust, easy on rotors and for me lasted over 100K miles on my VW

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hw...mw/model/325xi

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hw...mw/model/325xi

I got my rotors from online, I think the fronts were eibach and the backs were some generic type brand... front rotors are much more important.

You can get quality rotors from NAPA, autozone, etc if you get their better brand

Like everything else, members here have their favorites and their unfavorable items such as brake pads, rotors, oil, brake fluid, etc. Would I use the full ceramic pads for a day at the track, NO, but they work perfectly well for spirited street driving and everyday driving without having the annoying dust build up which can ruin the finish of any alloy wheel. Not sure if you were talking about he old red Pagid Sport Pads or their newer replacements, but the older ones were great, lower dusting and very little fade when warmed up during track events.

very true.. brake pads are somewhat like oil... very few people have enough experience running various kinds to failure to know how every brand compares... and by the time they do the manufactuerers change something.

In brake pads you definately get what you pay for. All the marketing hype in the world doesn't matter... the best brand at Napa / autozone doesn't compare to the folks that make brakes for racecars.

Let's all just agree that anything made by Hawk is complete garbage.

Originally Posted by Kubica

Let's all just agree that anything made by Hawk is complete garbage.

Are you joking or trolling

I find hawks work great

Akebonos from TireRack. The company makes the brakes for the bullet trains.

Stoptech pads great pricing and pads. Rotors be centric, Brembo, ate are recommend

I use OEM Textar.

IDGAF about dust as long as the car stops.

My favorite street pads are actually Porterfield R4S's. They stop well in all weather/temperatures, have a reasonable amount of dust (not dust less, but less than OEM - dust is actually a lighter color gray than most brake dust, so your wheels appear cleaner), and don't squeal much at all. I've tried everything from Performance Friction (love their -01's and -06's on the track), Hawk, Akebono, Porterfield, and OEM over the years. There is always a tradeoff, but the R4s's hit the sweet spot for me.

Also - my experience with slotted rotors is that they increase both brake dust and pad wear.