If your just daily driving then OEM is fine, if you're looking for a slight upgrade then I recommend Carbotech 1521 Bobcat pads. I have the Carbotechs and they are nice.
When I had my mini cooper, I ran the 1521s on stock rotors and never had any issue in the rain.
Made a few sensible tweaks to this car immediately, at like 300 miles (nothing heavy), one of which was Akebono pads. Third VW I've had these on; they're great -- about as close to zero dust as I think you can get, seem to work a bit better and last a bit longer than the OEM pieces.
The setup i bought is coming with Akebono Im going to try those out.
I know they aren't anything special but I personally like the Akebono Euro-Ceramics. Inexpensive, little to no dust, and no squealing. Great pedal travel/feel but verging on squishy, however the bite is there. My one issue is that if you do any sort of repetitive hard stops they immediately show that they do not like it. For DD stuff, they're great.
My fronts were still new but decided to ditch them for the Akebonos because I was tired of the break dust.
my solution to the braking challenge was replacing both front & rear with Slotted / cross drilled performance rotors from ECS. I used Akebono Pads and i now have excellent brake response...
Have always used Centric Premium rotors with Akebono ProAct ceramic brake pads to good effect. Good brake bite, low dust, low noise, and longevity.
Akebono are probably the best quality pads that you can get from Rockauto.
My stock rear brakes never made any noise. Recently replaced rotors and pads - went with Akebono Euro Ceramic - and now have the same "clunk" you describe. Usually only first thing in the morning when I back out of my driveway and then roll forward and brake.
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