Brake pads Akebono or Mintex
After 70K miles of fun driving, I finally replaced my front brake rotors and pads...3mm left on the pads LOL. I got Zimmermann Rotors($180) and Mintex pads($45) and couldn't be happier. In fact, this set-up feels a lot better than the OEM bite and feel plus the massive reduction in brake dust.
I recently got a pair of pretty rusty 325 calipers for £50 (mine are the smaller ones from a 316) and sandblasted them back to clean metal. Then painted with high temp paint and rebuild kit £30 (pistons, seals, guide pins, bleed valves etc). I was pretty happy with the result which cost me around £100 for the pair. I then went with mintex discs and pads and a full set of braided brake lines my mate had. Full refurb prolly cost me £300 and are significantly better than they were but I don't think they will be as good as a 4 pot setup.
I had the Akebono Euro pads installed on my 18 Alltrack last week. Much less dust is generated by the Akebono Euro than OE pads (manufactured by Jurid). Akebono pads feel noticeably linear in braking power, while the OE pads have a tight initial bite on the rotors. Overall I would say OE pads have better braking power than Akebono pads. Yet I am very happy with the change, simply for the balance between performance and dust of the Akebono pads.
The Akebono did perform well and showed minimal brake dust.
I bought Akebono pads and Centric rotors on Amazon. Best combination in my opinion. Akebono Pro ACT pads are ceramic and last a very long time with hardly any dust and super quiet. Made in the USA too.
Akebono Euro Ceramics all around and they're fantastic.
I did my rear brakes with them and have no complaints. Stops fine, no noise, little brake dust.
I’ve always used Zimmerman rotors and Mintex pads, and have yet to find a better combo. I’ve tried Brembo, Stoptech, Bosch, but nothing has pleased me like Mintex [pedal feel, stopping power, no noise, very low dust [especially when used on drilled rotors]].
I have the DBA 4000s and really like them--but I have the Mintex pads and in the cold, they squeel horribly. But, low dust and decent performance.
Now as far as brakepads go, stay away from Mintex Redbox and go with PBR/Axxis Deluxe Plus or Metal Master pads. I had really bad experiences with Mintex pads, and I'm currently running Axxis Ultimate pads on my W8!
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