Brake pads Akebono or Mintex
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 did Redbox pads on my B5.5 Passat with 312 rotors, and I loved them. I skimped out when I first did the upgrade and went with CARQUEST pads and absolutely hated them. Maybe that's why I liked the Redbox so much....
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.
Mintex Redbox are always on my list for Daily Driver pads on VWs. I just started into my 3rd set on my 180k wagon. In contrast, the Mintex are linear, fairly quiet, wear well, are easy on rotors, low dust and can tolerate a bit of spirited driving.
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.
I've heard there was in issue with this with mintex pads for the Passat. the red boxes would just start up under high heat
I have Mintex Reds right now. Don't really care for them.
Write your review
Help others - share your experience with this part.