I'm in WNY and run the Raybestos fully coated rotors and ceramic pads on my truck and wife's SUV. No issues so far after 3 years.
I would raybestos element 3 and akebono pads on my Lexus rx300. No complaints.
Raybestos Element 3. They last a while and bite pretty well when braking hard
Hawk HPS 5.0 pads, Raybestos AT. I'm on my 4th? set of front pads+rotors after 125k miles. Rears are still the stock.
Pretty happy with them so far.
Blank rotors and Hawk HPS 5.0 pads. I’ve been running them for almost a decade, and I’m always surprised at how long they last and how little dust they make for how aggressive as they are.
I haven't investigated ceramic pads for the Golf R but based on the Hawk Ceramic Compound Performance Pads I have on my A4, which has huge RS4 front calipers and B7 S4 rears, I'd try them as they are quiet, generate negligible dust and are easy on the rotors.
i went with Raybestos Element, after reading they performed OK, and the price is fairly inexpensive. so far OK with minor issues. during installation, i shaved a hair off the pad material and the pad ears to get them to fit not as tightly. and after installation, the pad sometimes makes a click sound when changing direction of travel, or sudden acceleration after a complete stop. i think the pad is moving around in its mount and making a sound. did some searching and this might even happen with OEM to some people. i added more grease to the pad backing, noise went away for a few weeks, but later returned.
I use these pads (and rotors) on my FX35. A couple things I have noticed:
1). There have never been appropriate rattle clips included with any set of pads that I have ever purchased for this car…ever. I am still on OEM stuff at 180k miles. That isn’t just Raybestos. I even ordered Centric hardware…no dice. Not even close. Mind you, I always order model-specific hardware. No idea what the issue is, but it is clearly for the wrong car.
2). These pads take a few stops to heat up, which I kind of expected. I am satisfied with them on my daily, but the rotors are another matter entirely. They all warp within a month or two. That is odd considering they advertise the construction as Dura-Bar. That should be pretty resistant to that kind of thing. They definitely don’t hold up like Centrics do.
3). The shims have a nasty habit of falling off. Not while driving, but during service. You have one maybe two removals before they go MIA.
Other than that, I am not sure that I have noticed an issue with the pads being either wrong or out of tolerance. That is very not what I would expect from a brand like this.
Hawk 5.0 were squeaky as hell.
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