Brake pads WAGNER or GALFER
Wagner OEX brake pads are some of the best around. They're built on a galvanized steel backing plate to reduce rust and the pad material is connected to the plate with a mechanical attachment system instead of glue. Wagner is a Tier 1 supplier to several carmakers.
1st step, better pads for more initial bite and overall stopping power. Galfer HH can be had for $80 front and rear, you can spend a lot more on performance/track pads if you want the best.
Wagner, Centric, Raybestos, Akebono are all very reliable brands. However, each one makes an economy, OEM and premium version. So don't go by brand name alone. Wagner OEX pads are premium quality. They're built on galvanized steel backing plates with mechanical attachment versus adhesive to keep the friction material on.
I put Wagner on mine. They have been good for around 35k miles on them so far. I don't see me replacing them for another 15k. I didn't like the OEM one and braking is really one of the weakspoints for the Mazda 6.
I highly recommend Wagner OEX pads. Galvanized steel backing plates. Quiet. Long lasting
I purchased Durango rotors and Wagner brakes for my 2015 cx5 back in May 2018. According to my buddy my brakes were only 50%/35%(front/back/) done. I told him to change it anyways since he pulled them apart anyways. That was around 105k. Around Jan 2020, the rear brakes were squeaking. My buddy pulled them apart, and the rear brakes were completely done. The odometer was around 190k . I replaced them with centric rotors and power stop pads. The front was not changed as it looks like 70 left.
I’ve honestly never had a problem with Wagner. Just installed QuickStops on my wife’s Altima. They are quiet, and they bite just as hard as OEMs.
When I did my Civic, I went with Wagner Thermoquiets. But I'm not aggressive on the brakes. They're silent, and clean. They'll still cause ABS to engage if I hit the pedal hard.
Ok, so, at a particular location I worked at we used Wagner Thermoquiets. Decent pads, but this particular location seemed to get the worst quality pads ever. The only way we could keep the customer from coming back was to make sure everything was well lubricated, and we also used some sort of orange goop to stick the brake pads to the calipers. Then we took it out for a break-in session, I believe it was 5 stops from 30mph, gently using the brakes, then another 5 with moderate brake pressure. And if the customer was too hard on the brakes it might still come back.
I haven't had much luck with durability on Wagner brake pads on any of my cars, though I've not used these on the Passat.
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