Brake pads WAGNER or OEM BMW
M3 stock brakes are better, the GTI gets a little tail-happy under hard braking above 110-130mph.
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.
Seems like there would be room in the market for a slightly detuned S55 base model without the fancy seats, brakes and wheels for about $5-8k less like the M3/M4: M3/M4 Competition.
I really love driving it though, particularly the brakes and the handling.
Have yet to find a better street pad than BMW's OE compound. Ceramics dust less but feel terrible.
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.
I now use the Wagner pads the I can get through Advance. Last set went 60K and I just replaced them before the state inspection in October. Technically they would have passed but I just changed them out just so I didn't have to worry about it for a while. For $60 for an axle set, I can't complain. Cost way less, last much longer, easy on the rotors and don't dust the hell out of the wheels. They take a bit more brake pedal pressure but that is OK because it actually helps on brake modulation.
I just put a set of Wagner on the rear of my E60. Same pad specs and a perfect fit. The car stops dead fast.
The way the brakes begin to grumble during heavy braking is less impressive, but they work well enough.
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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