vs
Brake pads Zimmermann or DIXCEL
Reviews
If they’re readily available? Dixcel is for us the perfect blend of track/street usage. Dixcel S, or Dixcel Z if you can live with the little squeak.
Pros: good track/street blend
Cons: slight squeak
I replaced the Brembo with the Zimmermann myself, so far so good, the original Brembo brakes warped after less than 15.000 km, I have now another 15.000 km driven with the Zimmermann and they are as good as new.
Pros: good as new
Cons: Brembo brakes warped
Mileage: 15000 km
I just installed front and rear brakes @90k on my MK7.5 GTI w/PP brakes with a kit from FCP Euro Zimmerman cross drilled font and rear with EBC Red Stuff pads. The price has gone up a good bit since then but its a good upgrade from stock imo.
Pros: good upgrade from stock
Vehicle:
Volkswagen
Mileage: 90000 km
Dixcel M-Type are the least dusty street pad I've ever used. A little pricey and straight from Japan, but they aren't kidding when they advertise "ultra low dust". Have about 1500 miles on them so far and they're great on the street and for the occasional togue/mountain days.
Pros: ultra low dust, great street
Cons: a little pricey
Vehicle:
Honda Civic
Mileage: 2414 km
Dump the OEM pads. I went Dixcel in my M3 and the thing stops better and there’s so much less dust. Traded off is squeal at higher brake temps.
Pros: stops better, less dust
Cons: squeal at higher temps
Vehicle:
BMW
I have always ran DIXCEL Z on all my cars. Extremely quiet once you bed them in and has a temp range of 0-850°C with a friction coefficient of 0.67. They're just a bit dusty.
Pros: quiet, wide temp range
Cons: a bit dusty
I remember somebody talking about swapping out the Brembo for Zimmermann brakes and he was much happier with those.
Pros: much happier
Cons: needed replacing quickly
had a track day over the weekend and saw that a hard, black substance that seems a little rubbery had formed on the brakes. The brake pads are Dixcel ES brake pads. I had not bedded them in and instead street drove with it for a couple months as the website suggested. Brake grease was placed on the pad surface contacting caliper. The track has lots of left turns and I braked from 170+ kmh to 80kmh on the first corner. I'm pretty new so i may have braked deep as I was turning. The substance formed heavily on right front wheel, less on left front and none on rear. Brakes were smoking lightly when i came into the pits. Braking feel didn't change throughout the day as I continued lapping. Car still tracked straight. I tried not to brake too hard and didn't observe any other substance buildup.
Cons: brake smoking, substance buildup
Tune is pointless for NA in terms of power figures you'll feel the difference a bit but power wise you won't make enough to justify the cost, upgrade the brakes tbh, you get good options from dixcel.
Pros: feel the difference a bit
Cons: power wise not enough
I switched to the supposedly equivalent Zimmerman blanks and textar pads and I didn’t like the performance so I switched back to the stock brakes.
Cons: poor performance
Write your review
Help others - share your experience with this part.
Comparisons
Show all
Voted AGAINST engine oil RAVENOL on the rating page
The brake pads OEM Alfa Romeo got the first review!
The brake caliper OEM BMW got the first review!
The brake pads OEM Infiniti got the first review!
For wiper blades PIAA already 100 reviews.
For battery Energizer already 25 reviews.
In the rating best water pump already 12 brands participate!
In the rating best timing belt already 13 brands participate!
In the rating best head gasket already 3 brands participate!
In the auto rating oil filter for Volkswagen Passat already 5 brands participate!
In the auto rating brake pads for Mazda 5 already 10 brands participate!
In the auto rating tires for Subaru Outback already 50 brands participate!
For cabin filter Fram already 25 reviews.
Voted AGAINST engine oil RED LINE on the rating page
Voted AGAINST engine oil PENNZOIL on the rating page
Which brake pads to choose — Zimmermann or DIXCEL?
If choosing brake pads across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare brake pads across these categories:
- PR Score.
- Overall ranking.
- Vote balance.
- Average rating.
- Number of reviews.
- Feature ratings.
- Car owners’ choice.
Which brake pads are better — DIXCEL or Zimmermann?
In March 2026 on PartReview, brake pads DIXCEL and Zimmermann were roughly equal.
- Zimmermann received a PR Score of 85 out of 100, and DIXCEL scored 87 points.
- Zimmermann ranked 28 in the overall ranking, and DIXCEL ranked 30.
- The average rating is higher for DIXCEL (4) than for DIXCEL (4).
Which brake pads are more popular — Zimmermann or DIXCEL?
In March 2026 on PartReview, brake pads DIXCEL were overall more popular than DIXCEL.
The brands are equal by vote balance:
- For Zimmermann, the ratio of positive (36) to negative (6) votes is 30 votes.
- For DIXCEL, the ratio of positive (35) to negative (5) votes is 30 votes.
By number of reviews, brake pads Zimmermann surpassed DIXCEL:
- For brake pads Zimmermann there are 14 reviews: 12 positive, 0 neutral, 2 negative.
- For brake pads DIXCEL there are 13 reviews: 11 positive, 1 neutral, 1 negative.
Which brake pads do car owners prefer — Zimmermann or DIXCEL?
In March 2026, according to PartReview, brake pads Zimmermann and DIXCEL have not taken top places in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding your review about these manufacturers.
Other comparisons of brake pads
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of brake pads Zimmermann with: EBC, POWER STOP, Akebono, Hawk Performance, Brembo, Ferodo, OEM Volkswagen, Bosch, STOPTECH, Carbotech.
Also available: comparisons of brake pads DIXCEL with: EBC, POWER STOP, Akebono, Hawk Performance, Brembo, Ferodo, OEM Volkswagen, Bosch, STOPTECH, Carbotech.
You can also see who is better among other brake pads manufacturers: EBC or POWER STOP, EBC or Akebono, EBC or Hawk Performance, Brembo or EBC, Akebono or POWER STOP.