I need to replace my front brake pads soon. I have a G35 coupe with the Brembo brake package. I'm really wanting a pad that produces the LEAST amount of brake dust possible. It's my daily driver so performance can take the back seat to functionality....and in my case dirty rims after driving down the street 5 blocks. Anyone have suggestions on a descent brake pad, and more importantly one that doesn't produce so much dust? All suggestions and input are greatly appreciated.

 

Anyone?

 

not hawks hps or pepboys ceramics! lol thats all i can vouch for....for now.

ceramics are what you want if you want low amounts of brake dust. just a matter of whats good and not noisy!

 

Thanks for the info. That's a start at least. I know ceramic pads are usually the best as far as brake dust goes, but I'm looking for someone who's running a specific pad that they like and can give me some personal feedback on.

 

I love my HAWK HP pads, very little dust. They stop as well as OE pads and don't wear out your rotors. Mine ususally last 25K miles and without dust what more could anyone ask? I highly recommend the bed in process after they're installed....!
Gary

 

What is " Bed in process" i fell like a noob.

 

Like the way you get them adjusted to the car. Where you like speed up to a certain speed then maybe sudden to medium stops to "bed" the brakepads into the rotor.


I also vouch for Hawk HPS pads. I actually don't get much brake dust at all. They were MILES better than the pads I had before and the stopping performance increased by a good amount.


R1concepts sells them cheaper than other places, but you gotta call them up for the fronts I believe because the last time I checked they only had the rears listed. They also sell some other brakepads that got decent reviews so you could always check those out as well.

 

Thanks "prinny"

 

Thanks. I'll definitely look into the Hawk pads. I always heard they were pretty abrasive though? Did you experience any premature rotor wear?

 

You're welcome lololo



I don't think they're THAT bad that some people make them out to be. I'm still using my OEM rotors from awhile ago and they're holding up fine so nope. No premature rotor wear.

 

Sudden stops will cause you to warp your rotors.

The bed-in process has three goals. The first is to seat the pad to the face of the rotor for maximum surface contact and therefore maximum friction and stopping power. The second goal is to heat the pads to critical temperature to burn off the resin during their manufacturing process. This heating also helps seat the pad as it softens it a bit. Also, for some pads the bedding process also compresses the pad slightly, firming up the pedal some. Also, when the pad reaches critical temp, it will leave a film of pad material on the rotor, and this is part of what creates the maximum friction. This also reduces the wear on your rotors. The third goal is to bring your rotors up to temperature to properly expose them to higher temperature and heat cycle them. Not doing so can result in a warped rotor once you drive a bit "spiritedly."

During bedding you want to gradually bring up the brake system to temperature through initially light braking sequences, progressing to medium-strength stops. You must apply firm, but not excessive, consistent pressure on the pedal. Also, the car must not stop rolling - ever. If the car fully stops at any point you will have a hot spot and an inconsistent deposit of pad material onto the rotor.

Doing sudden and/or hard stops will just heat the surface of the brake system, not the core. This will result in warping and an improper heat cycle of the rotors (this is a little less important if your rotors aren't new - but supremely important if they are), and won't allow your pads to burn off the residue.

This is the procedure I was recommended and have used for the last few sets of pads, and it has worked flawlessly. I'm running rather aggressive pads (almost race pads) and have no brake squeak or squeal.

1. Drive around gently for about 5-10 minutes to warm the brake system up from dead cold. This is also important for scrubbing the pads a little if they are brand new.

2. Find a secluded area and do 5 braking sequences from 45-25mph. That is, go to 45mph, slow down to 25, then accelerate immediately back to 45, and slow back down to 25, etc. During this time, use a light but firm pedal pressure. It has to be enough so your pad is being fully pressed onto the rotor. It should be about 25% of your braking power.

3. Do 5 braking sequences from 55-35mph. This time, use a medium amount of pressure, 40-50% of your braking power.

4. Do 5 braking sequences from 55-25mph, again using a medium amount of pressure.

You should feel that the pedal has noticeably softened since when you started the process. However, at no point should you feel significant fade. Also, if you roll down the windows, you should smell your brakes (smells a lot like a burnt clutch).

5. At this point, you need to make your way to the freeway and hop on and drive for 15 minutes to cool down the brake system - however, form the time you finish your last braking sequence, you CANNOT touch the brakes!!! This is important or you will mess up the film that has been transferred to the rotors. Now, obviously don't crash your car doing this, but you should be able to pull this off between your parking brake and downshifting. If you do touch your brakes, you just have to go back and repeat the bed-in process.

After your 15 minutes are up, park your car and let the brakes COMPLETELY cool off. This means at least 2-3 hours. (After the 15 minutes are up and you are on your way to wherever you are going to park the car for those few hours, you can use your brakes, just be gentle.)

At this point, your pads are 90% bedded in. They will complete the last 10% over the next 300 miles or so. During this time, you can drive the car normally, but avoid excessively hard stops or high speed stops, since you still need to heat cycle the system a bit more.

 

Your awesome "REVO" I will need new breaks soon and I never knew I had to do this. Thanks a million!!!!!

 

Well I didn't mean like sudden really hard stops, but the instructions to bed in the Hawk HPS pads listed for a few "hard" stops. The steps that you listed for bedding in the pads are really extensive compared to the ones that the hawk pads came with lol.

 

I should note that you may need to do a few more (or less) 55-25mph brake sequences than the 5 I noted. This will vary depending on how aggressive your pads are.

More aggressive pads have a higher temperature threshold and need more stops to increase the temperature to that threshold, less aggressive pads have a lower critical temp and won't need as much stops (too much stops will be bad).

The key here is to feel when your pedal starts to really soften and then you maybe do 1 more stop and call it. When I did it the 4th stop the pedal got noticeably softer, and so I did 1 more stop and headed for the freeway.

Also, CleanRedG, you do mean "brakes" and not "breaks" right? Brakes is the system on your car that slows you down. Breaks is when something fails or falls apart, etc.

 

If you want low dust and you're not concerned about braking performance the Hawk HPS is a good choice. The EBC green-stuff is a good one too and then most ceramics will be fine as well. Just be advised that the HPS and the GreenStuff pads can be prone to a little chirping in the mornings if there is any moisture on your brakes, but it goes away.