[spielnicht]

Need some advice on what ceramic pads to get. I bought a net set of Brembo rotors and NAO ceramic pads from a fellow member when he sold his 550i. While Brembo pads would never be my first choice, their rotors are OE and really good quality. Needless to say, I got the set (front rotors and pads) for a very [very] good price so I couldn't pass up the deal.

Fast forward 3 months, I absolutely hate the Brembo NAO Ceramic pads. They produce crazy amount of brake dust. CRAZY. The BMW semi-mettalic pads didn't even produce this much dust. Braking power is actually pretty good. I'm planning on removing all the calipers to paint so I doin't mind replacing the Brembo pads if other ceramic pads are that much better.

Any thoughts on other brands? I'm very hesitant about Akebono just because I had multiple bad experience when I used them on previous cars in the past. They always seem to make them smaller and end up sliding back and forth on the caliper. Perhaps that's not the case though on the F10. Open to feedback and suggestions.

[Unspec]

Maybe give FCPEuro's TRW Ultras a try? I've been running them and they really don't dust all that much.

[ezaircon4jc]

I've used Duralast Gold (Autozone) ceramic pads on my last, non-BMW cars with good success. VERY low dust and good stopping power. Wear was also pretty good.

[Blue Angel]

This is the second car I've put Bosch Blue pads on. I find they work well for a daily driver (I don't track) and don't make much dust. They're also cheap, so no big deal if you don't like them.

Bosch makes a higher spec pad that I'd like to try, but Rockauto didn't have them in stock when I ordered.

[addy27]

I believe EBC red stuff pads are pretty decent. I had them on the rear and they are fairly low dust pads with similar bite as stock.

[beamer99]

Try Akebono Euro pads. They perform well, are quiet and give off almost no dust.

[ChiNorm]

Originally Posted by beamer99

Try Akebono Euro pads. They perform well, are quiet and give off almost no dust.

+1. My indy swears by them.

[spielnicht]

Looooooong story short, ended up replacing the front brake setup all together with the G11 Brembo calipers (348/36). Unfortunately, pad choices for that setup is very limited and it does not include Akebonos or TRWs.

Reason I'm posting is about my experience with Power Stops pads. It was awful. They were my only choice for aftermarket ceramic pads and they were nothing but a PITA. Something is off with their dimensions and they kept sliding back and forth on the caliper when going fwd/reverse and making the dreaded "clunk". I even replicated the Brembo pad shims with 3M VHB adhesive and still they kept slipping. My annoyance was even greater with their support, or I should say lack of. They kept telling me to contact the vendor and offered me nothing. Never tried Power Stop before and sure as heck this is my last. Ended up getting BMW/Brembo pads for 3x the cost (not ceramic) but they are working as expected, surprisingly producing very little brake dust...so far.

Will try Akebono for the rear brakes next replacement.

[Bozman52]

Good stuff on the G11 caliper upgrade! I installed the X5M calipers on mine a while back. I also had this dilemma with limited supply of ceramic pads and found that Powerstop was the only viable option, so I have a set of these on my car: https://www.powerstop.com/product/po...on-brake-pads/

The fitment was fine thankfully, but they certainly don't have the same bite as the metallic pads, which was expected. I don't know how these Powerstops compare against other ceramic pads, but they're good enough for my use case. They emit very, very little dust, so that has been a welcome change.