Ceramic vs Low-Met Brembo pads

[Drewpul]

It's time to replace the pads on my 2015 Golf sportwagen S tdi. This is my first time doing them since I've owned this vehicle.

Usually I like to put Brembo pads on my cars. I'm trying to decide if I should go Ceramic of Low-Met pads. Does anyone have experience with the Brembo pads and any pros/cons of either?

Brembo has a somewhat helpful article. https://www.brembostoreusa.com/blog/ceramic-vs-semi-metallic-brake-pads-choosing-the-right-pad/

Really wish I could try out both and see if any of the differences are noticeable.

 

[2018gti]

personally I don’t recommend any kind of ceramic pad. I don’t know if Brembo’s are different than the ones I tried (Centric posi-quiet) but the centric ceramics were awful. I had them on for about a week before changing them out for a semi-metallic (hawk HPS 5.0). they just did not slow down the car, I felt like I had to stand on the brake pedal to get the same braking as the stock pads. and I’m not talking about like racing at a track or something, I’m talking like driving around a parking lot I could tell the difference.

 

[GolfRRRR1]

Although this link below is for PP brakes, it's still a good basic guide to help you pick some nice street brake pads. (ignore the off-topic race pad discussion)

Brake Pads

Personally I would go with: TRW-TXC1760 (TRW Ultra ceramic, $57 at FCP Euro and excellent pads), or TRW-TXH1760 (lo metallic, $49 @ FCP)

 

[Stanislao]

It's time to replace the pads on my 2015 Golf sportwagen S tdi. This is my first time doing them since I've owned this vehicle.

Usually I like to put Brembo pads on my cars. I'm trying to decide if I should go Ceramic of Low-Met pads. Does anyone have experience with the Brembo pads and any pros/cons of either?

Brembo has a somewhat helpful article. https://www.brembostoreusa.com/blog/ceramic-vs-semi-metallic-brake-pads-choosing-the-right-pad/

Really wish I could try out both and see if any of the differences are noticeable.

I have brembo p85 144 braking is really good, no weird noises. But brake dust is crazy. After washing wheels will look clean only the first 20 km.

 

[enobiko]

Drewpul,
I chose the Brembo ceramic for all 4 corners, and have had no issues at all. From what I understand from reading the info on their website, and looking at the performance graphs, the ceramic and low-met perform very similarly, except for dust and fade resistance, in which case there is a small trade-off. I went for lower dust, as the only racing I do is autocross, and fade has never been an issue. If you race the car, you probably want pads that won't work on the street, unless you're willing to spend $370 (per axle!!) for Endless pads.
There is still some dust when it comes time to clean the wheels, but it has been easy to clean. I got the Brembo coated rotors at the same time, in hopes of less rust, but they seem to rust anyway. I haven't found any that won't rust along the edge and the "hat".

 

[enobiko]

I may need to walk back my statement about rust on the rotors! I cleaned my wheels yesterday and the rotors came out looking pretty good, so maybe I was seeing brake dust (and road grime) and blaming the rotors. I'd have to pull the wheels off to be able to inspect more closely, but with the good weather here, I have better things to do.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

I’ve never used ceramic pads (knowingly) until recently. Akebono ceramic on my Integra. Zero dust. Zero dust. Did I say zero dust?!

 

[spleee]

I swear by Hawk Ceramics. I have them on my Mini which has white wheels, and what little dust gets on the wheels is also a light gray color which makes it much less noticeable.