Help Pick Brake Pads (Akebono): List Inside

[Tractionless]

2010 Sport/Touring with SS lines, ATE Type 200 fluid and brake booster brace. All else OE until needed due to wear etc.

Priorities are strong initial bite, zero noise, and low dust. Use is spirited street / mountain driving with an auto X mixed in. Don't care about rotor wear, it's not my primary form of transportation.

The following choices are out due to experience or the research I've done here based on the above priorities: EBC, Hawk, Carbotech, Ferodo and OE.

My choices:

Endle$$: NS97, SSM or SSY in order from most to least aggressive. No forum feedback on any of these only the MX's which dust too much. Info. Here. Forged Performance, LLC ::...

UPDATE 9/6. Read some reviews of NS97 about cold squeal, so they're out. Also read a handful of good reviews regarding no noise nor dust with the SSM & SSY so they're still in the running.

Project Mu: B-force only as the NS' have smaller coefficient of friction range. Good reviews on the B-force's here on the forum. Info. Here. Project Mu Co., Ltd. - PRODUCTS

Stoptech: Sport 309 (Same as old Street Performance and same pad supplied with their big brake kits). UPDATE 9/6 These are out as reviews indicate high dust.

Streets 308. UPDATE 9/6 Research indicates VERY low to "no" dust, high initial bite, low resistance to fading. Both choices are the most economical; however, I'm not afraid to pay to play. But if nearly the same performance can be had at 1/3 the price of the above choices, that's a win in my book! Very little feedback here on the forum about Them. Info here. StopTech Brake Pads

Powerstop: Trackday, haven't been able to find much on these other than hard initial bite. UPDATE 9/6, Out as they squeal cold. Info. At Power Stop | Extreme Performance Brake Systems

As of 9/6 it looks like Stoptech Street 308's lead the pack due to reviews and price, followed by Project Mu B-force, then Endless SSM & SSY.

Thanks for any insight you can lend!

[Spooler]

It is up to you it appears. The Low dust part is the killer. Guess you forgot that is what soap/water is for. I would rather be able to stop with no issues than anything else.

[Tractionless]

Originally Posted by Spooler

It is up to you it appears. The Low dust part is the killer. Guess you forgot that is what soap/water is for. I would rather be able to stop with no issues than anything else.

It is up to me but I'm looking for feedback from users of the above. I'd also appreciate only constructive responses as we all know what soap and water are for. Some of us don't have the time, nor particularly want to be constantly cleaning wheels.

[JARblue]

None of the brake pad options you have listed will meet your low dust requirement

As far as I can tell, the OEM pads dust the least. I picked up some Centric Posi-quiets but they seem to dust just as much as the street Hawk and Stoptech pads. My next pads will be Carbotechs, but the Z may no longer be my daily by that time.

[cv129]

Originally Posted by Tractionless

Some of us don't have the time, nor particularly want to be constantly cleaning wheels.

How low of a dusting level are you willing to accept? As you may already know, none of these can compare to the OEM pads...

Curious...you've stated this is for recreational use only, so you wouldn't be "constantly cleaning wheels" right?

Anyway, best of luck

[Jimbo370]

I like my red EBC there are different colors for different styles of driving.

[MicntaeG35]

I got the hawk 5.0 street performance pads and I like them. check Z1 that's where I got em

[Tractionless]

Thanks for all the above comments. I've done EBC's as well as Hawks and hated them, definitely off the list.

Originally Posted by JARblue

None of the brake pad options you have listed will meet your low dust requirement

As far as I can tell, the OEM pads dust the least. I picked up some Centric Posi-quiets but they seem to dust just as much as the street Hawk and Stoptech pads. My next pads will be Carbotechs, but the Z may no longer be my daily by that time.

From what I'm researching off the forums now, Stoptech Streets are extremely low dust. Endle$$ advertises all I listed as very low dust as well. We'll see, I'm going to keep at it awhile, then pull the trigger. I'll keep the thread updated with impressions etc.

[JARblue]

There is no threshold for what constitutes low dust. Any manufacturer can slap on a low dust marketing statement to their brake pad advertising. It's very subjective.

I was just saying that the OEM pads are the only ones that don't turn my wheels brown after 2-3 weeks of daily driving.

[Tractionless]

Originally Posted by JARblue

There is no threshold for what constitutes low dust. Any manufacturer can slap on a low dust marketing statement to their brake pad advertising. It's very subjective.

I was just saying that the OEM pads are the only ones that don't turn my wheels brown after 2-3 weeks of daily driving.

I agree it's subjective that's why I'm gathering first hand experiences to make my decision. I've since updated post #1 after further reading which demonstrated the Endless SSM & SSY are little to no dust.

[Halfkiddio]

I absolutely love my Endless ME20's, but they probably won't meet your requirements. I would suggest the SS-M's, as they are focused on low dust and noise levels. Sure, their sticker shock is somewhat high. But if you call Bobby at Forged, they can work that out for you. Also, you can talk with John at Corner3 Motorsports for Endless products as well.

[gbrettin]

I'm running Carbotech AX6 pads and they are great. They bite hard and progressively bite harder. The downside is that they generate a decent amount of brake dust. The upside is that they don't make a lot of noise.

https://www.z1motorsports.com/brakes...nt-p-5352.html

Carbotech AX6

The AX6™ is specifically engineered for Autocross applications. A high torque brake compound delivering reliable and consistent performance over a very wide operating temperature range of 50°F to 1000°F + (10°C to 537°C+). The advanced compound matrix provides an excellent initial bite, high coefficient of friction at lower temperatures along with very progressive brake modulation and release characteristics. Many drivers use the AX6™ for street driving as well, even though Carbotech™ doesn't recommend street driving with AX6™ due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise. AX6™ is NOT recommended as a race compound in most applications.

[Halfkiddio]

I have a friend who has the AX6 pads on his car, and they make more noise than the XP10/8 setup I had on the Z lol.

[RumbleFish]

I'm running the StopTech 'Street Performance pads w/ StopTech 2-pc. Aero Rotors...no dust issues at all and they work great.

[gbrettin]

Originally Posted by Halfkiddio

I have a friend who has the AX6 pads on his car, and they make more noise than the XP10/8 setup I had on the Z lol.

Weird. Mine are not loud.

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