Anyone running Carbotech pads?

[socale39]

In a conundrum here. Love the initial bite of OEM pads but compared to my previous BMWs, it seems like the 35d brake dust is even worse. I'm thinking it might have to do with the weight of the vehicle but all I know is that I'm considering aftermarket pads as an alternative. This means I'll have to sacrifice initial bite and so the search begins.

I've read some good reviews on the Carbotech 1521 pads on other BMWs but wanted to see if anyone here is running them on their X and what their overall experience has been.

[Zucco]

Bump ...I was wondering the same thing

[mitch808]

Very happy with centric ceramics over oem pads. Same braking performance, with a lot less dust

[socale39]

I've been thinking of picking up a set of Centric Posi-Quiets to just give them a try. I can get a full set for $80 so if I don't like them I can always pull them off with hardly a loss. I just hear the Carbotech Bobcat pads are amazing so I was really hoping someone would have tried them by now.

[mitch808]

Originally Posted by socale39

I've been thinking of picking up a set of Centric Posi-Quiets to just give them a try. I can get a full set for $80 so if I don't like them I can always pull them off with hardly a loss. I just hear the Carbotech Bobcat pads are amazing so I was really hoping someone would have tried them by now.

Define amazing? There isn't anything amazing about a pad I've found over the decade plus I've been doing track time.
It either has the heat tolerance and initial grab I want with the expense of dusting a lot.
Or it as the brake feel for a daily driven car, with little to no dusting; and definitely will not handle towing or long downhill descents without some smoke and/or fade.

You pick the pad for the appropriate driving style and function. You don't pick for any other reason. Just like picking tires...

[socale39]

I can't define amazing with a pad I haven't tried. As I noted this is what other people are saying hence the reason for the thread.

Amazing to me would be low dust, good initial bite, excellent linear performance and very little fade. The unicorn of brake pads I know. Of course having tried other pads on previous BMWs I've owned I know you can't get the best of both worlds so I'm just exploring other options I haven't tried to find something that fits my needs.

[F06msportmia]

Just installed new rotors and EDC red stuff pads. The pads are GREAT less dust and feels better than the OEM. I also installed cross drilled rotors. Very happy with the setup.

[omgboost]

Why not use OEM and then wax or armorall the wheels so it makes cleaning the brake dust easier?

[socale39]

Its not so much about the cleaning part but rather the fact that shortly after cleaning the wheels appear dirty shortly after while the rest of the car is clean. It just bugs me so if I can find a good pad that does make my wheels look dirty after 50 miles but perform well I'd be a happy camper.

[mitch808]

Originally Posted by omgboost

Why not use OEM and then wax or armorall the wheels so it makes cleaning the brake dust easier?

They are expensive and dust a lot and only perform adequately. Especially for the price...
Aftermarket is often cheaper, performs as good or better and usually dust less.

[jethro7]

Just get ceramic pads if you hate brake dust, though you will trade braking power a bit.

[socale39]

Originally Posted by jethro7

Just get ceramic pads if you hate brake dust, though you will trade braking power a bit.

That's exactly why I created this thread. Obviously there are plenty of options out there that dust less but Im interested in finding the best performing pad of those options and Carbotech has had great reviews among the E39 and e90 crowd. Unfortunately I haven't read any reviews of an X5 owner sharing their experience.

[mitch808]

Carbotech is a great company with great products. It doesn't really matter that you haven't found reviews here about it.

Side note, my ceramic replacements are just fine and just as good as OEM pads. The "trade-off," is hardly perceivable.

[UglyBuzzard]

My X5 dust is bad but nothing compared to the GL450.

I chalked it up to German character.

Would changing the pad or using ceramic over void the warranty - car has maintenance covered for another 70K miles.

[socale39]

Originally Posted by mitch808

Carbotech is a great company with great products. It doesn't really matter that you haven't found reviews here about it.

Side note, my ceramic replacements are just fine and just as good as OEM pads. The "trade-off," is hardly perceivable.

Your trade-off experience then has been greatly different than mine. I bought Metal Master pads for my E46 which are supposedly equivalent to the Posi-Quiet pads and they were scary. Braking power was greatly reduced and there were times I felt like I was standing on the pedal to stop. That being said making a blanket statement that ceramics are just as good as OEM very far from the truth as not all perform the same.

[mitch808]

Originally Posted by socale39

Your trade-off experience then has been greatly different than mine. I bought Metal Master pads for my E46 which are supposedly equivalent to the Posi-Quiet pads and they were scary. Braking power was greatly reduced and there were times I felt like I was standing on the pedal to stop. That being said making a blanket statement that ceramics are just as good as OEM very far from the truth as not all perform the same.

The problem here is that you used Axxis pads. I've had heartburn with those pads in the past. They've rebranded themselves and their products, but it's still the same old thing, that didn't perform all that well, and dusted like a mutha.

But Centric/stoptech and Carbotech are SOLID companies/products. As is akebono I gather (But I have no personal experience with them)

[DCC]

I have Akebono Euro Ceramic Pads on my '13 X5 from early on
Great pads imo
Low dust and quiet. no obvious lost of braking power

[denaliman]

I had the Carbotech Bobcat pads on my 2007 X5. They are good pads. IMO. I did notice they were slightly less aggressive on initial grab. Seemed to work better in dry warm weather than cold winter. There were times where I felt the pads were not performing as well as the OE especially in wet weather at hiway speeds. Extremely low dust which is what I wanted. I was considering putting them on my X6M and give them another try. Most importantly proper bedding is a must. I may have glazed them a bit thus performance suffered. They did start to squeal a bit into my second season when I changed over to the heavier 214 20" rims in the summer, but only when in reverse

[TheVazha]

Originally Posted by e70msportmia

Just installed new rotors and EDC red stuff pads. The pads are GREAT less dust and feels better than the OEM. I also installed cross drilled rotors. Very happy with the setup.

Source on the cross drilled rotors please sir.

I have experience with Akebono pads as I've ran them on all my previous AMG's. They bite like crazy and almost no dust. I also wash my car once a week at least so I never noticed any dust.

I also have experience with Centric rotors. For a super affordable option, they are also amazing and a great alternative to $$$$ OEM stuff. Centric rotors are made in Germany I believe, probably at the same place where they make the OEM stuff.

[F06msportmia]

Originally Posted by TheVazha

Source on the cross drilled rotors please sir.

I have experience with Akebono pads as I've ran them on all my previous AMG's. They bite like crazy and almost no dust. I also wash my car once a week at least so I never noticed any dust.

I also have experience with Centric rotors. For a super affordable option, they are also amazing and a great alternative to $$$$ OEM stuff. Centric rotors are made in Germany I believe, probably at the same place where they make the OEM stuff.

I got the cross drilled and slotted rotors from brakeperformance.com they were $155 shipped for the pair. I got the ones with some special coating/paint.As soon as you order them they cut them specifically to your car. I'm about to place my order for the rears.

[socale39]

For those looking to change our their rotors, I'd recommend staying away from cross drilled and slotted rotors based on the noise. I've had the chance to try different rotor setups and always found that the slotted and cross drilled were always noisier. Zinc coated blanks are the way to go and some of the cross drilled zimmermans are pretty good too.

[TheVazha]

Originally Posted by e70msportmia

I got the cross drilled and slotted rotors from brakeperformance.com they were $155 shipped for the pair. I got the ones with some special coating/paint.As soon as you order them they cut them specifically to your car. I'm about to place my order for the rears.

$155 shipped for the pair???

This sounds like witchcraft, has anyone used them before?

I went to their website and they don't have an X5M option. Does X5M share rotors with the M6? What BMW's do we share brakes with anyway?

Socale, I heard that as well, stay away from cross drilled or slotted as they basically act as cheese graders on the pads. With that said, with the affordability of the Zimmermans (Which I think are fantastic by the way) you can rock cross drilled and just replace more often! Besides, how many brake changes do you go through in one lifetime of the car anyway? I'd rather look good all along the way.