I know, I know this has been asked 1zillion times and everyone has an opinion, so I am going to ask one more time.... What brake pads are favored for the MINI, I am interested across the line, but if you have R56 specific favorites, speak up. My interests, stopping ability, low dust, very low noise or no noise. Lower cost, NOT lowest cost. I have used on my R56, EBC reds, CarboTech, XP10/XP8s, etc and of course the MINI pads. Lets talk lower dust, eh! What are the opinions on Akebono Ceramics for the MINI? Thanks Don... Let us not rehash the EBC Red failure topic here..... :mad2:
Ha Ha. Here we go. So, I replaced my rotors and pads prior to MOTD 2013. Went with Hawk pads. Less dust that the OEM pads on my JCW, but I am not happy with the stopping performance. For some reason, this combination has no stopping ability when driving in wet conditions. I mean foot to the floor, when are these brakes gonna grab feeling. Once the water is out of the way, they grab and all is fine. I am not sure what I am going to try next. Heck I may go to autozone and get the all ceramic pad. As for dust, I fixed that by powder coating my wheels black
Thanks Scott, DETAILS.... Interesting the comment about Hawk Pads, I tried a set, they were dismal, I took them off and went to EBC reds (2nd set now), first set burnt up a bit due to my aggressive usage. More?
I'm using Akebono Ceramics on my R53 & really like them. Very low dust & for me they stop well. Although I am not one of the late braker's, I carry speed through the corners. FWIW I had a person on a drive with me tell me how they need a BBK because their car did not have enough brakes. My stock R53 brakes with fresh fluid & the ceramics did fine for me. Different driving styles play a large part in what brakes one likes. The ceramics are not a track pad, but I'd hit the track with them for a low key track day. Edit.... I've used Hawk ceramics & while they worked OK & didn't dust much at all they were noisy.
This is what I switched to after EBC Reds. I love the Akebono Ceramics on my R53 with JCW R56 brakes. They do everything the need too without dusting. If I need something with more bite it will buy brakeman pads and a set of dedicated rotors for them. Akebono Ceramic are great pads. Hawks No, OEM No, EBC Hell no.
How about this........ http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/brakes-tires-wheels/17974-cool-carbon-pads.html#axzz2qKrDroa0
Ha.....I aint making anything so I must not be doing any good at it. I am just super happy with the performance and they don't advertise so I gotta bring it up every once in a while.
Jeff, What Hawks did you put on? I currently have the Stop Tech pads on. They are low dust, quite, don't fade, and are the same wet and dry. But they don't have the bite that I want. So next time I upgrade the brakes I'll be trying something else.
Not that I am aware of and it may be because they are so cheap on Tire Rack. It would be hard to beat the price they have and make a profit after you buy enough to keep them in stock.
So the folks who have tried the Akebono like them, they stop well, etc. The folks who still like EBC Reds still like them but inspect often. It's ok Scott, perhaps I should go back a gen, I have been thinking on style'n a nice 05/06 Cooper into a Rally Car and Lapper. Maybe I will run Cool Carbons. Anyone else have a great brake pad for the R56? Perhaps I should open another topic, like what is the 2014 sticky tire for the hot season? Don
I may have the last set of good EBC red pads, they are on the MINI now. I have used and like the Akebono pads on other cars, they maybe in the MINI's future.
Tires easy ... Dunlop Direzza ZII $ 141.00 each ( My favorite) or Michelin Pilot Super Sport @ 161.00 each (2nd Choice) After that nothing else.
Yes we carry Akebono pads. But we still like EBC Pads as we don't have problems with them. But I did have a chance to talk direct with the engineers at EBC about the online complaints of failure. EBC actually has a new system for attaching the pad material to the backing plates. The new plates have a bunch of small pins that the pad material bonds to along with their standard bonding process. So now EBC will have all their pads double bonded to the backing plates. I have one of the new backing plates without pad material on it that I'll post some pics of once I can.