What are the best-stopping pads for OE BMW brakes?

[spencers]

I've been reading good things about Performance Friction Z Rated pads

[3ZHPGUY]

I talked to my instructor at my first driving school about this last year. Hi suggestion was to get two different pads from the some manufacture, one for street and one for track. His reasoning was that they would be close enough in size so I could use the same rotors. He also suggested using two pads because the racing pads don't work well until their hot and I don't have time to heat them up before I need them every day. Hawk was the choice of most of the track rats for their track pads.

As for the rotors, from what I've read it's not good to turn them. They need all of that mass to cool without warping. I had Zimmerman cross drilled on my 323I and got a vibration problem. Everyone on the track forms suggests solids, they dissipate the heat better, so they say.

[kpro]

yes, drilled rotors suck. I've cracked every brand I've bought doing auto-x, Brembo, Baer, Rotora, Powerslut...I'd hate to see what would happen if I used them on the track.

[bcleaver]

I've run hawk HP+ for many autox seasons and would recommend them. I've run them on the track as well without any issues. They do dust. It also does take one or two hard stops for them to warm up and really grip, but it's not like they need to be 'hot' to come to a complete stop from 30mph at a stop sign on the street.

Basically it all depends on what you'll use them for.

Street; HPS
Autox: HP+
Dedicated track: something else

[MsRN]

So my shortlist for pads appears to be Hawk HPS, Stoptechs, OE, or Ferodo DS2500 Club Race. BMW drivers on TireRack seem quite divided about the Hawks, scoring them either 4s or 8s. One driver posited that HPS pads need to warm up in order to grip well, and that the larger BMW rotors dissipate too much heat for the Hawks to reach optimal working temperatures. Has anyone here run them on a Bimmer?

Dane, did you find the Stoptechs to work better than OE BMW pads? Besides dusting lots (my lowest priority), did they have any other drawbacks?

OE BMW pads are actually fairly good for stock pads, IMHO. They're obviously not meant for track use, but I've no plans to track my ZHP anytime soon.

Ferodo pads are expensive, and eat through rotors, but appear to be really good stoppers, and a decent option for combined street and track use.

Akebono Euro Ceramics generally get good marks from BMW drivers, but appear to trade a little initial bite for decreased rotor and pad wear, and much less dust. They're also very nicely-priced right now.

Decisions...

[danewilson77]

Dane, did you find the Stoptechs to work better than OE BMW pads? Besides dusting lots (my lowest priority), did they have any other drawbacks?

Great pad....very dirty.

[MsRN]

Great pad....very dirty.

Worse than OE?

[danewilson77]

I don't know that I ever paid that much attention to the oe pads. It always seems like I rapidly change out all that stuff when I buy one of these. Goes hand in hand with buying something daily for the whip. I will tell you they worked great, but said I would never, ever buy the StopTech pads again for a DD, due to the dust. I literally proclaimed this outload one day, whilst in the garage cleaning my rims.

Droid! Srs Legitness!

[kpro]

I run the Hawks on my Bimmer, and all my cars for that matter. The HPS do not need any warm up time, even on the coldest days in winter. The HP+ on the other hand does. I don't think you'll be dissatisfied with the Hawks, seriously.

[MsRN]

Thanks, Kristen!