Brake Pads: Centric Posi-Quiet vs Hawk LTS or ceramic

[AUJ]

Run Posi-Quiet Semi-metallic on my Cayenne S and Q7 4.2. Better bite than ceramics at all temps. Better brakes torque at wheel secondary to higher co-efficient of friction. All pads dust, depends on the driver's priorities of what you want more of and what you want to compromise less of.

[krick]

Originally Posted by AUJ

Run Posi-Quiet Semi-metallic on my Cayenne S and Q7 4.2. Better bite than ceramics at all temps. Better brakes torque at wheel secondary to higher co-efficient of friction. All pads dust, depends on the driver's priorities of what you want more of and what you want to compromise less of.

I went with the Posi-Quiet Semi-metallics and I don't like them at all. Less bite, less stopping power and much more squeal than the OEMs. About the only thing they do better than the OEMs is that they have far less dust. They aren't horrible, but next time I'm going with the Hawk LTS.

[2ndThought]

I recently put on the Hawk Ceramic pads based on the feedback read on this forum. I've put approx 1k miles thus far, and here are my observations:

1. The pads don't provide the same 'grippy' feedback as the OEM pads at the same pressure applied by foot. For us it was a matter of adjusting to the new pads, and remember to push a bit harder to feel the brakes work. Don't get me wrong, the pads do a great job stopping the Q, just feels different.

2. Less dust. The wheels look a little dusty from when it was last washed, however, with OEM pads, the wheels would have been very dark by now. When talking to TireRack, they told me I would see dust at first, then over time, less and less dust.

3. No noise. Simply. Which tells me the main problem with the OEM pads was the dust accumulation causing the squealing.

4. Modulating to a complete stop is smoother. The OEM pads worked very well, but would feel a bit jerky when coming to a stop.

5. At a very high speed, applying brakes to slow the vehicle down is very nice, you can tell the pads are able to take the heat, and do a great job slowing the Q down.

Would I buy these again? Probably, however now I'm curious about the LTS pads. Having some dust wouldn't bother me, I usually wash my car about every 2 weeks. I live in PA and keeping any car clean is difficult.

Would I go back to OEM pads? No.

Lesson learned: don't forget to buy the brake sensors, you can save $ by not having the shop order them. I believe there was a post here with part numbers and the cost was approx $10, my shop charged me $20.

[KBLOVE]

Time is coming for front brakes and the local shop recommend using Akebono brakes. Says hawks are good but he mainly uses the Akebono line. Has anyone used these before?

[chickdr]

I have only heard good things about Akebono. I have never used them though.

[Magnutz25]

Great timing for this post as I am pretty close to needing new brakes. Great info too!

I was told that you have to replace everything when changing the brakes, not just the pads - is that correct? I read the pricing is between 1200 and 1500 to have the brakes serviced.

Can anyone clarify?

[Charger2Q7]

Also needing new brakes and were thinking about Hawks. Can anyone confirm if its necessary to change the rotors as well? My rotors look good, have no lip or warp but the dealer highly suggested changing them anytime the brakes are changed.

[KBLOVE]

I decided to go with the hawks ceramics. Both the dealer and the local shop recommended changing out the rotors, which I did. The only difference I have felt is the hawks do not have the initial bit (that hard jerk you get with a slight touch of the brakes). Everything else feels the same in terms of stopping power minus the squeaking.

[wlee69]

I just swapped out OEM pads on my '11 Q7 last nite and went thru the seating process for the Hawk Ceramics. To answer a couple of the above questions...

1) You should buy extra brake pad sensors as they crack easily when trying to take them out of the existing pads (even if you are not past the indicator). There was one on each wheel on my car so a total of 4 needed (fronts have more length in the wire than the rears - the connections are all the same)

2) I also bought new hardware just to make it easier. The springs hold tension on the bolts that needs to be removed, so to make it easier, I just hammered the spring brackets flatter to release the tension on the bolt so you can just slide it out. If you do that, you obviously need new brackets. Got it all from RockAuto (all sides, springs and bolts) for way cheaper than OEM stuff (these were branded as Bendix)

3) Agree with the assessment on earlier replies on the Hawk Ceramics - probably not as good as OEM on initial bite, but coming to moderate/harders stops, it feel much more smooth coming to as stop and the bite when pressing harder is much better than OEM...so to me its a good compromise and of course none of the crazy black brake dust.

[DUTCH VanAtlanta]

I did not change the rotors when I installed the Hawk Ceramics at around 5k miles. I now have 40k miles on the Q7 and it's getting to be time again.

Will probably go with new rotors, as I'm getting the warped indication of shudder when stopping moderately. I will not go with the Hawk Ceramic again; as they dust a fair amount, but less than the OEM's. I've had good luck with Rotex Gold on both my MB G500 and MB ML320CDI; so that is probably the direction I'll go next.