madcrazy10

Ok, search isn't working for me. Is it broken?

Anyway, I'm totally done with my wheels turning black due to the OEM brake pads. It's actually ruining the wheels as that stuff has baked into the wheel & looks speckled in some places.

What low dust pads are you all running? I believe there are only 3 brands for this car, right?

Posi-quiet
Hawk
EBC

Can someone recommend a pad in which I won't lose a great deal in braking power but is definitely low in dust? I'm looking for actual experience with any of these pads on their Q5.

uberwgn

Mad, there are certainly more than that. What about Akebono? They are extremely clean and you don't give up too much braking capability.

BirdmanQ5

Currently, I'm running on Adams double slot rotors with POSI-Quiet brake pads. Performance is good, however there is a bit of squeaking at low speeds and cold temps, and a bit of a grumbling sound when I brake (probably due to slotting, I'm used to flat rotors).

Hawk Ceramics on my OEM rotors warped them something terrible, I'd recommend skipping on hawk or at least do rotors with pads

madcrazy10

How is the dust on the Posi pads? Since they are semi-metallic & not cermaic I am worried I'll just put on a pad that will have a good amount of dust as well.

BirdmanQ5

To be honest with you, I have gone mad crazy (haha) screwing around with brakes and pads and I've spent over $2000 trying to get low dust pads that feel as nice as OEM.

In my humble opinion, I would recommend either

A) Leave it alone. The OEM brakes dust because they are an effective compound. I wish I had.

B) If the dust really bothers you, just get some black rims and call it a day, that way you won't worry about dirt of any sort on them!

C) If you must get low dust, swap the rotors too. The temperature generated by the different compound will warp your rotors by 5,000 miles. Be prepared that you may not necessarily like the feel.

D) Get a full brake upgrade, or even just a big brake kit, that way everything will feel just as it's meant to. It's mainly the fronts that you worry about, so only worry about those forget about the rears. Stoptech and Brembo kits are some of the better names I hear.

Best of luck.

Alex

edit: I didn't answer your question. The semi-metallic POSIs still have dust, just not nearly as much. Dust is a bit brown too, but easier to clean, less grime.

flybooey

Ive got Zimmerman rotors and akebono pads sitting in boxes that arrived today. Ive heard that textar makes the OEM pads? If you buy the textar branded pads they are the European compound and produce significantly less black death. So I hear from my European parts guy.
I too no longer want to clean that crape off the rims, and yes that **** eats it way through the clearcoat

Parsec

Where did you hear that? That's interesting because this is the 2nd time I've heard that Textar makes the OEM pads. However, ETKA indicates the OEM pads (thru 2012) are made by TRW / Girling.

hookooehoo

I just did my brakes a few weeks ago. I am now running StopTech Cryo treated rotors with Hawk HPS pads. As for how they feel, my wife who primarily drives the Q5 says they feel the same, with the exception of the initial bit when cold isnt as good as OE, but after a couple miles it is fine.

As for brake dust, compared to OE I would say the Hawk HPS pads are 50%-65% less dust. She gets washed almost every week and by Friday there is normally only a light 'dusting' of brake dust compared to the OE 'dark' coat of brake dust.

All in all we are happy with the StopTech Cryo Rotors and Hawk HPS pads.


But i also second just going to a black or gun metal gray rim. :-)

pcbrew

Are you using Chrome? Works in IE for me but not Chrome, for some reason.

mhousealum

I had the Akebonos on my former ride, a 645ci. Low dust but stopping power decreased. Just my $0.02.