Z4 M Need Brake Pad Advice

I'm so tired of the dust that comes with the OE brakes on my 08 M Roadster! On my previous Zs I just replaced the pads with the Axxis Deluxe pads. I think they are non metal organics and I did notice more fading. I'm a little leery of putting these on the M because of there lack of bite compared to OEs - but I'm not totally against it. How are the Akebono ceramics with dust?
Anyone experience them against the Axxis Deluxe concerning dust? They advertise as low, but are they extremely low dust compared to OE? Basically this is a highway only car and is driven fairly normally, so I'm not looking for extreme performance. Just performance similar to OE with much less dust. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Swanicyouth

I'm so tired of the dust that comes with the OE brakes on my 08 M Roadster! On my previous Zs I just replaced the pads with the Axxis Deluxe pads. I think they are non metal organics and I did notice more fading. I'm a little leery of putting these on the M because of there lack of bite compared to OEs - but I'm not totally against it. How are the Akebono ceramics with dust?
Anyone experience them against the Axxis Deluxe concerning dust? They advertise as low, but are they extremely low dust compared to OE? Basically this is a highway only car and is driven fairly normally, so I'm not looking for extreme performance. Just performance similar to OE with much less dust. Thanks!

Wanting much the same, street/road car/no track, but also tired of the dust. Any pads that can help reduce or eliminate the dust, I would be interested as well.

I'm with you on the dust so I'm watching for an answer to be posted. It seems all I do is clean the wheels. Do dust shields work ?

Do they still do Axxis ultimate's ? Perfect for mild street and autocross. Did find they started to fade if you did a long twisty drive but a good compromise to OEM dusty pads

I prefer the Performance Friction Z-rated pad for daily driver/street use. Good cold bite and relatively little dust.
I've also used the Axxis ULT (FKA Ultimate) and they are low dusting but are very grabby when cold; difficult to modulate.

I did a little more research and found out Axxis Deluxe aren't as absurd as I thought on a street only M. Apparently a lot of people run them and they work out OK, you just loose some bite. I can attest to that, as I had them on my old 2.5i. I also remember them making hardly any dust at all and lasting a while. They are dirt cheap. Anyone know how the dust level on these compares to Akebono ceramics?

I put Hawk Performance Ceramics on mine last August. No dust to speak of anymore. They are a bit noisier as I brake(not squealing, but I can hear them against the drilled rotor where I could not hear the OEM pads). The part numbers are:

HB464Z.764(front)
HB518Z.642(rear)

I paid $80 for each set so not bad at all IMO. I had UUC do the install for me.

I was reading up on the difference between Ceramic and Semi Metallic pads. It turns out the ceramics are good for Brake Dust in two ways. One, there is less of it. Two, the Dust is generally a light color, so it tends to blend in more and be less apparent on rims. This is where I found a summary of the difference between Ceramic and Semi Metallic http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_be...mic_brake_pads

Originally Posted by jmillet

I prefer the Performance Friction Z-rated pad for daily driver/street use. Good cold bite and relatively little dust.

Jim, How's the pedel feel on the Friction Z pads? I'm trying to find something with a firmer feel to them then the oe pads. TIA

Originally Posted by Incompatible

Jim, How's the pedel feel on the Friction Z pads? I'm trying to find something with a firmer feel to them then the oe pads. TIA

After trying several aftermarket brake pads I've gone with PF Z-rated pads on my former E36 Z3MC as well as my current Z4MC. They have a firm feel without any severe initial bite. They modulate extremely well. They dust far less than the OE Textar/Jurid/Ate but do dust more than the Axxis ULT.
I'm sold on Performance Friction pads and use the PF-01 as my track pad.

I use Mintex red box or Axxix Ultimates.

The Ultimates dust more, but work very well.

The Mintex dust very little and also work well.

I decided to go with the Axxis Deluxe. I had them before and can attest they make the least dust of any pads I tried. They do fade and lack bite a little, but I drive on the street only. I did have the Mintex from Bav Auto before and thought they mas too much dust for what they where. I know from experience that dust will ruin Yr wheels over time

Originally Posted by jmillet

After trying several aftermarket brake pads I've gone with PF Z-rated pads on my former E36 Z3MC as well as my current Z4MC. They have a firm feel without any severe initial bite. They modulate extremely well. They dust far less than the OE Textar/Jurid/Ate but do dust more than the Axxis ULT.
I'm sold on Performance Friction pads and use the PF-01 as my track pad.

Thanks

Do you really need to change the rotor when you change the brake pads?

I got tired of having to clean my front rims every other day. So I installed Ceramic pads all the way around. No more brake dust. I also installed some awesome cross drilled rotors while I was in there. If your rotors have a lot of mileage on them I would replace them. Your brakes are no place to skimp. Later.

I may try these axxis ultimates you speak of. What site do you recommend ordering from?

It's been a while but I think I got them here: http://www*****brakes.com/p-655-axxi...riantID=166721

The Axxis Ultimates are NOT a low dust pad. I thought they were (didn't do enough research) and I chose them to replace my OEM pads after I had my M for 3 months. To be honest, they dusted about equally to my OEM pads. I swapped them out for Axxis Deluxe pads and all is good. The Deluxe's are definitely a street only pad, but that's what I do, and they are fine for spirited country road driving. They were a little hard to find, and from the second bit of research I did I would have gone withe the Hawk Ceramics as a second choice.

The old EBC Green Stuff pads worked really well for me on my other BMWs, but I've not changed the pads on my Z4M from OEM so I don't know if they're availablee for this car. Worth checking out though, those guys make good stuff.

BTW, I understand Axxis is no more. So if you like their pads, buy some.

We have Axxis Metal Masters on our M Roadster. Nice pads, but a tiny bit of squeal at times.

I have run Axxis Deluxe on a number of cars over the years (back to when Axxis was Repco, before they were PBR) , and are still my favorite street pad. OK, for autocross, but not for track.