Brake Job Complete! Jury in on HAWK Performance Ceramic Pads

HAWK Performance Ceramic Pads are AMAZING!!! Rated FF. I've had them on for a couple of weeks in dry and wet conditions. They feel as good or better than the OEM pads and produce virtually zero dust! They don't fade and they are as quiet as a mouse. Here is a link:

Hawk Performance HB325Z.720 Performance Front Ceramic Brake Pad
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o06_s01_i00

I paired them with Centric High Carbon Plain 120 Series Rotor. $72.50 each with free 2 day shipping (Prime customers).

===> Check with site sponsors to see if they will match the price I got on Amazon. <=== The ones I called could not.

I almost went with the pricier 125 series rotor but I don't think I drive hard enough to warrant the additonal $20 each cost.

125 Series (Tirerack)
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...2&autoModClar=

120 Series (Tirerack)
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...2&autoModClar=


TID BITS -

I used this little air compressor to flush out my entire brake system. Was very easy to do (pics below)

Viair 00073 70P Heavy Duty Portable Compressor
http://www.amazon.com/Viair-00073-He...=5336612388-20

Roadpro 12V Battery Clip-On and Cigarette Lighter Adapter
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=5336612388-20

I bought a brake fluid reservoir cap on a Volvo website. I drilled a hole in it and installed a Truck Tire valve I bought at O'Reilly's Autoparts. I also bought and used an air valve extension to give me more range to adjust the air pressure.

I used a turkey bastor to remove old brown fluid then added new blue fluid.

I did NOT have a pressure regulator so I barely screwed the compressor hose onto the air valve extension then turned it on (most of the air escaped). I turned a couple of turns and checked the brake bleeder hose I attached to see if fluid was coming out yet. I did this three or so times until the fluid started streaming out (low pressure stream). It took a few minutes per wheel. I bled out all four.

Suggest using a 4LB mallet to break the rotors free. You know the rest. Pics below.

==> MAKE SURE you follow the "bed in" directions after installing new pads!

I will change rear pads at later date.

I was just looking at that exact pad/rotor combo. How long have you been driving on this setup? I need to replace my fronts which are Axxis Ultimate Ceramics. I have 90,000 miles on these pads!! Lots of highway driving though. I love the way they stop. However they have not been low dust, to say the least. So it would be great if the Hawks were as good with low dust.

I hear good things bout akebono ceramics

Originally Posted by occhis

I was just looking at that exact pad/rotor combo. How long have you been driving on this setup? I need to replace my fronts which are Axxis Ultimate Ceramics. I have 90,000 miles on these pads!! Lots of highway driving though. I love the way they stop. However they have not been low dust, to say the least. So it would be great if the Hawks were as good with low dust.

Only had them on for a couple of weeks. The brake pedal feels great. They stop as hard or as slow as I want them to. Not a single squeak (yet). They are FF rated which is the lowest high performance brake pad rating so they out perform regular pads (read text in image in opening post).

Best of all NO DUST!!! Well, barely any dust unlike the black, caked on goo my OEM pads produced.

They are suppose to last much longer and have even wear on the rotors.

Research "reviews" like I did before pulling the trigger. They cost $95 for the front set. I think I got my money's worth. I really like the black top-hat on the rotors too.

I live near mountains so I use my brakes a lot due to the down hill grade.

Originally Posted by Topaz540i

I hear good things bout akebono ceramics

True. The one complaint that pops up from the pros is they fade and don't provide the linear bite like OEM pads.

I read reviews for the most used pads mentioned in this forum. No one mentioned HAWKs though (I think). I found them during my research and saw one complaint about noise. That made me read numerous more reviews on diff sites which led me to conclude that one complaint was not the norm.

Hawks are a bit pricey (mid range) compared to akebono which may be why they are not used as often as other brands. I do feel that I did get what I paid for which is great quality.

so no squeek at all? and no dust?? just what i am looking for. do you have a link the the rear ones for our cars? i just resently bought BMW front ones and my style 65 are solid black after 10 days... so i am going to return them. and get these. THANKs!!!!!!

I have been wanting to find a good set of aftermarket brake pads that don't squeek and have little to no dust. When the time comes i think ill give them a shot. cleaning style 5's is a pain.

I highly recommend the Stoptech Performance pads.
Very good performance, and very little dust - if that is important to you...
Link:
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...2&autoModClar=

Originally Posted by MikesE39

so no squeek at all? and no dust?? just what i am looking for. do you have a link the the rear ones for our cars? i just resently bought BMW front ones and my style 65 are solid black after 10 days... so i am going to return them. and get these. THANKs!!!!!!

Rear pads.

I bought: Hawk Performance HB227Z.630 Performance Ceramic Brake Pads http://amzn.com/B000PUOGSM

The Z seems to stand for "Performance Ceramic".

The .630 is the pad thickness. It appears 0.630 thickness is for the rear pads and 0.720 thickness is for the front pads.

Here is a link to the HAWK website where I put in a vehicle search of: 2002, BMW, 530i.

There is a button on the left side of their home page (half way down) that reads "find your part". After hitting that, I used the "Look up by vehicle" button.
http://www.hawkperformance.com/parts/

I have not installed the rear pads yet. The reviews on various websites sold me on HAWK Ceramic pads. I do a lot of reading/research before purchasing big-ticket, safety-related, or long-term products.

For what it is worth, I researched these and others pretty thoroughly before making the purchase.

I read tons of reviews on four choices. HAWK won hands down which may be why they cost a little more. There may be others that I just never heard of that meet or exceed HAWK. That being said I am very pleased with the combination of rotors and pads I installed. Centric makes pricier rotor series than my set but my Centric series fit my moderate to spirited driving habits as well as my braking while on the downside of a mountain.

Centric appears to transfer/dissipate heat better and more evenly than other rotors. So do the HAWK pads so I think combined I did not need to get the next Centric series up. The series I did get still cost more than other brands mentioned in this forum. As with HAWK I found Centric while researching other suggestions/recommendations.

I still really appreciate all of the suggestions I received in this forum when I started looking. They gave me a good place to start. They also introduced me to terms I never heard such as "fade". They also taught me how to change the pads and rotors.

THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE FOR CHANGING PADS, ROTORS, AND BRAKE FLUID!!!! Never changed any of them before.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!