Good aftermarket brake pads for brembo brakes

fuelforfire87

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What aftermarket brake pads are you guys using with the brembo front brakes that have a good pedal feel? Currently I have hawk HPS 5.0 and while they don't produce a lot of dust I find the pedal feel is pretty weak until you really press on the brake pedal. I'd like something with a better initial bite but without creating too much brake dust. My car is mainly street driven so not looking for racing pads but a good quality street/drag strip pad. Thanks.
 

KBBoss302

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You might want to consider Stoptech pads. Cheap, low dust, good firm pedal, decent power when you lean on the brakes (although I found they didn't have quite enough overall power and use Ferodo 2500s now that I really like).

Check out KNS Brakes for good selection and customer service if you have questions.
 

Brutal Metal

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I currently have Stop Techs on my 5.0, they are the worst pads for dust I've ever seen. I wanna switch them out with the Duralast C-Max's.
 

noldevin

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The more they grab, the dustier and noisier they will be. Not really any way around that unfortunately. You will have to decide what is most important to you
 

fuelforfire87

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The more they grab, the dustier and noisier they will be. Not really any way around that unfortunately. You will have to decide what is most important to you

Makes sense, I guess I am just missing the feel that the brembos with stock pads have. Everyone says they bite way harder than the regular brakes. When I switched to the brembos I installed the hawk pads and stoptech slotted rotors, so I never got the stock feeling. Once the hawks are warmed up however, they perform pretty good especially when braking heavily. I just hate when starting the car and backing up with these brakes, feels like they barely bite. May look into a different pad that is a compromise between performance and dust and bite.
 

noldevin

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Makes sense, I guess I am just missing the feel that the brembos with stock pads have. Everyone says they bite way harder than the regular brakes. When I switched to the brembos I installed the hawk pads and stoptech slotted rotors, so I never got the stock feeling. Once the hawks are warmed up however, they perform pretty good especially when braking heavily. I just hate when starting the car and backing up with these brakes, feels like they barely bite. May look into a different pad that is a compromise between performance and dust and bite.
I use two different pads in my car. For the street I use carbotech xp1521, they're slightly less dusty and grabby than stock.
Then at the track I use carbotech xp10. Very dusty, noisy, but they grab better than anything I've ever tried and heat doesn't bother them at all
 

KBBoss302

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My definition of "Low dust" vs someone else's might not be the same. I have never tried any of the ceramic low dust pads but the Stoptechs dust less than OE. I suspect that most ceramics are made for car show type cars, not people who really use their brakes to stop.
 

Brutal Metal

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My definition of "Low dust" vs someone else's might not be the same. I have never tried any of the ceramic low dust pads but the Stoptechs dust less than OE. I suspect that most ceramics are made for car show type cars, not people who really use their brakes to stop.
If you consider having chrome rims completely dusted black after 5 days of driving low miles to work normal we're off in our comparisons...
 

99Cobra_vert

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I installed StopTech slotted rotors and pads on my GT500 last summer and I hate them. Dust is really bad. Worse than stock.

I agree pedal feel is a little soft, but my biggest complaint is the squeaks. My car sounds terrible when slowing down at a stop light, despite multiple attempts at bedding the brakes. I'm going to go back to stock unless I can find a better solution.
 

Coz

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I use the PowerStop Z26 pads with StopTech slotted rotors. Great initial bite and light dust.
 

Brutal Metal

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I installed StopTech slotted rotors and pads on my GT500 last summer and I hate them. Dust is really bad. Worse than stock.

I agree pedal feel is a little soft, but my biggest complaint is the squeaks. My car sounds terrible when slowing down at a stop light, despite multiple attempts at bedding the brakes. I'm going to go back to stock unless I can find a better solution.
I'd keep the rotors as is and try the Duralast ceramic, a lot of guys like them for normal street driving. Like I said a couple posts up I wanna switch out my new Stop Techs as well.
 

Secondo

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Been researching this alot myself lately. Like yous, I like the bite and performance (I track and daily drive my car) of the stock Track Pack Brembo pads. FYI, I believe Ford uses Akebono brand pads for the Track Pack Brembo cars. They are an OEM manufacturer. I see them listed everywhere (NAPA, Advance Auto, etc) as the OEM replacement high performance Brembo pads for Mustangs. I found the best price for them at Tire Rack.

Edit: Removed link, it gets hijacked when opening it in this forum. Just search for Akebono pads for Mustangs.

Edit: Fixed link
 
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blue 07

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I installed a set of Hawke ceramic pads and I love them ! No dust, crazy stopping power.
 

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