What brand ceramic? There seem to be a lot of people who post on NAM who like the Carbotech's.

As for OEM pad - I liked them on my R56. Again - opinion. But I could do without the dust. However, going back to them is a "safe" bet as that is what you learned to use on the car.

 

The thing I did not like about the oem pads was coal DUST. Other than that they were fine. One other thing the oem were easier to fade than than the ceramics.

The brand of ceramics that I use is Hawk. They don't have the initial bite of oem, but they are more fade resistant & a hella lot less dust. Plus what dust you do get is a lighter color.

When you switch pads it is going to feel different. Given a proper break in & some time to adapt to the difference most folks are happy with the change.

I have no experience with Carbotech, but lots of folks seem to like their Bobcat pads. FWIW I think either Hawk ceramic or Bobcat would work well.

Just my .02.

 

What are the OEM pads made of, metallic?

 

I'm not sure, but they way they eat rotors & dust like crazy it's a very good possibility there is some metalic content in them.

Although 30 years ago or so I used pads called Repco Metal Masters. They looked like they were made from pure metal. Great pads, but very hard on rotors & here is where they differ from the oem brakes MINI uses, unless they had heat in them they did not work well. Initial bite was terrible until heated.

 

Well its been a month or so, and I've driven well over 1,500 miles with moderate braking. They still feel like they take much effort to push the pedal. How can I tell if the clip on the rear brakes isn't put on right (as someone mentioned might be the problem). Or how can I tell if the caliper is sticking?

 

An easy check although not absolutely fool proof is to take your hand & feel the wheels after you have driven some. If you feel one wheel is hot that is the caliper sticking.

Disclaimer: Do not do this check after heavy braking or you will burn your hand.

My thought on this is Midas may use a cheap pad made from old cardboard, wood chips & other inexpensive materials. I wish you were local so we could figure this out. Although I was 10 miles from Dubuque Saturday morning. My gut feeling is that the pads are cheap carp & do not have good initial bite that the oem pads have. The ceramics that I am running also do not have the initial bite as oem. I think over the 60,000 miles I've driven on them I've grown used to them.

 

Having just done a brake job, I think the only way to check the rear pad clip is to remove the caliper. You might be able to just remove the wheel and look through the caliper, but the clips are pretty well hidden.
I swapped to Hawk ceramics, and they definitely feel different than stockers. But I look forward to having white wheels for more than a few miles!!

 

I'm with Eric. You will need to remove the calipers to see if that clip is in place.

 

On the R56 the caliper can be taken off with the mounting bracket. Once off the steering knuckle, the caliper should slide freely from side to side on the pins. This might work for the Gen 1s. Of course, you need to remove the wheel and brake

 

Funny, the guy who did my brakes said Im getting a nice "semi ceramic pad with wood additive"... monroe btw. I think I over paid. At least Im not getting a squeal and have much less dust.

 

double post

 

When these pads wear out & they will you will be wiser from this experience. Do the brake job yourself next time. The DIY here on NAM is excellent.

Good luck & happy motoring!

 

have you solved your spongy brake pedal yet?

I have replaced my rear disk & pad yesterday night & now i have that problem too, the 1st pedal application goes to the floor, feels like air in the system, but i haven't brake a line servicing the brakes so air dont make sence. The spring on the inner pan is at the right place on the caliper piston, i have stoke the e-brake numerous times. Brake pad bedding is not an issue either cause i'm in the garage, not going on the road, friction have nothing to do with it, & when i press pedal for the 1st time, it goes way down......

Can't find out what is my problem,

 

I would suggest pulling the wheels off and checking to see if the pads are tight against the rotors and the caliper fittings are tight . That will tell you if the E-brake is doing its job. Actually, if you pull on the E-brake, it should get get tight and be able to hold the car from rolling. If that is not happening then the pads are not seated or something is not assembled correctly.

 

hhhaaaaaa, i can't believe it, i solve my problem, it doesn't make sense but it was air in the system, even i haven't break a line, just pushing back the rear calipers had let air enter in the system. i would had bet a lot of money against that.....thanks to my brother that had the same issue on a rs4.....


Mechanic is a weird science, you can learn stuff everyday...

 

I have heard of this being possible, however unlikely, in ABS equipped systems.

 

This is why I always flush the system with every brake job. Large movements at the calipers can suck in air.

 

Good to see it got fixed!!
Hydrolics are pretty simple, but can be finikey...IMO you should aways bleed the brakes, even with just a pad change...both to prevent this issue, and to get rid of the dirty, moisture ladden fluid that has been sitting in the caliper...when you push the puck in, you just send that gunk up your brake lines, and can do tons of damage...many cars have had abs computer replaced due to this...

 

New one on me, but I will remember this one. Thanks for filling us in on the cause of your sponge bob brakes.

 

Well i'm currently having the same problem, Thanks for the information everyone.

 

+1 on this, but beware. I did new pads for the neighbor, but flushed it first. Then I re-flushed after retracting the caliper. I was aghast at the snot that came out after I recessed the calipers. I guess it makes sense - the clean fluid can bypass the crud in the body of the caliper. At least I know that odds are only clean stuff was pushed back up the lines.