I installed Carbotech AX6 pads today. I only did the fronts.

If you have a 17mm bike tool wrench, it helps greatly because you have to hold that nut and the space is tight. The other bolt is 13mm. I got is loosened up with a bigger wrench and used a ratcheting wrench which made the job easy.

The Carbotech pads do not come with the metal clips unlike the OEM pads.
I applied CRC Disc Brake Quiet on the back side of the pads to reduce noise.

Installation was quick and I went for a break in/ test drive.
The spongy feel is completely gone and the car stops HARD.
I don't care anymore if there are bubbles in the brake line, the car brakes so hard now that the cars behind me had better stay far far back.
The initial bite, feel, and the stopping power are all 10 times better than OEM.
The brakes made slight noise occasionally in slow braking situations coming to a stop sign. But it didn't do it every time.

However, these pads are not compatible with the OEM brake sensor. The sensor does not fit in the groove on the pad. I just zip tied the sensor around the brake line. I will be checking the pads when I rotate the tires. I will let Carbotech know that they don't fit.

I highly recommend these pads for anyone who is not happy with the OEM brakes.

Edit: Now that the new pad material is on the rotors that they are making noise consistently when coming to a stop.

 

How many miles on the OEM pads?

 

1400 miles

 

I've driven the f56 many times, the brakes are very disappointing.. My old r53 stops better. Of course I don't have the oem pads either.
Are your pads supposed to be a quiet pad? Did you follow the brake in procedure?

 

These are expected to squeal. They are designed to be used for autocross. Some people use them for track also.

 

Slightly better stopping power, but at the expense of having squealing brakes, air bubbles in your line and having to zip tie the sensor on... I think I'd pass.

 

Initially, I thought the spongy OEM brake feel was due to air bubbles in the line and I flushed the system. But the bubbles from the factory were not causing the problem. The pads were the culprit. The new pads do not introduce air bubbles in the line.

The squeal is the only draw back for me. But the stopping power is not slightly better. They are much better. While I was bedding them in, I was getting motion sickness from the G-forces I was feeling while braking hard.

I autocross my car so it will be a huge plus at the race. But on the streets, it will be safer also, given how I drive.

 

Good to know that there's a lot of room for improvement over stock pads! Anyone try Hawk HPS yet? Or- do they even have a fitment for the F56? Can't really tell from their site... This pad always had tons of praise, and I liked it a lot too, though I can't say I had much to compare it with. It's designed as a street pad (High Performance Street), so noise and dust are not much more than OEM, but braking has more feel and bite.

 

you're going to get rattle in the fronts. the fault in the design of the fronts is that the there isnt' a spring brake tensioner on the caliper...it's on the pad...which means when you put a bare Carbotech pad in, there isn't any tension...it's too loose...which means that it'll rattle. my blue disc brake quiet material lasted 2 weeks. the red stuff looked like it didn't burn through at all. i ended up getting OEM pads for daily driving and will put the XP8's on when i track her.

carbotech knows the sensor doesn't fit.

carbotech also says they can take your oem pad (hope you didn't throw it away), grind away the material, and put any material you want...this will at least let you keep the proper tension as the pad base has the spring brake tensioner attached to it.

edit: red stuff is crc disc brake quiet, blue stuff is permatex disc brake quiet. this will heavily stop your noise issues considerably.

edit2: the rears won't fit if you ever get them. you have to grind down about 1-2mm on the mounting ears.

 

Thanks for the info.
I think that is an excellent option if it isn't too expensive. I will ask them about it.

 

at this point, it's your only option. i'm trying to get a hold of an old generation set of spring brake tensioners. if they fit, then there you go. it looks pretty standard.

as far as cost, i didn't get to the details regarding it being the same price. i figured i'd get to that point after these OEM's wore down. i threw my original OEM's away so i'm SOL until then.

 

What rattle are you talking about? Do you hear the pads rattle when driving?

By the way they didn't make any noise during stops on my way to work this morning.

And no noise while coming back home.

I got the reply from Carbotech and the it costs only $25 extra to get the pads made on the OEM pads.