Ok I have put off changing my front brakes for long enough now. I am having trouble making a choice. I am looking for opinions persuasion and help making this choice.

For the rotors I have narrowed it down to three

TSW Carbon Rotors
$125 front set
They look nice, seem to have great technology. I am assuming the black color on the parts the pads touch will be taken off?

ATE PremiumOne Slotted Rotor
$63 a piece front
Again look great, but different. I am having trouble picking between the different looks. I have black Enkie j10's not sure if the silver will look better worse.

Cryo-stop
$51 a piece front
Neat look again. Will the pad surface stay that color? Good technology great price.

Brembo Sport Slotted
$128 front set

Reliable name. I worry about the hat corroding fast like the oem. I could paint them. Does the gold finish stay? I am also not opposed to blanks without slots.

Now Pads

CT Brake Pads
$127 Front

Akebono Euro Ceramic Pads
$72 Front

Hawk Performance Ceramic
$91 Front

Satisfied Pro Perform OEM Pad
$29 front

As of now I am just changing the fronts. I think the rear rotors may be glazed and I am thinking maybe of changing the rear rotors as well. The pads have a lot of life so I am hopping to keep them on for now. I know that putting new rotors with old pads may not be the usually but I am trying to keep the cost down, have a good set and make things look matched. If I get rotors with black hats I can paint the rears if I end up not changing them out. With my wheels these parts are all very visible so I need to make sure things match.

Thank you in advance!

 

Anyone?

 

What is the primary driver behind your decision? Performance, price, dusting etc. Pick two of those that I listed and shoot for those aspects and expect to compromise a bit on one of the others.

A lot of people will tell you "a rotor, is a rotor, is a rotor". That is to say they are all basically the same. I bought a pair of front rotors of of RockAuto for ~60 made by Centric, the company that OEMs for Stoptech.

I suggest extending your search outside of tirerack. I bought a set of Axxis ultimate front pads for $70 off of Importrp, and they have been great. They dust less then OEM and have been great for AutoX duty.

If you think your rear rotors are glazed you could rough them up a bit with a little fine sandpaper.

 

Once I decide on a make I will search until I find the lowest price. The problem is I don't understand the sizing, is it all car specific? And many of the places I looked at did not say if it was for r50 or not and I know my size is a little different.

As for picking two out of three how about this. I am looking to spend between $200-$300 for front brakes and rotors with the best performance and lowest dusting possible.

 

As for picking two out of three how about this. I am looking to spend between $200-$300 for front brakes and rotors with the best performance and lowest dusting possible.

Problem is that these two constraints are really pretty subjective....and perhaps the previous 56,784 posts about which rotor and / or pad is best, have worn folks out.....

Almost ANY pad other than OEM will dust less than OEM.

I'm not sure I follow your "size" question. Yes the size is car specific but every GEN1 MINI (other than JCW maybe) used the same size rotor didn't it? That's what I derive from the MOSS page for a Brembo rotor:

http://www.mossmini.com/Shop/ViewPro...eIndexID=53104

an example from MOSS for fronts
Brembo rotors $120
EBC greens $88
plus shipping

Brembo is plain Jane but "solid stuff"

EBC ... some like, some hate, but $$ is typical. Others to consider: Hawk, Mintex, CarboTec

 

Thanks for your help. I know there are a lot of posts out there, but they don't seem to offer much actual decision making help. I am probably going to go with EBC Redstuff because I like the idea of ceramic pads and the cost isn't that different than the Greenstuff.

Rotors are a different story. Now that I have widened my search from just tirerack I have many more options and even more confusion. I really like the DBA but I think they are out of my need and price range. I really just like the gold finish they put on them...

I know I don't want drilled, but I do like the look of slotted. I don't "track" my car other than an occasional autoX, but even that is mild because I am not a regular so I don't know how to push it right now.

 

Maybe this will help?

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...rake-pads.html

 

For rotors, I've been quite happy with the Ate Premium One slotted... look cool, the finish has stayed on the hub area just fine. They HAVE rusted around the outside edges, but I think pretty much all will do that with the heat cycles I subject my rotors to. You don't notice it when the wheels are mounted.

I've become a big Carbotech pad fan (I own four different ones), but, as has been said, most aftermarket street pads will dust less than OEM. But there are considerable differences in bite vs. modulation vs. heat tolerance vs. lifetime vs. rotor friendliness vs. compound compatibility (for track-day pad swaps) between the various aftermarket pads. So it does make a difference how you weight these considerations.

 

Paul, could you possibly take a picture of your Ate Premium Ones so I can see how they look mounted?

It is hard for me to picture what the slots will look like on the MINI size rotor and how they look mounted. I am leaning toward them for rotors now.

For pads I was interested in the EBC Redstuff, but now I am looking at the Carbotech. Any input on the pros cons of these two?

Thanks for the help!

 

Oh one more question, does anyone have anything to say about the TSW Rotors?

I am trying to decided between them and the ATS.

 

Here's one on the Dragon last weekend...
http://www.photoreflect.com/PR3/Orde...=3&c=&a=589861

 

If anyone subscribed to this cares/wonders I ended up going with the TSW rotor and EBC Redstuff. I haven't received them yet so I don't know how they are together yet.

 

any updates to report? I've started researching rotors/pads too, and like you, I am leaning toward the Red Stuff.

 

With Blimey's input a few weeks ago, I ordered a front/back set of Carbo Tech 1521 Bobcats pads for my 09 Clubbie S. Hopefully, I will have them to install by the middle of the month. I do not like the copious dust from the OEM pads.

 

The EBC Redstuff and the TSW rotors are working well together and I am very happy with my decision.

 

any track days? how is initial bite compared to stock? thanks