If I had to do it again I would not have gone with aftermarket brakes (in my case Hawk pads installed by Mini Corsa).

My 06 Cooper was ready for front and rears. The fronts had been done at 36K on the house under scheduled maintenance and the original rears made it all the way to 82K.

I wanted to avoid going back to Bob Smith since they had once over torqued a lug (when doing the front brakes). I didn't find out until the guy installing my new tires told me when he was pulling off the wheels.

Plus, they tried to charge me $60 extra for doing a tire rotation when I brought the car in for an inspection. Dude, they're gonna have the tires off to check the brakes anyway. Just have 'em put the fronts on the back and vice versa!

What a bunch of weenies...

Anyway, I'd heard good things about Mini Corsa so i figured an oil change and brakes would be a good starting point.

Pads, rotors and sensors cost $650 for all four corners. When I picked the car they felt OK. Later, though, they started to make a very faint squealing sound on the freeway (when the brakes were not being applied).

I gave that a day or so to resolve and when it didn't I called Danny. He said to bring it in and they'd check 'em out and make sure they were properly bedded. Now, weeks later they still do the freeway squeal off and on and they also squeak mostly at low speed and in turns.

Annoying.

Worse, though, is the fact that they have nothing like the stopping power of the stock parts and they cause the ABS to come on way sooner.

The lesson (for me, at least) is to stick with stock. This was my first instinct and I should have followed it. Sure, there's less brake dust but this car is made for driving. If I could have my brakes back again I'd consider the brake dust a badge of honor.

Not sure what anyone alse has gotten from other aftermarket pads, but I won't be flying with the hawks again.

 

this is the second thread about how crappy the hawk pads are

yuk, sorry to hear about your issues

 

As for this and the other thread about the Hawk pads in my experience with these and other performance parts you have to remember not everything that works for the track, works for everyday. My Hawks work really well but...it took a long time for them to break in and even still now they lack a little on initial contact but work exceptionally when warm, and far better than stock when hot.

 

...brake pads needs to seat before saying hawk pads are bad. I used them for years and never had issue.

 

I'm running Hawk pads on my 06 JCW cabriolet. I had them properly set up and bedded in by BR Racing in Los Gatos. (Highly recommend them, by the way.) Anyway, I did notice a big loss of initial bite compared to the stock pads. However, these are made for more demanding situations like the track and hard, fast driving in the twisties. For that they seem to work pretty well. I may try something else next time, though.

 

If the new pads are engaging the ABS sooner they are actually working better than the originals ones. ABS only engages if the tires are close to locking up.

 

+1, except that ABS only engages WHEN the tires are locked up. It senses the wheel isn't spinning and pulses the brakes for optimal stopping distance.
Sounds like an issue of modulation rather than braking power.

 

The ABS actually engages before the tires come to a stop, that is what the wheel speed sensors do keeps them rolling at a speed just before lockup.