Tires, Wheels, & Brakes Discussion about wheels, tires, and brakes for the new MINI.
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 02:39 PM
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what brand of ceramic brake pads?

Looking to get ceramic brake pads (brakes running low and i hate the brake dust) so what do you recommend for a replacement? and how much do they run? I do not need top of the line stuff
thanks
 
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 02:53 PM
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I'm not sure if these are ceramics but I heard Mintex or something are good pads with less dust.
 
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 03:20 PM
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I'm running Hawk Ceramic's. Very little dust & it is very light colored. I love them.

I bought mine here....

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-cooper/Hawk_mini_cooper_ceramic_brake_pads

Call Aaron & he'll set you up. Great guy & great service.
 
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 03:55 PM
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hey..let's confuse the issue

I've used EBC greenies since 2005 and have hung them on many fellow MINI owner' cars.....

good for street use ... I don't race or a/c so decide what you want

EBC has the slots for brake sensors.....

EBC has pads for 2007......
 
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Crashton
I'm running Hawk Ceramic's. Very little dust & it is very light colored. I love them.

I bought mine here....

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-cooper/Hawk_mini_cooper_ceramic_brake_pads

Call Aaron & he'll set you up. Great guy & great service.

those hawk ceramic pads look great if you don't mind the price.

do they last longer than non ceramic pads like OEM or Mintex pads?
 
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 05:20 PM
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I believe they do, but to tell you the truth I had to replace my almost new oem pads at 6,000 miles. I couldn't stand the brake dust any more.

IMO brakes are not a place to try & save money.
 
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 06:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Crashton
IMO brakes are not a place to try & save money.
quoted for the win.
 
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 06:33 PM
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Originally Posted by arizona29
Looking to get ceramic brake pads (brakes running low and i hate the brake dust) so what do you recommend for a replacement? and how much do they run? I do not need top of the line stuff
thanks
What kind of pads you need is based on your driving demands. There are many good pads on the market. Carbotech's Bobcat pad is a great street pad you can play hard with. Much less dust then OEM or your local auto parts store brand. More info can be found in the NAM product listings https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...uct/259/cat/83 or send me a PM with your driving demands.
 

Last edited by AutoXCooper.com; Apr 20, 2008 at 06:38 PM.
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 06:36 PM
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Originally Posted by AutoXCooper.com
What kind of pads you need is based on your driving demands. There are many good pads on the market. Carbotech's Bobcat pad is a great street pad you can play hard with. Much less dust then OEM or your local auto parts store brand. More info can be found in the NAM product listings or send me a PM with your driving demands.
Another plug for Carbotech, heard great things.
 
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 08:53 PM
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Thanks every1 for the suggestions checked out the hawks but their a bit to pricey for me
 
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 05:41 AM
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Man we just wore through a set of the EBC Green pads - HOLY CRAP THE DUST was worse than the OEM or the cheap Autozone pads we'd used previously.

I gave up and went back to OEM pads.

Maybe I shoulda' tried the Hawks.

No matter - 4 sets of frickin' brake pads in 85k miles - I'm just sick of changing them.

I'm not sure what wears out faster the pads or the damn runflats.



oh well
 
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 06:40 AM
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the used car dealer I bought my car from in Feb. put Akebono Euro Ceramics on the front of mine....work nicely, very quiet, and NO dust at all.

Steve
 
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 07:04 AM
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just put Hawk ceramics on our MINI which has white wheels. Could not be happier with the lack of dust. The little dust is also lighter colored. The cold bite is a bit dissapointing but it gets better after they warm up. I will try them on for the first auto-x next weeekend but think that I will be dissapointed. Oh well, at least the front pad swap is not hard on the MINI.

I still recommend the ceramics for the cleanliness.
 
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 07:08 AM
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Originally Posted by cycleway4
the used car dealer I bought my car from in Feb. put Akebono Euro Ceramics on the front of mine....work nicely, very quiet, and NO dust at all.

Steve
Originally Posted by chilimac
just put Hawk ceramics on our MINI which has white wheels. Could not be happier with the lack of dust. The little dust is also lighter colored. The cold bite is a bit dissapointing but it gets better after they warm up. I will try them on for the first auto-x next weeekend but think that I will be dissapointed. Oh well, at least the front pad swap is not hard on the MINI.

I still recommend the ceramics for the cleanliness.

Akebono or Hawk next time - oh well, by then we'll have AT LEAST 100k on her and it will probably be time for her 3rd set of rotors too.

 
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 07:21 AM
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I will have to comment on the Hawk HPS.
Great pad if you drive aggressively, low dust and doesn't wear out that fast.
Whatever you buy, don't for the love of god buy Axis Ultimate pad. They dust like crazy and overheat really fast
 
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Old Aug 16, 2008 | 06:39 AM
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Akebono for the fronts and look at 1 month after w/o wash. (Yes i'm bad):

 
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Old Aug 16, 2008 | 06:46 AM
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I got Hawk HPS Pads for the front of my 02 MCS from www.raceshopper.com.
A lot cheaper than anywhere else I tried. And Edwin is AWESOME! His customer service is amazing. Would highly suggest checking him out. He carries a ton of brake components, so more than likely he'll have what your looking for. I LOVE my HPS pads, also put on SP performance diamond slotted rotors which are nice . Got the pads for like 76 bucks, and rotors for like 65 a pop... or something like that.
 
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 05:02 PM
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Kind of stealing the thread here....and raising it from the dead. :p

It's been quite a while since I'm been around, but I'm due for new brakes soon. Anyway, I've been reading various threads and it seems the best are the Hawk Ceramics (which ones, HPS or regular?) and the Carbotech. Which ones are better? The Carbotech pads are ~$50 more total (front and rear).

I strictly drive street, with a mix of highway and city. I'm not very aggressive, however when I want to stop, and I want stop, FAST. I'm looking for pads that are decent in cold (or slightly warm) and very good warm. Low dust is a plus but not a major factor, more-so is braking power.

Thanks,
-Cody
 
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 05:23 PM
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Cody, I've been using the Hawk Ceramics & I like them a lot. These are not the HPS Hawk pads. Hardly any brake dust & what there is is a lighter color. I've tracked with them & while not a track pad they worked well & better than the OEM pads did.

I've heard good things about the Carbotech Bobcat pads, but they want you to cut the rotors before use of buy new rotors. That fact has kept me from trying them yet.
 
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 05:59 PM
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I've run both the Hawk Ceramics and the Carbotech Bobcats... Bobcats definitely had more bite and stopping power on my car, though the Hawks were very good. I think the Hawks were a harder pad, as they were wearing my original rotors pretty heavily. The Bobcats seem easier on the rotors. While Carbotech recommends you turn your rotors or start with new ones, I know many people don't with no issues... if you just scuffed them with sandpaper or a sanding pad to break up any film from your old pads, you'd probably be fine.

If you REALLY want BITE... the Carbotech AX6 pads are fantastic. But they're quite dusty.
 
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 10:38 PM
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I'm fond of Porterfield pads. Less dust great bite and work when cold.

I use them on all my cars.
 
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Old Sep 19, 2008 | 12:06 PM
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Thanks guys, I'll look into it!

-Cody
 
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Old Oct 15, 2009 | 10:20 PM
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Originally Posted by KevM
Akebono or Hawk next time - oh well, by then we'll have AT LEAST 100k on her and it will probably be time for her 3rd set of rotors too.


OOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPSSSs Forgot to check this. Or maybe I just gave up.

She needed her fifth set of rear brakes recently, I bought the cheap-*** pads and rotors from AutoZone and threw them on.

Bypassed the brake sensor too.

I'm done man - 100k miles and FIVE FREAKING SETS OF BRAKE PADS - yeah only the 3rd set of rotors, but jezzzzuss am I just getting old - I seem to remember rotors lasting 100k miles, not 30k... I dunno.

She's making noise about replacing the old Mini Pooper anyway - with an X3 - I dunno I still think she's a freakin BALL to drive, one of the best cars I've ever driven from a pure fun standpoint - but I'm getting tired of putting tires and brakes on the thing!!!!
 
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Old Oct 29, 2009 | 07:57 AM
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I got the Hawk ceramics a couple months ago and have no complaints. They're the only ones I've had other than OEM, so I can't make any comparisons to other brands, but I can say the lack of brake dust is amazing and keeps the rims looking good. Worth the extra dough. I don't track, but I do some spirited driving. Had to get used to the level of bite after switching from OEM, but that didn't take too long. Definitely a "must" for anyone with white rims.
 
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Old Nov 8, 2009 | 09:32 AM
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all,
went with Carbotech Bobcats and love the lowwwww brake dust.
can only compare to oem, but i really like em.
did change to TSW rotors, SS lines.
brakes feel good!
boxcars
 
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