I changed the front brake pads with Axxis Ultimate pads about 10k miles ago and at 38k it was now time to do the rears. The fronts were done under the BMW/Mini maintenance plan so I only changed the pads and kept the OEM rotors. Since I'm out of warranty / maintenance now, I decided to try the Centric Rotors that Stoptech distributors like Zeckhausen Racing offer.

I've wanted to try these rotors for a while b/c
a) look awesome with the black electorstatic coated hubs and
b) are well priced and
c) are of very high quality.
Centric owns StopTech fwiw and I have no affiliation other than being a satisfied customer.

I decided to source the parts from the guys at Zeckhausen b/c have always been very helpful through the years in helping select the proper track and street pads for my RX7 and BMW.

The details of the products I bought are here:
http://zeckhausen.com/Mini/MINI_Cooper.htm

Before doing the rear brakes, on high speed (80-100 mph) stops I had been disappointed b/c the brakes didn't feel very grippy. I had used the Axxis ULT on my RX7 with great success so I couldn't understand why it wasn't as good as I remembered on that car. I was thinking of trying of trying Hawk Ceramics or HPS from Tire Rack all around when I did the rears but the Axxis Ultimates (also Ceramic material) had a higher overall temp threshold and are much cheaper so I just decided to go ahead and do the rear brakes.

I cleaned the calipers and hubs with an aluminum and brass detailing brush while I was installing everything. Then we bled the brakes. Used off the shelf Valvoline synthetic fluid since its mostly a street car. It was amazing how much air got into the FRONT brakes from doing the REAR pads and having to screw the rear piston back in.

The rear brake write-up on this site was invaluable. Thank you to the contributors! Those rear pads are a serious frickin' pita.

I bedded the brakes that same night and then did a BMW Car Control Clinic a few days later. The brakes are awesome. The car stops so much better now that we got rid of the OEM rears and they are matched the friction that the front brakes produce with the Axxis Ultimates up there also.

I'm definitely very satisfied with this brake setup

Here they are installed on my car. The cross hatching and machining of the rotors are pretty sweet looking.

 

How was the amount of dust that was produced? I have heard the Ultimates referred to as "Dustilmates" by many people. Sounds like they worked well for you, thats good. What track did you run?

 

Not sure what "Dustilmates" means...

Brake dust is a little less than OEM. However the dust comes off MUCH easier than the dust from OEM brake pads. A good spray of water from the hose will get most of it off the wheels and calipers then a light brushing gets the rest off. The dust from the OEM pads would just stick to the rims and was a serious biatch to clean. Even the insides of the wheels stay pretty clean. Just a spray from the hose is enough to get it off.

I'm currently running Cali tracks such as Thunderhill, Infineon, Buttonwillow, Streets of Willow and will eventually do Laguna Seca. Have run Lime Rock, Watkins Glen and the old Bridgehampton back when I lived on the east coast. I also raced a few different Kart tracks when I used to race karts but that is a different story.

 

Nice lists of tracks, I'm jealous. It sounds like you have a good set up for your car. I haven't read much about the performance of the Axxis pads and found your write up very informative, thank you for the detail involved.
The "dustilmates" reference is just something I have heard them called by other users of the Ultimates, thats all. I have never tried them and, like I said, your info was very usefull.

Thanks.
Minimike1

 

^The list of tracks just means I'm getting old and have been having a fun life pursuing the things I enjoy. I understand the "dustilmates" reference now. Guess I'm a bit slow with some things.

I figured I'd post about this option for brakes since everyone seems to jump on the Hawk and Mintex bandwagon. I use Hawks on my other car and they are OK but I enjoyed the Axxis Ultimates more. I'm really liking the brake rotors though. They look great and are cheap.

 

Hey PG3!
Thanks again. Your not getting old (that is a word that shouldn't be allowed on the forum- like street racing!), you are getting more experienced!
I agree about the Hawk and Mintex bandwagon, I don't like them simply because they ruin wheels! Had the dust get wet at an autocross and it hardened on the wheels and ruined them. If I had wanted it off, I would have had to chip it off. They are officially sacrificed to track and autocross use now. Keep on having fun!

 

Hey PG3,
Your setup is exactly what I will be installing on my '03 MC next week. I also got mine from Zeckhausen. Dave Z. has always given me good advice and helpful suggestions.

 

Yep. Dave Z is a great guy. Excellent service all the time. Also a good person to know if you track your car and need advice on brakes.

 

After receiving vastly underperforming replacement rotors and pads from my local shop (I didn't know there could be such a drastic difference between off the shelf parts and OEM), I've decided to go with Stop Tech Street Performance pads and Centric Premium rotors. Ordered them from Zeckhausen Racing - they were helpful in figuring out what I needed, not what they wanted me to buy.

Only need the rears done now but going to have fronts done too. Will follow up with initial impressions once all the work is set.