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      01-05-2019, 12:26 PM   #1
White340
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Akebono Euro vs. EBC Red Stuff vs. Power Stop Z23

Hi,

So I've been doing some research on affordable low dust street pads for a 18 M3 ZCP and have narrowed it down to the Akebono Euro, EBC Red Stuff and Power Stop Z23.

I know there are tradeoffs when swapping from OEM pads which have good bite and stopping power for both street and track uses to those that are low dust ceramic pads, but for what I use it for (purely street use), I am willing to make the sacrifice so long as street braking isn't compromised.

I'm looking for opinions from members on pro's and cons of each pad. The cheapest seem to be the Powerstop Z23 pads which can be had for under $100.

The EBC pads will cost just under $250 but seem to have good reviews here.

I didn't find much info on the Akebono Euro pads on the forum but on other cars people seem to like them (Audi guys for instance). These cost around $175.

Thanks!
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      01-05-2019, 01:47 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by White340 View Post
Hi,

So I've been doing some research on affordable low dust street pads for a 18 M3 ZCP and have narrowed it down to the Akebono Euro, EBC Red Stuff and Power Stop Z23.

I know there are tradeoffs when swapping from OEM pads which have good bite and stopping power for both street and track uses to those that are low dust ceramic pads, but for what I use it for (purely street use), I am willing to make the sacrifice so long as street braking isn't compromised.

I'm looking for opinions from members on pro's and cons of each pad. The cheapest seem to be the Powerstop Z23 pads which can be had for under $100.

The EBC pads will cost just under $250 but seem to have good reviews here.

I didn't find much info on the Akebono Euro pads on the forum but on other cars people seem to like them (Audi guys for instance). These cost around $175.

Thanks!
I'd throw in Stoptech Street pads in the mix as well. Low dust, cheap and surprisingly good.

I did 10 hard stops from 60-70 to bed them in and paired with PS4S, they stopped very well with no little fade even though they were smoking lol.

Stoptech Sport pads are good as well but they dust like crazy. More of a performance oriented pad.
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      01-09-2019, 11:40 AM   #3
swifty
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hellokitty View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by White340 View Post
Hi,

So I've been doing some research on affordable low dust street pads for a 18 M3 ZCP and have narrowed it down to the Akebono Euro, EBC Red Stuff and Power Stop Z23.

I know there are tradeoffs when swapping from OEM pads which have good bite and stopping power for both street and track uses to those that are low dust ceramic pads, but for what I use it for (purely street use), I am willing to make the sacrifice so long as street braking isn't compromised.

I'm looking for opinions from members on pro's and cons of each pad. The cheapest seem to be the Powerstop Z23 pads which can be had for under $100.

The EBC pads will cost just under $250 but seem to have good reviews here.

I didn't find much info on the Akebono Euro pads on the forum but on other cars people seem to like them (Audi guys for instance). These cost around $175.

Thanks!
I'd throw in Stoptech Street pads in the mix as well. Low dust, cheap and surprisingly good.

I did 10 hard stops from 60-70 to bed them in and paired with PS4S, they stopped very well with no little fade even though they were smoking lol.

Stoptech Sport pads are good as well but they dust like crazy. More of a performance oriented pad.
How is the initial bite compared to stock and any noise?
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      01-09-2019, 11:31 PM   #4
hellokitty
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swifty View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by hellokitty View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by White340 View Post
Hi,

So I've been doing some research on affordable low dust street pads for a 18 M3 ZCP and have narrowed it down to the Akebono Euro, EBC Red Stuff and Power Stop Z23.

I know there are tradeoffs when swapping from OEM pads which have good bite and stopping power for both street and track uses to those that are low dust ceramic pads, but for what I use it for (purely street use), I am willing to make the sacrifice so long as street braking isn't compromised.

I'm looking for opinions from members on pro's and cons of each pad. The cheapest seem to be the Powerstop Z23 pads which can be had for under $100.

The EBC pads will cost just under $250 but seem to have good reviews here.

I didn't find much info on the Akebono Euro pads on the forum but on other cars people seem to like them (Audi guys for instance). These cost around $175.

Thanks!
I'd throw in Stoptech Street pads in the mix as well. Low dust, cheap and surprisingly good.

I did 10 hard stops from 60-70 to bed them in and paired with PS4S, they stopped very well with no little fade even though they were smoking lol.

Stoptech Sport pads are good as well but they dust like crazy. More of a performance oriented pad.
How is the initial bite compared to stock and any noise?
Stock initial bite will be better. That's the sacrifice you have to make with going with low dust pads. No noise.
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      04-05-2020, 04:32 PM   #5
White340
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Hi,

Last year I changed my stock pads (<1k on them at the time) all around to Powerstop Z23 pads, because I couldn't stand the brake dust. To change things up I just switched to the Akebono pads up front.

Quick Z23 pad review:
Initial bite : Definitely not as good as the stock pads, but you get used to them
Overall braking : Same comment as above but overall satisfied with them because it DRASTICALLY reduced the brake pad dust on my wheels.
Noise : I didn't have much of a problem with noise on these pads. Occasionally they would make a metallic screeching sound when backing up but it wasn't terrible. There was always a clunk though when shifting from D to R or R to D as the brake pads shifted. This was a little embarrassing but overall not a big deal.
Wear : This will vary for everyone depending on driving habits, but with just under 8k miles on the pads they only wore 1mm which is not bad.

Akebono EURO Ceramic pads review:
Initial bite : TBD
Overall braking : TBD
Noise : TBD
Wear : TBD

The Akebonos say you don't need to break in the pad. I did try to anyway as i figured it couldn't hurt (or am I wrong?).

There are a couple things that worry me:
1) I didn't loosen the the brake reservoir cap. Is this a big deal? I didn't have to push the piston in too much anyway. Would there be any issue of air in the system as a result (I suspect not but you'll see below why I'm asking).
2) After doing a few hard acceleration and brake runs I heard a loud moaning sound coming from the brakes. I let off the brake pedal and drove for a minute before braking again. I couldn't replicate the sound after this. Should I be worried?
3) I did experience brake fade after all these hard runs when coming to a low speed stop. It was a little worrying but it could also be the brakes were very hot. I probably did 3-4 70-20 runs in a row before this. Is it brake fade or did I somehow get air into the system? This worries me the most.
4) When I got home, I heard a boiling sound coming from around the front drivers side wheel. What could this have been? I touched the brake reservoir a minute later and it wasn't hot (didn't open it though).

Thanks
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      04-06-2020, 07:42 AM   #6
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Low dust brake pads

I use Akebono on several cars but not F80. I have Redstuff on one car (E88 128i).

Akebono takes a while to break in. I drive all pads normally. Only a couple 50 to 30 stops, then drive essentially normal. All pads will break in over time. If switching pads on same rotors, cleaning them is a good idea, or use new rotors.
Akebono improve with mileage (say 1.5k) or you just get used to them. I have them on E53 X5, and they were a disappointment for braking compared to Cool Carbon. The dust of Cool Carbon is for me worse than stock, and much worse than Hawk HPS, so I put on Akebono. For this car I am not satisfied with Akebono so plan to try Redstuff next.

Redstuff works better than BMW ceramic that came on 128. However the dust is also worse. Braking feels stronger than BMW ceramic.

On F80 I run Yellowstuff, dust is about the same as stock pads, but overall I think performance is better. However the weights on these pads may hit 18" wheels as they are way too large, so I cut them off with no ill effects. For this car I want good to great brakes, so for now I suffer the dust.
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      04-07-2020, 07:29 AM   #7
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I just swapped in Powerstop z23 brake pads all around. I had 71k miles on my stock rotors and pads and the pads were getting low on the rear of the car (oddly enough). Rotors are fine, per dealer inspection when I was in at 70k miles. So I kept the stock rotors.

First off the pads were high quality and great fit. I greased the back with some wheel bearing grease I've had forever.

Break-in went very smooth. I followed their instructions of 5 HARD brakings from 40-10mph followed by 5 moderate brakings 35-5mph followed by 5 minutes of easy driving with no stopping. By the 5th hard braking, the bite felt good and the modulation was starting to feel right.

I've put ~50 miles on them now with some spirited back road driving. Not alot of hard braking to be fair, more just normal driving for me but some braking from high speeds. Feels extremely similar to stock. MAYBE a tad less initial bite, but it's very natural feeling and builds very progressive pressure.

As of 50 miles since install, I have no brake dust to see on the wheels....and I consider break in to be a time of usually intense dusting.

Last notes: Zero squeal thus far which is always a concern installing on existing rotors. Zero vibrations or weird sounds. Honestly if I didn't know they weren't stock pads, I don't know I'd be able to tell they weren't stock pads in daily driving.
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