Which pads wear rotors the least?

[tjswarbrick]

My 135i convertible is my Daily Driver. Also my grand-tourer/canyon carver/backroads dancer/weekend plaything/very occasional track toy (for fun and education - not so much lap times. Though an autocross attempt would be nice.)

64k mi on the clock. I've owned it for almost 20k, and have no history from before then.
According to my in-car computer brain thing, I've got about 1900 miles left on the rear pads, but about 23,000 left on the fronts. (Yes, more than 10x as much. Leads me to believe fronts have been done once, and rears have not.)
Most recent indy inspection confirms similar.

So, I'm in need of rear pads. I think it is best to do fronts at the same time to keep pad material equivalent and F/R balance intact. I plan to DIY, and really don't want to replace the front rotors as yet. I also don't want the front rotors to give out any time soon.

I recently upgraded FSB, RSFB, Springs and Dampers, and on Friday will finally ditch the RFT's for MPSS - and add JB Stage 1.

Less dust would be nice. As would longer life and increased fade resistance. I cannot tolerate squealing, grinding, or excessive noise. After driving previous Mercedes and family-member Camrys and a Nissan, initial bite of the stock pads doesn't seem excessive and modulation feels good to me. But a slight reduction in bite to improve feel and modulation would be acceptable to desirable - as long as it does not compromise safety or ultimate stopping power.

Most of my favorite vendors have a favorite pad they recommend, to the exclusion of all others.

So, which pads would suit my needs, preferences, and driving situations best?
EBC Redstuff?
Hawk HPS?
Stoptech Street Performance?
Cool Carbon?
Other?

Thanks for the help!
- Tom

[tjswarbrick]

Well, you guys are absolutely no help.
My local guy who carries HPS said that ST Street Performance are just as good, but typically cost less. But he didn't have 'em on his site.
StopTech changed the name from Street Performance to Sport (and created a new line of "street.")

I found a screamin' deal on the Sports, so those are on the way. Along with front & rear Bowa sensors.

[Ginger_Extract]

All of the choices above, with the exception of the EBC, are junk. Redstuff is the only one of those that could be considered an upgrade from OEM BMW pads.

- HPS and HP+ are noisy and will fade just as soon as OEM. their only benefit is that they are cheap and feel more linear than OEM.
- Cool Carbons are also no better than OEM in regards to sporting driving. Many reports of vibrations under braking with these as well.
- I snapped a new set of Stoptechs IN HALF at my first track day (read: I was going slow as fuck).

[blinded]

Originally Posted by Ginger_Extract

All of the choices above, with the exception of the EBC, are junk. Redstuff is the only one of those that could be considered an upgrade from OEM BMW pads.

- HPS and HP+ are noisy and will fade just as soon as OEM. their only benefit is that they are cheap and feel more linear than OEM.
- Cool Carbons are also no better than OEM in regards to sporting driving. Many reports of vibrations under braking with these as well.
- I snapped a new set of Stoptechs IN HALF at my first track day (read: I was going slow as fuck).

Except op sounds like he wants a street pad and specifically mentioned not wanting noise or dust. I wanted the same and gave the cool carbons a shot. I'm glad I did.

[tjswarbrick]

Interesting.
Thanks for the input!
I've seen super positive and super negative on pretty much each of them. So I guess I'll find out for myself.

The StopTech "Sports" I just ordered arrived today! Except they aren't sports - they're still marked as Street Performance.
They guys who did my tires said I still have "plenty" on the stock rears so I probably won't install 'em for a while yet.

[Gangplank]

Cool carbons on my car currently. Daily driver. Happy with them. Lower dust, stop just fine. Only real difference is fist stop when cold.

[135ivert]

I might be the only one who hates the amount of dust from my Cool Carbons. I get about the same amount (if not more) of dust from my rear StopTech Slotted/Cool Carbon rears as I do from my front OEM setup. They do stop very well, however.

[Gangplank]

Maybe it's the combo. I'm running the cool carbon & Zimmerman/oem rotors.

[CRYA]

I did a little research, decided I didn't want to get bogged down in minutia, and just yesterday slapped on some Red Stuffs in the rears. I'm no expert, no track star, so don't count on me for any perspective, just weighing in on what I did.

[tjswarbrick]

Thanks guys.
Unless I find excessive wear or warpage I'm sticking with factory rotors.
Will see how the StopTech's do.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Interesting.
Thanks for the input!
I've seen super positive and super negative on pretty much each of them. So I guess I'll find out for myself.

The StopTech "Sports" I just ordered arrived today! Except they aren't sports - they're still marked as Street Performance.
They guys who did my tires said I still have "plenty" on the stock rears so I probably won't install 'em for a while yet.

Sport is formerly known as Street Sport. Just a different name.

In stock just in case if you guys are curious.

[tjswarbrick]

Thanks Harold.
Aren't the new Sport formerly known as "Street Performance"?
Or did I read that wrong?

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Thanks Harold.
Aren't the new Sport formerly known as "Street Performance"?
Or did I read that wrong?

Right, Street Performance, not Street Sport.