ceramic brakes on front only

[omodos]

Hello all, ok my saga with my alloys being fouled by brake dust and making me contemplate changing em to an easier to clean setup, brought up some ideas in a previous post, many say that ceramic pads do not generate as much dust if any as the standard type.

my query is I have set of 4 new rotors , can I run ceramic pads on the front and stick to the original on the rear as the rear doesn't foul as much as the rear....?

[X5SND]

OEM pads are 'stickier' than ceramics; for that reason I wouldn't recommend it.

If you plan to use ceramics...use then on all 4 corners.

[ake53]

do what i did and paint your rims black. no brake dust visible and no cleaning ever necessary. sometimes brakes will squeak. -because race car

[AquilaBMW]

I wouldn't recommend Ceramic pads for street use. For them to have significant and to perform at optimum, they need to generate a lot of heat. Compared to OEM pads and such, you will experience mushy braking and increased braking distance. If you are that worried about brake dust, you might try Akebono pads. Again, they don't have as much bite as something like Ferodo or Jurid (OEM).

Alternatively, wash your wheels and wax them. Then just rinse them frequently.

[tmv]

2nd on Akebono pads.

[JCL]

I think there is some confusion between a ceramic compound pad, and a full ceramic brake used on a race car or very high performance sports car.

A ceramic compound is a variation on an organic pad. I used them successfully for years (Axxis Deluxe) and in fact Akebono and others sell them too. These aren't a full ceramic, they are simply using a ceramic compound and copper. They dust less, and the dust tends to be tan coloured instead of black, so it is less visible.

If it was a street compound pad like the Axxis Deluxe, I would try and do four wheels, but would mix them if necessary (by axle).

If it was an aggressive ceramic race pad, I wouldn't use them on the street.

For compounds between those two extremes it would depend on the specific pad.

[srmmmm]

I've been running Akebono "Euro" series pads for 170,000 miles on my X5 and 30,000 miles on my 325i. Brembo rotors were installed at the same time and there has been no measurable rotor wear at all, and virtually no dust either. The Akebonos don't have quite the initial grab that OEM pads do, but I think that actually makes them easier to modulate. Total grip seems to be equal to OEM - you can still get into the ABS on a panic stop just as easy. But you definitely want to do all four wheels at the same time.

[X5SND]

Originally Posted by tmv

2nd on Akebono pads.

Put me on that list as well. I switched to them after my first set of OEM pads were done back in early 07 if I recall; been using them since.