I would say a Marketing person at AutoZone's HQ determined that "DuraLast" sounded like a word that means it last a long time and ran with it. You are correct that it is all white boxed product, now packaged for AutoZone as the volume has increased to the point that private branding is feasible. Can you say China? As they become more of a player in the auto parts world, more and more manufacturers will sell them products under the AutoZone brand. Their products are 50% better today than a few years ago.

Are things made in "China" really that bad? After all most Apple products are "Made in China". When Obama asked Steve Job if he could bring back some manufacturing jobs to America, Steve's immediate reply was "Not Gonna Happen".

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...ICLE/301239999

Nope, Things that are made in China do not have to be poorly manufactured by source. Only the ones made by poor design copying (Re-engineering), lack of quality controls (variances in materials and fit and finish part to part over the run), and poor controls over sourcing high end subparts. All of this is known as third world parts. Some are great, others not so much.

In a "white box world" of no branding it means "no Name? No Blame!

The Autozone customer is a relative simple DIY, primary driven on price on the top selling units, and is willing to except (purchase) parts based on the fact they fit and will function NOT on longevity or life span. Just look at some of the posters here on our forum saying AutoZone price is $xx.00. These same parts are all over Amazon at really cheap prices, if that is a deciding factor for purchasing.

Major brands are very unlikely to private label because it dilutes their market share and once that takes place it is only a matter of time that buyer will directly source their products from a manufacture that makes but does not market product.

When that happens the volume loss will be a critical issue and the low cost private labeler a competitor, reduce brand share and critical shelf space. Some will make an exception if the product is made in a plant they own as it decreases the cost of their own products but that is short term thinking that will bite them in the butt.

Historically, when the manufacturing of product is moved to the low cost producer there is a quality issue for some length of time. That happened in Japan, Korea etc. China is no exception. Japan and Korea have become reliable high quality producers. Some Chinese manufactures have been making products long enough and buyers have instituted the necessary quality control parameters that they have become great sources for product.

However, just as happened in Japan and Korea, new manufacturers pop up that are either in lower cost areas or price the product lower to get the business. What that does is create a new cycle of reaching reliable quality. As Trump would say China is HUUGE, HUUGE in comparison to low cost producers of the past. That means China will take much longer to reach a point that China is generally considered a high quality producer.

Companies like Apple that have built their brand image on innovation and great quality are masters at evaluating the potential of a new source and excellent at implementing controls tailored to that evaluation. That is extremely difficult to master and costly to do. Innovation is a key factor for Apple as that allows them to price to competition or set their own higher price point.

Apple, in particular has put HUUGE pressure on themselves to continually pull it off as stock is impacted by quarter to quarter performance and to the same quarter last year. Innovation is a time eater and Apple 'obsoletes' new product in a very short cycle to continue to show better results.

You probably don't care for all of this or stopped reading by now. The reason for the blah blah blah is that the cornerstone for the BMW brand is also innovation, quality and as a driver's car. For a lot of reasons BMW is not an Apples to Apples comparison to Apple. But, their selling prices are seldom governed by a competitor and to a major extent U.S. quality control procedures came from Germany. I can't envision that talent is not applied to German out sourcing. Right or wrong, I am not at all concerned about the quality of a BMW part sourced in China, India or other lower cost countries. I do have some concern with OEM products. Even though BMW parts are made in the same plant that doesn't mean they are made to the same specs. It is something I consider but like most of us I seldom buy parts directly from the dealer when lower priced OEM alternatives are available. I'm going to take a nap now.

FYI-There are far more ethics in marketing that many give credit. It is not unusual that marketing drives improved quality and certainly is the major force driving innovation.

Fwiw I have to put heat into the cool carbons on my e30 and they squeal a lot in the city. I just use them during track season

Josh, I'm hoping thats not the case for the e53 as its a MUCH heavier vehicle and so the pads will probably heat up faster adn they better stop just as fast as the OE pads or they are a waste of my time...

I was thinking that too. The e30 is pretty light on it's feet and it doesn't help that I use downshifting to decelerate. But they are awesome when you are seriously pumping heat into them and they hold up well (ateast on my e30)

FWIW, the BMW OE lines are braided SS with rubber coating, don't expect a firmer pedal.

Be sure to do a full bedding...........

Cool Carbon Performance Brake Pads

As for the squeaking, the bedding link above clearly states....."Pads driven primarily on street will require periodic more aggressive braking, to replenish/maintain the transfer layer of material on the rotor surface".

I've run the CC pads for 2 yrs now, had to "maintain" the transfer layer every 6 mos or so, no squeaking. Transfer layer discussed here.......

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...rake-pads.html

Previous comments I have read several times over is that Cool Carbon pads have a lower dust level, the initial bite is less but the overall stopping distance is also less. Squealing can be for lots of reasons, I don't recall squealing to be a problem that you should add to the minus side of consideration.

There are strong feelings about rotor choice. Not so much by brand but whether or not the rotors should be smooth, slotted, vented, or vented and slotted.

I think you have more than Cool Carbon pads to choose from if your goal is decreased stopping distance, low dust pads and rotors that look better than stock.

Cool Carbon pads seem to me to have a good reputation. The disagreement related to Cool Carbon sounds like it is which rotor are the best to maximize the perceived benefits of the pads. FYI--there are two Cool Carbon offerings, it is important to know which one members installed, and, IMO, discard input where the pads are used on other than an X5.

It's a good question to ask but a very hard one to get a clear winner. My perception is you will be happy with Cool Carbon street pads and will have to throw a dart as to what rotors you want to go with them. It's hard to challenge the logic of smooth rotors for normal street driving but many have chosen the opposite end of the spectrum and feel they made a good decision.

thank Ti. I read your thread about the CC pads and thats what was one of the contributing factors to buying them.
and appreciate the CC brake-in procedure. I use that procedure on every set of rotors/pads I install but glad to get it exactly from CC's mouth.

I'll make sure to hard brake them on the highway monthly (should be no problems for me to do that :) )