I use Pagid red stuff, Very low dust, initial bite is not as much as OEM pads but overall stopping distance seems to be less. They are combined with slotted and drilled rotors which some say increases stopping distance on any brake pad choice.

Pagid pads on mine currently, no complaints other than I want to get some Centric High Carbon rotors on the X5 for the zinc coating on the nonswept surfaces, and may swap out for a different set of pads at that time.

Oh I was well aware of the discussion, Heck I read it a few times as it was a great thread.
I just made a mistake in an assumption...
I mistook the "initial bite" as the first time you were driving that day/period and then they were fine every brake after (ie pads warmed up a bit). But I guess in Canada with fall and winter coming the brake rotors/pads cool too fast in between braking that the metal really looses initial bite. I can imagine these pads being great in a warm climate year around...

yeppers. did the DOT 4 brake flush and was a good idea too cause the stuff that came out was a dark yellow and not the clear yellow that I put in.

Brake pedal feels as tho I need to press further to floor to get same stopping power as OE and it lacks the abrupt stopping force (Which I am used to and personally love).

I tried different rotors/pad combinations on all my former and actual BMW's I own.
While Akebono had zero dust, braking performance left to be desired, and this is very mildly put.

The best combination I achieved with minimum brake dust and almost OE braking performance are Centric Cryogenic rotors combined with Hawk Performance (Ceramic) Street pads.

If I were to compare them, no scientific evidence (measuring braking distances, etc), just using the butt dyno in reverse and using the OE setup as 100% braking and 100% dusting, in my opinion they would fare like this:

BMW OE Brakes > Centric Premium Rotors + Hawk Performance Street Pads - I would rate these between 98%-95% stopping power compared to OE and maybe 5% dusting > Zimmerman Cross Drilled Rotors + Akebono Ceramic Euro Ultra Premium - I would rate these below 50% stopping power (especially with cold brakes) compared to OE and maybe 1% dusting.

However, one of my friends used the Akebonos on a e53 with plain OE rotors, and his assessment was they would bite about 70%-75% compared to OE.

I would not recommend Akebono not even to my enemy.

^Was the ABS also bled? Just throwing ideas out there

Dorin for what its worth, I emailed Dave Z @ Zeckhausen Racing a few months back and he said although he sells the Hawk Ceramics he does NOT necessarily recommend them, due to reduced braking power.

IMO, excluding towing and racing, as long as the combination you choose still activates ABS in a panic stop you are fine. The easiest way to decrease stopping distance is to change to tires that don't engage the ABS system with that same combination.

Have them on the X, and although skeptic when I installed them, I was pleasantly surprised with their braking ability. Keep in mind, I had the Akebonos still on the e39 installed. Then, I installed the Hawks & Centric on the e46ci, and again, it was night & day between the Ake setup of the e39 & the Hawk setup of the e46. Besides, I had to take the e46 for a spin right after I changed brakes, so the "comparo" was really fresh.
These cars are driven almost daily in the city, no race tracks, so in my opinion they are adequate for this task. If you plan racing the car, then I would totally agree with Dave.

^I guess if you are comparing to Akebono's then they are probably great. The Akebono's I have heard great things about dust, but not braking.

I had the Akebono Euro Ceramics on the E46 for about 2k miles, removed them and installed Cool Carbon.

The Akebono needed a heavy foot, had poor modulation, and started fading after 6 or 7 hard stops from 90mph back to back at 95deg F (on the E46). Had squeaks/squeals too!

The Cool Carbons had zero fade in 12 back to back stops from 90mph at 95deg F.