Kevinkay got to the bottom of the issue, calipers sticking.

Pic Kevinkay PMed me.......

Figured I would update wear numbers after over 2 years and 35k miles.

Rotors new were 1.2, now measure 1.17 (.03 thinner), that's only .015 per rotor side.

To say Cool Carbon pads are rotor friendly is a MASSIVE understatement!!!

The pad thickness is over 5/16" (.312). Didn't measure pad t'ness new but would estimate this is around 1/2 pad life.

I have no idea how some have stated excessive dusting, when so little rotor/pad material has worn in 35k miles.

When these had 6 months and around 10k miles, I found the 1.2 rotor thickness was down to 1.185 (.0075 worn per rotor side). That 1.2 new measurement was taken on the soft Zinc plating surface which wore off during initial bedding, so actual rotor wear was lower then .0075 in 10k miles.

I would put this rotor/pad combo up against ANYTHING short of carbon/ceramic pads/rotors for longevity.

To second TiAgX5's sentiments....

Sunday, I just put a new set of CC's on my rears because I like them so much up front. The feel is just fantastic (for me anyway).

I haven't measured the fronts, but I'd wager they have at least 1/3 life left after about 18k miles. I am thinking I'll probably get 30k-30k out of them.

Dusting is such that...well...I just don't notice it. That's the big difference. I have always noticed the brake dust and it drove me nuts.

It requires a LONG absence from the car wash before the CC dust starts yelling at you to wash it off.

The other big thing about these is...I have stopped wanting to shop/try/compare other brake pads. When I get my next set, I won't look for anything else. That's saying a lot.

I used the cool carbons, but i have to keep flushing them to clear the dust otherwise they squeal, i used the disk brake quiet on the pads, might switch back to oem pads.

This is great info getting ready for brake job #2.

:iagree:

I was impressed by the CC pads on the E46 (with track days each year), the E53 results have made pad search a thing of the past!

:iagree: on the cool carbon pads.

My M5 will love them soon.....

wow, what a huge difference I experience with these Cool Carbon's and new Centric rotors.
still LOTS of brake dust, more grey/brown instead of dark grey/black of OE.

And I believe because of temps up here (being cooler than placer closer to Equator), they do NOT stop nearly as well as OE does for me.
I have to ride the brakes to heat them up to get them to be useful.

I also find it a bit foolish that after every 6 months you should do the "break in" procedure again. I never needed that for OE pads.

Just saying my experience with this brake set-up in the Cooler area North of the 49th (yet still a warm city compared to MUCH of Canada).

The process every few thousand miles is to re-establish the transfer layer. I choose to re-establish the transfer layer to keep rotor wear to a minimum and maintain maximum brake performance (per Cool Carbons break-in/use instructions). Those who choose NOT to do it, expect increased rotor wear and less them optimum performance.

The OE pads are abrasive and have more bite cold, the tradeoff is excessive rotor wear and additional dust.

If I lived in a cold climate and/or where roads are treated for ice/snow (with materials that rust friction surfaces of rotors), I would stick with OE, and solid rotors.

From page 4 of this thread...."These are well suited to drilled/slotted rotors, hollow ceramic with high grade brass. Semi-metallic pads overtemp at around 550deg F and tear rotors/cheesegrate. The Cool Carbons major materials have greater thermal stability, allowing for pad contact temps of over 1100 deg F while not tearing up rotors/cheesegrating."

As stated in the first few pages of this thread, this all comes down to climate and usage. These are warm temp/heavy towing/track use pads.