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Upgrading brake pads to ceramic

39K views 91 replies 30 participants last post by  pfrpfr 
#1 ·
So, I promise I searched first, and found/read a number of threads related to ceramic brakes. Once again, I learned a lot from those of you that are much wiser than I am, and I thank you. BUT, I did not find an answer to what I believe is a simple question.

Can one simply swap out the original OEM brake pads for aftermarket ceramic pads, and NOT change the rotors? True confession, I am primarily considering this change for the drastic reduction in brake dust, not necessarily for any performance upgrades.
 
#3 ·
Thanks @F16HTON, but "possible" and "recommended" are 2 different things to me. I want to be sure it is not going to cause any trouble if I don't upgrade both. It seems like there are a few folks that recommend slotted rotors or some other variation that will dissipate the heat faster, but I am not tracking or anything - maybe just a "spirited" drive on occasion. My primary desire is to minimize the brake bust.
 
#6 ·
I would highly recommend Centric Posi Quiet Ceramic Pads and Centric Carbon Alloy Rotors to anyone not doing track work.

I recently installed them on our X5 and was delighted with the results. Not only did it substantially reduce the brake dust, the brake pedal feel is significantly better versus the OEM BMW brakes.

These are not bargain basement brake parts, but you can get a complete set of pads and rotors for under $400 at rockauto.com, and these are widely available elsewhere too.
 
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#7 ·
Ceramic pads don't reduce brake dust its just that the dust they produce is lighter and doesn't stick to the wheels like metallic pads. I've twice changed over to ceramic pads and it was because of the dust factor, on a Dodge Durango and a Ford F-150. In both cases the brake feel was reduced, these were high quality pads. The pads feel softer during the first part of the pedal pressure but I wasn't driving these vehicles in the manner I drive my Macan. By softer I mean poor performance where the difference of a second at 40 mph in a city street situation could result in an accident. When it comes to stopping distance from higher speeds I think both types of pads are a close match. I'd never put ceramic pads on my Macan. Recently on my Range Rover Evoque I changed the worn factory dusty/noisy metallic pads to EBC green pads, also metallic type pads. The factory pads stopped very well. The EBC green pads stopped even better with considerably less dust. EBC makes both the green pads and what I believe is a higher performance track/street yellow pad for the Macan. See carid.com thats where I purchased mine at a good price. EBC is made in England. They also make red ceramic pads but don't recommend the ceramics for performance driving. Also they have rotor/pad kits with slotted and drilled rotors as different performance options.
 
#12 ·
Couldn't find EBC Green pads (street) for the GTS. Since GTS brakes are Turbo front/S rear, do you have the pn and where to get them? I couldn't find those.
 
#18 ·
Ceramic pads on soft German iron/steel rotors always feel "squishy" to me. The engineers at VW/Porsche/Audi like to go with a hard steel pad and a soft rotor. The brake dust is not from the pad typically, but rather the rotor.

Wheel wax, Opticoat, C-quartz, etc, coating the wheels will allow the dust to wash right off with no residue.

"High carbon rotors are now used to counter the noise issue, because of their ability to dampen sound. The “softer” carbon-rich alloy increases the friction couple, working more aggressively with the brake pad to stop the car quicker, and in a more controlled manner. That being said, the high friction interface also produces more wear on the pad and rotor, which produces more dust."

Frank Filipponio, Director of Communications for Centric Parts, one of the largest American aftermarket brake and clutch comp...
 
#25 ·
I have the car and wheels ceramic coated and yes, the dust does wash off a bit easier with a strong spray, but it's not quite the same. If I have to spray, I have to worry about spots. I would rather have the finer particulate that doesn't tend to stick (as much).

With the coating, I still get the dust on my wheels as well as I've noticed a focused concentration on the TINY gap between the doors and inside the lip at this same gap. This location is difficult to impossible to spray and requires manual removal, increasing the chance of scratching/swirls with the oh-so-close-to-sandpaper brake dust.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Resurrecting this old threat as I continue research on Ceramic Pad upgrade options for use with OEM Steel rotors.

Do we have any other members who have done such ? What Ceramic pads are preffred thsee day ?
Centeric, HAWK, Stoptech ?
I am particularly interested in Turbo/GTS owners experience with the offset pad sizes.
I just can’t stand this brake dust, no tracking here.
 
#27 ·
I am in the same boat. I’m at 56k miles on original pads and rotors, still have life left but starting to look around. My only experience with ceramic pads was on my 2004 R32 I had years ago, and I hated the pedal fee with them and only kept them a short time. I’m worried about less dust but less braking power. I would love something with a little less dust but still good braking, but I’m not sure that exists. I have a GTS, so Turbo front and S rears for me. I also was looking at upgrading my rears to the turbo brakes but not sure it would make much of a difference to be worth it.
 
#30 ·
I put Hawk Performance Ceramic pads on the front of my wife's '17 GTS about a year ago. Ordered from Tire Rack.

We like the pedal feel better than the stock pads. They are less grabby when you first touch the brake pedal but seem to brake as well as stock when you really mash the pedal. With the stock pads, the wheel would look dirty after a week. With these, they stay looking pretty decent for a month or so.

Unfortunately, Hawk doesn't make this pad for the rear of the GTS. I ordered StopTech street pads for the rear, which fit according to Tire Rack and StopTech, but when I got them, they were the correct p/n, but different size that the OEM pads. I wound up putting in a metallic pad I bought at a local retail parts place which did have the correct dimensions.
 
#31 ·
The problem with your Macan and mine (Turbo model), the rear caliper sizes are the issue. Notice it's not hard to find pads for the front but not the rear? The only thing I see is EBC Yellow Stuff. I wish they had Red Stuff for ours but unfortunately they do not. My OCD brain will not let me run a different pad from to rear if not the exact same kind. Fortunately, I have the 20" gray Spyder wheels, so the dust doesn't show that much.

But, tell you what. My wife's 2020 C63S coupe with flat black wheels? Ugly, ugly dust. It sticks to the wheels and has a high iron content so it coats the wheels reddish brown. Lots of manual labor till I get the pads changed out with either Porterfield or EBC Yellow Stuff.
 
#35 ·
Ever since my wife got her 2016 Macan S (in 2015, 3.0 liter, 340 hp), I have been looking for good ceramic brake pads with the correct fitment to replace the dusty OEM pads. I have Hawk ceramic pads on my 997 and I love them. It seems everyone has Rear pads, but no one has Front pads..

2-3 years ago, Tire Rack offered both, and I ordered them. Then TR called me to say the Fronts were delayed. A couple of months later, they called to cancel the order as Hawk was not going to supply the Fronts at all. As of this morning, TR does not sell any Front ceramic brake pads for this car.

Where can I get a good set of ceramic brake pads for my wife's car. What make and part #? Five years of constantly cleaning brake dust off the wheels and having them get dirty 10 minutes later is taking a lot of joy out of owning the Macan S.
 
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#36 ·
Subscribed.
I'm retired and just bought a 15 Macan Turbo for errands and rainy car events, and looking for the same.
I'm about to install ceramic pads on my 2017 911 ERE C2S/X51 used for sunny day blasts and car events, for the same reason.
 
#50 · (Edited)
I don't think that's true....although admittedly, most websites are horrible with their search results. And, you might have to buy the front pads from one website, and source the rear pads from a different website.

Perhaps you saw this recent post in another thread, which I'll Quote and link below, which attempts to list the part numbers for various ceramic pads for the GTS:

Help with GTS brakes

....Here's the data for the gen 1 Macan GTS's that I have accumulated so far.......

As of 12/24/2020, THIS INFORMATION IS UNVERIFIED AND COULD BE 100% WRONG. Buyer Beware.

Centric Posi Quiet Ceramic:

F: 105.13490
R: 105.15470

(note: change 105.* to 104.* for the corresponding Posi Quiet Semi Metallic pads - they are not ceramic)

Hawk Performance Ceramic:
F: HB720Z.575 or HB761Z.593
R: HB823Z.652
HB720Z.575 may be for the S fronts - @JustinCase just installed them on his 2016 S
(note: change Z to B for the corresponding Hawk 5.0 High Performance pads - I am not sure these are Ceramic, and not sure how much dust they make)

Akebono Euro Ceramic:
F: cannot find one - even tried using the numbering below from Power Stop to look for EUR1349 - nope
R: EUR1547

PowerStop Z23 Evolution Sport: ("carbon fiber/ceramic" - yep - that's what they say)
F: Z23-1349
R: Z23-1547
(note: there are Z16, Z17, Z26, and probably others that all list "Ceramic", but the Evolution Sport seems to be the sweet spot, but change the Z23 to whatever Z you want to check in the part number)

You can use the above parts list for the front brakes on a Gen. 1 Turbo, as the Turbo and GTS fronts are the same size, as most folks know. For the Turbo rear brakes, those will have to be looked-up separately.

The Base and Macan S share the same rear caliper body as the GTS. Only the paint color is different. Consequently, the rear pads listed above will work on the Base and S too. Unfortunately, however, the Gen. 1 front pads seem to be unique. So if you have a Gen. 1 Base or Macan S, you'll have to look-up the part numbers for those ceramic front pads.

According to the current Configurator, the Gen. 2 Macan S front brakes have been upgraded to 360mm, which makes them the same as the GTS and Gen. 1 Turbo. So if you have a Gen. 2 Macan S, the list quoted above applies if you're looking for ceramic pads.

And if there are any TurboPP owners reading this, note that the front brake pads are the same for the Gen. 1 Turbo and TurboPP.....so you can also use the front pads numbers listed above if you're looking for low dust ceramic pads. Again, the rear pads above will not fir the Turbo or TurboPP, and will have to be looked-up separately.

A bit confusing, I know. But I hope this helps owners who want to try out some low dust ceramic pads. (y)
 
#39 ·
I don't know beans about what size rotors you actually have (I'm new to Macans), but if you poke around enough on TireRack, you can score some hits (maybe). These are the Hawk ceramic pad options they list. Seems like you could do some googling to see if the part numbers line up with your model year and rotor size.
237507
 
#40 ·
Both Hawk and Tire Rack flatly stated they did not have any Front ceramic pads for the 2016 Macan S. A couple of reputable internet retailers sell a Hawk part for the Fronts, but Hawk themselves disavow its use. Apparently there are a few people that are using this off-label part successfully. I am currently checking it out further,
 
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