[Peterglen]

Hello folks,

Upgrading my stock brakes to the red 2nh m sport Red calipers soon.

Figured I’d get a new set of brake pads too. Never messed with anything but factory pads before.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good pad for street use mostly but also a few days of auto cross every year?

Much appreciated!

[j23]

Stock pads are more than adequate for street use and some autocross. Been there done that. Brakes simply don't get hot enough at autox to warrant track pads. In fact, that would be the last thing you want since initial/cold bite is crucial during autox. In my experience, no pads out there have better cold bite than the stock pads.

[Peterglen]

Originally Posted by j23

Stock pads are more than adequate for street use and some autocross. Been there done that. Brakes simply don't get hot enough at autox to warrant track pads. In fact, that would be the last thing you want since initial/cold bite is crucial during autox. In my experience, no pads out there have better cold bite than the stock pads.

I agree that the stock pads are excellent, as is the stock brake package as a whole.

Just wondering if there is anything a little better with perhaps less dust, but still an everyday type pad.

[KHAP13]

The Ferodo DS2500 could be an option depending on your needs.

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1741881

[j23]

Originally Posted by KHAP13

The Ferodo DS2500 could be an option depending on your needs.

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1741881

Had Ferodo 2500 on my e46 M3. Lots of squealing, slightly less dust than stock, nowhere near the initial bite of stock.

If the OP is looking for pads that offer same or similar initial bite to stock, I'm afraid they don't exist. Like, for real, they don't exist. I tried many over the years and none could match the initial bite of the OE pads.

Having said that, the only pads I personally came across that resembled the stock one were the Axxis Ultimate pads. Most pads with good initial bite will be dusty. That's the nature of the game. Some may be slightly less dusty than stock, but then you're splitting hair. Your wheels will accumulate the same amount of dust, but it may take a few more days. Either way they'll be dirty and require a wash. I personally don't mind brake dust. IMO, it makes any wheel look better lol

[Peterglen]

Originally Posted by j23

Had Ferodo 2500 on my e46 M3. Lots of squealing, slightly less dust than stock, nowhere near the initial bite of stock.

If the OP is looking for pads that offer same or similar initial bite to stock, I'm afraid they don't exist. Like, for real, they don't exist. I tried many over the years and none could match the initial bite of the OE pads.

Having said that, the only pads I personally came across that resembled the stock one were the Axxis Ultimate pads. Most pads with good initial bite will be dusty. That's the nature of the game. Some may be slightly less dusty than stock, but then you're splitting hair. Your wheels will accumulate the same amount of dust, but it may take a few more days. Either way they'll be dirty and require a wash. I personally don't mind brake dust. IMO, it makes any wheel look better lol

Cheers man! I appreciate your feedback.

The stocks are awesome. Haven’t felt the need to switch them after doing several autoX days, with a couple VIR days as well.

If I ever get real serious about abusing this car I’ll probably just get some stop techs or something.

I’m going to stick to stock then

[detroitm2]

Originally Posted by j23

Had Ferodo 2500 on my e46 M3. Lots of squealing, slightly less dust than stock, nowhere near the initial bite of stock.

If the OP is looking for pads that offer same or similar initial bite to stock, I'm afraid they don't exist. Like, for real, they don't exist. I tried many over the years and none could match the initial bite of the OE pads.

Having said that, the only pads I personally came across that resembled the stock one were the Axxis Ultimate pads. Most pads with good initial bite will be dusty. That's the nature of the game. Some may be slightly less dusty than stock, but then you're splitting hair. Your wheels will accumulate the same amount of dust, but it may take a few more days. Either way they'll be dirty and require a wash. I personally don't mind brake dust. IMO, it makes any wheel look better lol

My DS2500s make zero noise and feel pretty damn close to stock (plus less dust). Maybe it's not the same for the E46?

[Peterglen]

Originally Posted by detroitm2

My DS2500s make zero noise and feel pretty damn close to stock (plus less dust). Maybe it's not the same for the E46?

So what’s the pros over stock?

[Anthony1s]

He's also using the 2NH brakes. So makes me wonder how standard brakes with DS2500 compare to 2NH brakes with OEM pads. As well if DS2500 would be too much for street/autocross on 2NH.

[j23]

Originally Posted by detroitm2

My DS2500s make zero noise and feel pretty damn close to stock (plus less dust). Maybe it's not the same for the E46?

Could be. I couldn't shut them up, despite properly bedding them in. The loudest street pad I ever used. Dust was similar to stock. Cold bite wasn't there like stock.

[Fahidm2comp]

Endless MX72+ blows stock out of the water, can handle temps very well for fast road, works excellent when cold and doesn’t make noise for day to day use. 1 negative.. very expensive

[Peterglen]

Originally Posted by Fahidm2comp

Endless MX72+ blows stock out of the water, can handle temps very well for fast road, works excellent when cold and doesn’t make noise for day to day use. 1 negative.. very expensive

Thanks I’ll check them out

[Robbyjai]

Try Pagid RSL 29.. great pads but more for track use than anything else.. stock with your calipers is fine in my honest opinion

[detroitm2]

Originally Posted by Peterglen

So what’s the pros over stock?

Longevity, less dust, slightly better initial bite. Ability to swap over to DS1.11's for track duty without a rebed.

[jritt@essex]

We've supplied many thousands of sets of Ferodo DS2500 across all the popular enthusiast chassis over the years. Every once in a blue moon we hear complaints about noise. Most of the time, the owner hasn't bed them in properly, which leads to squeal. Occasionally, there is some type of frequency/vibration present on that particularly car that leads to the squeal. We see this other pad brands on other cars as well. It's extremely rare, but it does happen. In those cases, the same owner puts them on another car and they are dead silent. This is why you see so many OEM pads these days with big weights hanging off of them. Those are vibration dampers.

Overall though, I'd say the noise complaints among our overall sample size are in the low single digits...something like 3-5% maybe? It's typically just not an issue with the DS2500. As others note, they are indeed the best street/autoX combo pad on the market. They have great modulation, a very high max operating temperature, easy to bed-in, and they're are also super easy on discs. It is a fantastic, versatile compound.

[Fabb]

I am running DS2500 on 2NH brakes and the noise is way lower than stock brakes. Pretty much silent. My stock pads squeaks all the time maybe because it was degrading from track days.

[jritt@essex]

Originally Posted by Fabb

I am running DS2500 on 2NH brakes and the noise is way lower than stock brakes. Pretty much silent. My stock pads squeaks all the time maybe because it was degrading from track days.

Sometimes you just need to re-bed the pads to make the squeak go away. Over time while driving the brakes cold on the street, the pad material that transferred to the disc is scraped away. A good re-bedding will put another layer of pad material on the discs to buffer noise.

[M Fifty]

How about the BMW Sport pads that appear to be available for both the blue and the 2NH set ups?

[slap]

I think the advice above is good - if you are not tracking it the stock pads are excellent for road use. I use my M2C in supersprints and I did cook the brakes once on a particular tight circuit with short straights that didn't let them cool down. To make sure I didnt run out of brakes I went with Circo M119 compound. I went with these because they operate from 50C to 800C so they are ok for road use. Typically on race brakes if you use rally compounds they bite when cold - essential if you use them on the road IMO. The other thing with Circo you can order any of their pad shapes in any of their compounds - so the M5 pads and M119 is not off the shelf and they made them for me - no additional cost and only took a couple of weeks to arrive - I love the flexibility. Also the squeeking is minimal although there is some slight squeeking with slow soft applications of the brake pedal. Worth considering.

[KHAP13]

Originally Posted by jritt@essex

Sometimes you just need to re-bed the pads to make the squeak go away. Over time while driving the brakes cold on the street, the pad material that transferred to the disc is scraped away. A good re-bedding will put another layer of pad material on the discs to buffer noise.

jritt@essex.. I read in one of your blogs that you used the DS3.12 on the street in-between track sessions. Was that for an extended period of time? Is that something that you would / would not recommend? I heard feedback that the Porsche folks don't ever swap them out. Wondering your thoughts...Thanks!

[jritt@essex]

Originally Posted by KHAP13

jritt@essex.. I read in one of your blogs that you used the DS3.12 on the street in-between track sessions. Was that for an extended period of time? Is that something that you would / would not recommend? I heard feedback that the Porsche folks don't ever swap them out. Wondering your thoughts...Thanks!

I leave the DS3.12 in my C6 vette track car all the time, since I'm not driving it all that often on the street. When I do, the DS3.12 are shockingly civil on the street. They barely make any noise and they have more than ample cold bite...both of which are odd for pure racing pads.

That said, as with any race pad designed to run hot, they will gobble up your discs if you consistently run them cold on the street. When race pads are cold, they work in an abrasive fashion. They grind the disc down when they squeeze it. The result is that your discs will end up on your wheels as brake dust. When race pads are hot, they work in an adherent fashion. They stick to the disc layer and you get that nice blueish gray pad layer on the disc face.

This is a classic case of track day tradeoffs. If you don't want to spend the time to swap pads and are only going to drive the car to and from the track with the occasionally jaunt in between (or if you don't care about disc wear), you can consider leaving the 3.12 in all the time. In terms of function, they work great on the street. However, if you're concerned about disc wear or brake dust, take the time to swap in the DS2500 for non-track driving.

Each owner will have to make the choice on what trade-offs are acceptable in their unique situation. That just depends on how often you'll drive the car, how good you are at swapping pads, how much time you are willing to dedicate to swapping pads, if you're willing to shorten the life of your discs by running race pads cold, etc.

Hopefully that helps.

[m3username]

I had read a while ago that the Hawks HPS 5.0 were a good upgrade to the stock pads. Does anyone have experience with both the Hawks HPS 5.0 pads and Ferodo DS2500's in terms of civility, noise, and disc wear?