[njdangelo]

Hey All,
It's time to change the pads on my 2019 x50i and was wondering if anyone has experience with the new ceramic pads offered by Brembo for our platform? I have seen all the threads about the posi-quiet/power stop etc and am not interested in sacrificing braking power to reduce dust. I was really hoping Hawk had a pad that would fit as I had great results when I installed their 5.0 pads on my m340i previously but it appears they don't. I went to the brembo website to get the PN for the pads and its looks like they have two options now; Prime and Ceramic. Hypothetically the ceramics would be lower dust agreed?
Any thoughts/opinions/experience would be appreciated.
Pic For reference

[njdangelo]

Alright looks like I'll be the guinea pig here. Will report back with results once installed.

[swainbmw]

Honestly, I change all of my cars pads to ceramic once they were out if I was in this position that you're out at this point I would definitely try. This shouldn't be a problem just do as instructed on wearing them in.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

Alright looks like I'll be the guinea pig here. Will report back with results once installed.

I can't help on this but am interested in the outcome for the same reasons you posted. I put a set of Akebono ceramics on my former X3 and while they solved the brake dust issue, they were not capable of the same initial grab that the OEM's are. I really had to get used to them and remember to apply greater foot force. If your Brembo's provide that same type of initial grab and greatly reduce brake dust, you'd have a winner but somehow I feel it's unlikely. I'll be following your efforts on this. Will you be doing any type of pre/post testing in order to compare the difference?

[njdangelo]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

I can't help on this but am interested in the outcome for the same reasons you posted. I put a set of Akebono ceramics on my former X3 and while they solved the brake dust issue, they were not capable of the same initial grab that the OEM's are. I really had to get used to them and remember to apply greater foot force. If your Brembo's provide that same type of initial grab and greatly reduce brake dust, you'd have a winner but somehow I feel it's unlikely. I'll be following your efforts on this. Will you be doing any type of pre/post testing in order to compare the difference?

Absolutely. I'll do some 60-0 stops and get a good ballpark on distances etc. I was going to do the fluid as well but wondering if I should do the pads only to get a good comparison and then brake fluid in the spring when I put the summer wheels back on

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

Absolutely. I'll do some 60-0 stops and get a good ballpark on distances etc. I was going to do the fluid as well but wondering if I should do the pads only to get a good comparison and then brake fluid in the spring when I put the summer wheels back on

Thanks. It's best when testing to make only one change at a time so as not to be wondering which change was responsible for the outcome. By the way, I was reading somewhere, I want to say it was in the X5 manual but don't hold me to that, that BMW changed the OEM brake composition to reduce the dust on our cars. I "think" I have noticed that my standard X5 brakes produce less dust than traditionally has been the case for me .. .. but.. .. since my wheels are a dark color, I could be being fooled. The OEM pads that came on my past X3 lasted 80K miles...that really surprised me, especially since it looked like a full pad worth of dust came off each week

[Tejas1836]

What exactly is a ceramic brake pad? Seems like the term ceramic has been co-opted for a lot of products lately.

[Cannondale900]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

Absolutely. I'll do some 60-0 stops and get a good ballpark on distances etc. I was going to do the fluid as well but wondering if I should do the pads only to get a good comparison and then brake fluid in the spring when I put the summer wheels back on

Brake fluid will not affect the performance of the brake system on the street, unless you're trailering or the current fluid has some trapped air.

I agree with the earlier comment that ceramic based pads are most certainly lower dust, or less noticeable dust; however, at the sacrifice of initial bite and often times progressive grab (i.e. there needs to be some heat in them to get them to bite better). I've tried a number of ceramic based based pads over the years and they've always left me unsatisfied.

[njdangelo]

Alright so I have had the new pads/rotors on for a couple hundred miles now and feel comfortable giving a review. Please keep in mind that while I tried to be as accurate as I could this certainly wasn't scientific by any means.

Stopping distance seems relatively the same. I did multiple stops from 30, 50, 75 mph and both pads seemed to stop me safely and quickly at about the same spot. If there is a difference it is marginal... at least for daily driving. And let's be honest, no one is tracking their x5... and if they are, they certainly shouldn't be using OEM brake pads.

Initial bite is where you feel the biggest difference but I gotta be honest, I think I like the feel of the ceramic pads. It makes gradually coming to a stop nice and comfortable. Without that initial 'bite' the braking and brake feel is now 100% linear. I'm still a little on the fence about it, but i'm chalking that up more to the newness of the sensation. I guess the word I would use is they have a more "luxurious" bite.
With the new pad compound and bite there is definitely a learning curve to retrain your muscle memory. Nothing crazy but I noticed it most when pulling into parking spaces. With the old pads I knew that based on the slow speed I was pulling in with the pad would catch and stop me abruptly. The new pads require a little more pedal if you want to stop as abruptly so you just need to relearn that.

TLDR they seem to be just as capable as the non-ceramic pads. I have used them at unsafe speeds as well and noticed no fade. While they have different characteristics than the non-ceramic pads I don't feel they have any negative effect on the stopping ability of the truck. It all comes down to preference. I hate brake dust and don't mind the gradual bite so at the moment I like the feel of the ceramics on this particular vehicle. Will I change my mind with more time behind the wheel, that remains to be seen. If this was my stage 2 340i I would not use ceramics but the pad market for this vehicle leaves a lot to be desired. Its pretty much brembo or a pad that doesn't fit right.

One note... the pads come with this 3m adhesive on the back of them. When removing the old pads the adhesive actually ripped one of the dust boots off. Thankfully it didn't rip and I was able to reinstall it but I chose to liberally apply ceramic brake paste to the back of the new pads.. like every other brake pad I have ever changed. I don't anticipate any negative effects because of this but will obviously update this thread if anything comes up.
Hope this helps!

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

Initial bite is where you feel the biggest difference

Right, this is how I felt when I changed from OEM to ceramic on my X3. Nice review, well written, thanks for remembering to post and for waiting a few hundred miles to do it! So you need to assert more foot pressure for that first press than with the OEM pads if you want to abruptly stop or slow down, is that correct?

[Shllshck]

njdangelo Thanks for posting an update.

[njdangelo]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Right, this is how I felt when I changed from OEM to ceramic on my X3. Nice review, well written, thanks for remembering to post and for waiting a few hundred miles to do it! So you need to assert more foot pressure for that first press than with the OEM pads if you want to abruptly stop or slow down, is that correct?

No I wouldn't say that. In my experience you really only notice the difference in bite if trying to slow down gradually. Anything more than a normal stop seems to be the same with both pads. When doing my 30/50/75 mph stopping distances I noticed no difference in bite. It's only on light/normal breaking do you feel a difference.

[JimVR4]

I was thinking I had brembo pads but actually I had gone with BENDIX CFC1868. I've had these on for about a year and they stop extremely well with almost no dust. Of course they are also ceramics.

[njdangelo]

Originally Posted by JimVR4

I was thinking I had brembo pads but actually I had gone with BENDIX CFC1868. I've had these on for about a year and they stop extremely well with almost no dust. Of course they are also ceramics.

Interesting... their website doesn't show any applicable pads for the m50i or the m sport brakes. Even when you click on the 40i option it only has front pads listed. Do you still have the part numbers?

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

No I wouldn't say that. In my experience you really only notice the difference in bite if trying to slow down gradually. Anything more than a normal stop seems to be the same with both pads. When doing my 30/50/75 mph stopping distances I noticed no difference in bite. It's only on light/normal breaking do you feel a difference.

This is encouraging

[JimVR4]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

Interesting... their website doesn't show any applicable pads for the m50i or the m sport brakes. Even when you click on the 40i option it only has front pads listed. Do you still have the part numbers?

I gave you the number right there. Here's where I bought them
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...6GKIVDkw%3D%3D

[White340]

Hi guys,

Do you mind posting a longer term update on your pads - both the Brembos and the Bendix?

Specifically:

1) do they make noise at all (when moving forward or reverse, when cold and hot, etc).

2) do they clunk at all when switching from forward to reverse?

3) how is performance now that you’ve used them for a while? Any regrets?

I went the iSweep IS500 route and these pads are they are super noisy. It started off being noisy when reversing but now they are noisy when going forward as well. This happens when applying light pressure to the brake. It’s super loud and embarrassing. They also started clunking when switching directions. Going to write these off and try either powerstop, brembo or bendix ceramics.

Thanks

[njdangelo]

Originally Posted by White340

Hi guys,

Do you mind posting a longer term update on your pads - both the Brembos and the Bendix?

Specifically:

1) do they make noise at all (when moving forward or reverse, when cold and hot, etc).

2) do they clunk at all when switching from forward to reverse?

3) how is performance now that you’ve used them for a while? Any regrets?

I went the iSweep IS500 route and these pads are they are super noisy. It started off being noisy when reversing but now they are noisy when going forward as well. This happens when applying light pressure to the brake. It’s super loud and embarrassing. They also started clunking when switching directions. Going to write these off and try either powerstop, brembo or bendix ceramics.

Thanks

I have begun to hear a clunk occasionally when switching from reverse to drive. I assume this is why the OEM pads use the adhesive on the back of the pad. As I mentioned in a previous post, I decided to apply ceramic brake paste to the rear of the pads as opposed to using the just the adhesive because I was worried about squealing on light braking as my previous Msport brakes did. I would assume that if I hadn't applied the paste there would be no clunk. That being said, I only hear it very infrequently, after rain in very cold temperature.

Aside from that there is no noise from them

Performance wise I have no complaints. As stated previously you will always sacrifice initial bite when going to a ceramic compound but I have not noticed any significant difference in performance aside from that and enjoy how smooth they brake. I also enjoy not having my wheels covered in dust

[jay2019X5]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

I have begun to hear a clunk occasionally when switching from reverse to drive. I assume this is why the OEM pads use the adhesive on the back of the pad. As I mentioned in a previous post, I decided to apply ceramic brake paste to the rear of the pads as opposed to using the just the adhesive because I was worried about squealing on light braking as my previous Msport brakes did. I would assume that if I hadn't applied the paste there would be no clunk. That being said, I only hear it very infrequently, after rain in very cold temperature.

Aside from that there is no noise from them

Performance wise I have no complaints. As stated previously you will always sacrifice initial bite when going to a ceramic compound but I have not noticed any significant difference in performance aside from that and enjoy how smooth they brake. I also enjoy not having my wheels covered in dust

Hi there, did you change your rotors as well when you installed the new Brembo pads? I have a 2019 4.0 w M brakes and just installed the ceramic Brembos. Did not change the rotors as I have zero shudder, and the car has 29K miles, w fairly minimal rotor wear. Original pads I removed had about 30% remaining material.

I recently installed Brembos on my S550 which literally eliminated brake dust, so I'm going for the same on my X5. Installed them yesterday, and can tell they do not have that OEM bite, but I'm sure they need to be bedded/seated. I've only driven around the block thus far.

Did you have a specific bedding for the Brembos? I typically drive lightly with some 30/40 stops varying pressure to seat them. Thanks!

[njdangelo]

I did change the rotors as well. As for bedding, I followed the same procedure as all other pads I had used. Stops from 35-10 then 60-10 and then easy driving h til they are cooked down. The rotors has a weird bedding process too as brembo had them coated so first you have to lighting brake to remove the coating.

[jay2019X5]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

I did change the rotors as well. As for bedding, I followed the same procedure as all other pads I had used. Stops from 35-10 then 60-10 and then easy driving h til they are cooked down. The rotors has a weird bedding process too as brembo had them coated so first you have to lighting brake to remove the coating.

Thanks for the quick response. So you went with the Brembo rotors it sounds like? I typically always change rotors, but in this case, the braking was so smooth, and rotors look to be in great condition. I'm going to put some miles on it to see if they start to grab more. If not, will replace the rotors.

[jad03060]

On the OEM ones, from new, the manual calls for 200-miles to bed the brakes. The aftermarket ones probably need about the same.