Owner reviews for brake pads

I have used the Carbotech 1521 pads for a while and have been very satisfied. They are also made in the USA.

HPS 5.0 pads. Little less initial bite than the original pads but more overall grab.

I'm running the powerstop Z23 rotors and brake pad kit. Did it early spring last year. Very happy. I hated the initial bite of the stock pads, God forbid I hit a bump while braking. Pricey but happy with the look + performance. Im in the Midwest.

I was pretty unhappy with the short life span/brake dust of the stock rotors/pads, so when it was time to change them I went with: Centric Cryo-Treated rotors, Hawk HP Street 5.0 pads. I got what I was looking for in terms of improvements to longevity and brake dust, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the bite of the stock setup.

Centric high-carbon rotors and Hawk HP Street 5.0s. Less initial bite than the OEM pads, but more stopping force with higher pedal pressures and much less dust.

Ebc Red Stuff. They are a little milder than Yellow but still high performance. I can get a 20 min track session with limited fade. Although once I forgot to turn stability control off and they faded very badly after about 10 min. Less dusty than stock setup.

Autozone's Duralast Gold pads and rotors will run you about $300 for the set. They work very nicely. If you're even moderately handy or have a friend with the tools, it's less than 2 hours of work. If you have a decent setup with a lift, it's more like 45 minutes of work. $600 for labor is HIGH AF. This truck is the easiest brake job I've ever done.

The brake rotors from the Grand Cherokee and Caprice are nearly the same measurements though so I can mix and match. The bonus is that because of the 1996 Impala SS you can get performance brake pads for the Caprice calipers.

I went EBC red stuff with slotted single piece rotors. They are okay, but not more than that. I pretty regularly drive them to fade on the street (I live in a very lightly populated rural area with lots of twisty roads).

Very surprised that you guys are fans of Akebonos... Had them in the wife's Z4 and found the initial bite and overall braking performance to be much much weaker than the OEM BMW pads... It was bad to the point that I removed them a couple months in and just got Pagid pads for it...