Owner reviews for brake pads

Good pads.

The Akebono ceramic pads give off a low-visibility tan dust...but on occasion, I miss the grip of the stock pads. Was definitely a worthwhile tradeoff though: Much less to no dust for a barely perceptible reduction in initial bite/grip compared to stock VW brake pads.

I bought Hawk HPS pads for my car directly from Hawk if I remember correctly.

Definitely upgrade from stock pads as that will give you the most improvement. Just this morning I was looking to see if Carbotech (absolutely love their pads) made anything for the GTI, but they only have pads for the PP GTI. I sent them an email to see if they have their 1521 pads available for a non-PP GTI. Since Carbotech is not an option at the moment there is EBC green or red stuff. You would probably be just fine with EBC Green Stuff. ECS sells it and I just checked and fronts are on sale for only $57 for a set. Hawk is another good brand but I can't seem to find anything from them for our cars yet. Unfortunately there are not many choices out there at the moment for upgraded pads.

I'm no brake expert but definitely don't go stock on the brake pads. I know HAWK is a big name on Performance Brake pads but I have never used them personally. It's just like anything else though, everyone's got their opinion on why brand \"X\" is the best when in reality they are all made in the same factory in China and you are really only paying for the name. I would look for something that says \"High Performance Street\" or similar that's designed to work properly with stock rotors / ABS / Etc.

The EBC Red pads are one of the best set that they make, are quiet, and stop great.

You might just try a pad upgrade first. I've never been impressed with 16v brakes but I recently tried some Hawk HPS pads and now I can't believe how quickly this car stops. And I'm really picky about things especially brakes.

Akebono in particular seems to put out an OEM quality pad.

Based on the above I returned the pads to Tire Rack and installed Redstuffs.

I did receive slightly used R32 front HPS pads for my R32 last year from them. I was a little dissapointed but I didn't want to wait two more weeks to get new pads.