Owner reviews for brake pads

LoyalSage, yesterday i installed my new brake stuff. that would be Adam's slotted rotors with zinc, Carbotech Bobcat 1521 pads (semi-metallic), and the Tyrol kit. i'm possibly not finished with wearing off the zinc, but i'm pretty sure i'm in stable territory now. about 70-80 miles since install. ok my impressions: definite improvement with linearity of braking. OEM tends to overgrab on initial bite, go soft a bit at about 20%, then dig in hard again at about 30-40%, which makes smooth modulation too difficult. the Bobcats grab less on initial contact, and are relatively much more linear down to about 80% (as hard as i have braked since installing). the feel is more firm all the way as well... more feel of the friction at the pedal. if anyone was looking for good pads for this car, i think i found 'em. they obviously work well with Adam's rotors, as this combo is much nicer than OEM IMHO. but, to be honest, i think the modulation you want will not be found here. i think i know what you're looking for, and while this is an improvement, it's not like a multi piston setup.

Brembo's

oh and i replaced my craptastic wagner thermoquiet pads with bendix pads much better feeling on the pad and the calipers dont seem to get so hot

I took your advise and ordered Hawk Ceramic pads, ECS SS lines (Goodrich doesn't make SS lines for a 2010 Jetta), and the SuperBlue fluid.

Hmm, I find my Golf TDI brakes to be excellent. Havent tracked them, but have punished them on occasion with liberal use of power on the highway, even combined with going down hill, and have never experienced fade.

Have you tried upgrading your pads/brake lines/fluid? I put in Hawk HPS pads, SS lines, and ATE SuperBlue fluid, made a huge difference in my brakes. Firmer pedal feel, much better initial bite, and fade is substantially reduced.

The stock pads chunked like mad upfront because it was a medium speed technical track with little room for brake cooling. You need Hawk HP plus or better for lapping these cars.

aftermarket pads will do that. I had the same problem on my passat, put in OEM pads and no more rattle. it was annoying as hell every little bump or crack in the road. The reason they supply those \"anti-rattle\" clips is because the pads ARE NOT made to oem specs. Only slightly oem specs and you get the play in the pad to bracket clearance like the pad is not tight in there. Those clips take up that space. I have used pads from just about every manufacturer, bendix, ate, wagner, ebc, monroe, bosch, beck arnley, raybestos. All not made to OEM specs. The only pads I have found that are close or good enough to oem are akebono but they tend to squeel if you glaze them from hard stopping. Cheap pads gets you cheap pads.

mine tended to do that after i put in the mintex pads. i figure its just the metal content of the pad.

I haven't had much luck with durability on Wagner brake pads on any of my cars, though I've not used these on the Passat.