Brake pads Akebono or Mintex

Can't go wrong as its OEM replacement parts. That said, if you hate brake dust as much as I do, you could consider going with akebono ceramic pads. I went with pagid rotors and akebono ceramic pads when I did my big brake kit a year or so ago and love both the pedal feel and low brake dust. Factory pads have a bit more initial bite, but i prefer the more progressive feel of the akebonos which allows for smoother braking.

My oem rotors warped around 45k. Had an Indy install Stoptech rotors and Akebono ceramic pads and they lasted over 100k, with no brake dust.

AKEBONO PRO-ACT ULTRA PREMIUM are available at Napa and I hear are some of the quietest brake pads you can get over the life span of the pad. They're ceramic pads which won't make your miata sound like a school bus

Yes, they're excellent brakes.

Very little dust. Excellent grip. They do take a few min to warm up when cold/wet but it’s not noticeable at all.

I paid < $250 for brakes/rotors (Akebono ProACT pads + Raybesto Element3 coated rotors).

I’ve used dozens of different pads on VWs and other makes, for regular driving with low dust and massive pad and rotor life? I’d use Akebono, made in USA and no pads are higher quality but some can be equal. Are you running it really hard? You’re gonna be replacing whatever you put on so semi-metallic can't be beat,cheap and has the best feel as well because it wears the rotor and pad together!!! Pagid or Bosch QC are hard as a rock and fade free with great feel but dusty. More importantly you need to do the job correctly, the pad is the least of your worries if you’re new to doing it, find YT brake vids for your car if you are, I still watch them to find my mistakes.

I believe if a VW dealer replaced your pads they’d be semi metallic, stop quickly, and have a good amount of brake dust. I went with Akebonos and yes they have a tiny bit less bite. But I have virtually no brake dust and I hear they last a fair bit longer. I’m happy with them

As stated, installed new Mintex front pads and I believe I installed correctly. rattle only occurs when not braking, when brakes applied immediately disappears.

I just put on Akebono ceramics and Zimmerman coated rotors and I hated them for the first few hundred miles. They took a very long time to break in, and this was after a) paying attention to the instructions that say no break-in is needed and b) ignoring that advice when the stopping distances were so bad initially that I bedded them in... and yet the pedal effort was so high that I could barely engage the ABS in the dry. So I'd recommend staying away from that combination.