Brake pads ATE or TRW

I would recommend the TRW ultra pads from the official ZF store on eBay. $50 total for front and rear. They’re a tier 1 oem supplier, and the ultra line is their premium aftermarket offering. Similar to akebono and the pro act line which isn’t available for the 4th gen. The solid Bosch rotors would be a good choice. Centric as well.

I upgraded my brakes. I went with TRW ultra ceramic pads, Zimmermann front rotors, brembo rear rotors, and it was definitely a big upgrade. The brakes no longer feel spongy, much better overall feel, and less brake dust.

I used ATE ceramic pads on my mk7 pp and so far they are great. Barely any dust, no noticeable wear on the rotors after 3k miles, and no extra pedal pressure required.

stick with ATE or akebono. both good for their price. have ran both on my e39 and they work great with their respective rotors

FWIW I wound up with those Brembo front and Zimmerman coated rears with ATE ceramic pads and I’m very happy with it. To me the stock setup is grabby at low speeds and these are much smoother. I don’t feel like I’ve lost any stopping power. Huge difference in brake dust.

I literally just did exactly this.. Had the BRAKE warning light on the dash and replace rear brakes on Idrive message on my 2019 X3 M40i at 32k miles.. rear rotors looked fine to me.. they were smooth and not grooved.. so i bought OEM ATE PADS and a BOWA rear brake sensor.. $128 shipped from Pelican parts and i was charged 1 hour of labor ($135) at my local Indy shop.. as others have mentioned youtube is your friend.. just a rear pads replacement is a pretty easy job w basic tools.. I should have done it myself but I decided the $135 cost was not worth my time and effort.

During this time I also replaced the brake pads with oem ATE one’s (low dust) and oem brake fluid flush.

I didn't touch the calipers, I thought the calipers were ATE, but could be TRW. I only changed out rears at this time, fronts are still the same. The pads are TRW ceramic something or others that came with zimmerman rotors in the cheapish FCP kit.

TRW Ceramic Pads: Good for city driving, almost not dust, would not recommend for any track

I currently have TRW NAO pads and zimmerman rotors all around on my S60, very dusty but bites harder than ceramic, especially when they are cold.