Brake pads Bosch or Duralast

Yes to the Bosch/Centric combo. No to drilled rotors on a daily driver.

I had this problem too and I saw in other forums quite a few other people as well. I used Bosch pads too I think (can’t recall right now) but when I compared them to the OeM ones I removed, there was a difference similar the the gaps you pointed to in your pic. Putting the old OEM ones back and the gap is not there. So what I ended up doing was simply added a bit of shim to one side of the Bosch pad to take up the gap and the problem went away. I put the shim only on one side, the side that would be compressed when in reverse. FWIW others have tried other brands of pads and they all seem to have the same issue. Apparently the only ones that don’t are the OEM ones for some strange reason. When I compared mine, it wasn’t the pad backing that was causing the delta, it was the shim.

I've been using Dynamic Friction 1000141300 track pads from Rockauto. They've seen 6 or 7 track days now and have work really well without overheating. They also do fine on the street.

I'm very happy with Bosch QuietCast pads and rotors.

I went aftermarket with centric posi-quiet pads or Bosch quiet cast. Won’t ever go back to factory.

I did Bosch quiet cast pads and rotors on the front on my 12 a couple months back. I’m happy with them.

I have the Dynamic Friction 5000 low metallic pads and they've been a nice improvement. Have no brake judder, better bite, and a bit more dusting from the pads (great tradeoff IMO).

Duralast gold rotors and elite brake pads. Great price and performance. If they wear out too early - free replacement. If they wear out just fine - you got your money’s worth.

I replaced front pads and rotors on my Tiguan, and afterwards, when going between D <-> R and applying the brakes, the first brake application causes a "clack" on both sides at the front. Pads are Bosch 1633A. spring clips (integral to pads) are seated properly. Pads and rotors were bedded properly. Wheel lug bolts torqued properly. I have the official instructions from VW. I've probably done ~20 brake jobs in my life, mostly Volvos (over half of those were sliding-caliper designs like the Tiguan's). What I tried (with no success): searching and searching and searching forums, only found 2 other people with a similar issue on FCP's Brake Replacement YouTube video measured and compared all latereral dimensions of the pad's plate between new and old, same dimensions re-installed the pads all bolts are torqued properly (caliper carrier 200 Nm; caliper pin bolts 35 Nm) found a Tech Bulletin from VW that mentions there are inner- and outer-specific orientation for the pads. This appears to apply only to the Genuine (labeled TRW) pads, as all 3 Bosch pads are identical in every way that I can discern bought a set of Genuine VW pads (labeled VW), ensured the correct orientation of pads according to the Tech Bulletin, and they still clack. pad backing plate dimensions are the same as the Bosch. Ack! More money! bought a set of genuine caliper carriers (with the thinking that perhaps when I wire-wheeled the old caliper carriers to remove rust, it took off too much material). I didn't install them because I measured all the dimensions that interface with the pads and the new are identical to the old.

I ordered Bosch brake pads after installing them. I noticed a knocking sound and if you look in the pic there’s a gap at the top and bottom of the ears on the pad. I threw my old pads away so I couldn’t even compare them. Only when driving really slow then braking or in reverse. Didn’t do it every time but the noise is driving me crazy. I also installed new rotors front and back and it’s only the front driver side making that noise.