Brake pads Hawk Performance or Duralast

Hawk HPS 5.0 pads, Raybestos AT. I'm on my 4th? set of front pads+rotors after 125k miles. Rears are still the stock.

I’ve always put Duralast Gold pads and rotors on my vehicle. I’ve got no complaints and they have a lifetime warranty.

A few weeks ago I replaced the front pads and rotors on my ‘21 grand touring. I got Duralast Gold rotors and Duralast Elite brake pads from Autozone. An independent repair shop installed them. They are working fine. I decided to purchase from Autozone for the warranty, which is lifetime on the pads and 3 years on the rotors.

Blank rotors and Hawk HPS 5.0 pads. I’ve been running them for almost a decade, and I’m always surprised at how long they last and how little dust they make for how aggressive as they are.

I haven't investigated ceramic pads for the Golf R but based on the Hawk Ceramic Compound Performance Pads I have on my A4, which has huge RS4 front calipers and B7 S4 rears, I'd try them as they are quiet, generate negligible dust and are easy on the rotors.

Hawk HPS brake pads

I like my Hawk HP Street 5.0 pads and both were purchased from TireRack and helped increase my stopping power.

Hawk HPS 5.0 front and rear.

They dust the same as what came on my car from the factory, the first 1k miles they felt like they needed some extra heat in them to get a "normal" feel but by the time I left my neighborhood it was fine. Either I'm used to it now or it went away.

I ran HP+ pads and nearly ruined some STI Rays wheels I ordered from Japan. The key to cleaning the dust off is using a cleaner that has an iron remover. Sonax makes a good one. Meguiar's all wheel cleaner also works OK. I had to treat each wheel about 5x with a soft bristle brush and still ended up using a blue Scotch Brite to get the hard deposits of dust. I ended up removing some paint in some indescreet locations. I was super bummed. I no longer run these pads and run ceramics for the street. I plan to run more aggressive pads when needed, but haven't picked anything yet. The HP+ are great. The modulation is amazing. The bite, even when cold, is awesome. But there's a major trade off.

Same issue here. I replaced the pads twice with the same brand (Duralast Gold), and the issue is still apparent. It appears to be an issue only with the 340mm brakes for Golf Rs and Tiguans.