Brake pads Hawk Performance or OEM Volkswagen

PartReview Score

Rank #4 in ranking

780

302

396

4.0

Braking

4.1

Dust

3.0

Noise

2.6

Owners' choice:

PR Score

Ranking

Votes

Reviews

Average rating

Properties

Car

PartReview Score

Rank #25 in ranking

129

154

3.5

Braking

3.4

Dust

1.6

Noise

1.3

Owners' choice:

Reviews

All

Hawk Performance

OEM Volkswagen

OEM Volkswagen › Brake pads

17GaSoWay 25 Jan 2026, 13:05

Braking:

Rating 4.5

When I traded our ‘17 Gsw with 191k mi. it still had original brakes all around. We try to be easy on the brakes, coast down to 40 or so if possible before using brakes at stop signs.

Pros: original brakes lasted long

Vehicle: Volkswagen Golf

Mileage: 191000 km

Hawk Performance › Brake pads

NibNet69 19 Jan 2026, 22:13

Braking:

Rating 4.0

I've heard good stuff about the Hawk ones but I use Hawk HPS myself

Pros: good stuff

Vehicle: Mazda

Hawk Performance › Brake pads

Hopeful_Exchange4043 16 Jan 2026, 03:48

Braking:
Dust:

Rating 5.0

Stoptech stainless steel brake lines and slotted Rotors, Hawk ceramic pads.

Vehicle: Subaru

OEM Volkswagen › Brake pads

Eimanatox 15 Jan 2026, 12:19

Braking:

Rating 5.0

I made it to 240k on my ‘19 before I had to change the fronts. I still have 6/32 on the rear pads at 255k now too. The factory pads are crazy good

Pros: factory pads crazy good

Vehicle: Volkswagen Jetta

Mileage: 255000 km

Hawk Performance › Brake pads

One-Profit-7332 12 Jan 2026, 20:31

Braking:

Rating 5.0

For very little money I also upgraded the brakes to StopTech slotted rotors, braided SS brake lines, and Hawk HP pads. Never had brake fade even at tracks like Road America with heavy high speed braking.

Pros: no brake fade

Hawk Performance › Brake pads

_Rosko_ 9 Jan 2026, 04:47

Dust:

Rating 4.0

I'm running standard DBA 4000 blank rotors with Hawk HPS 5.0 pads. My only complaint is they seem to make a lot of brake dust so I'll probably try other pads when these wear through.

Cons: make a lot of brake dust

Vehicle: Subaru

Part number: 4000

Hawk Performance › Brake pads

Zed-O-Six 28 Jan 2026, 15:16

Braking:

Rating 3.5

Consider Carbotech pads. I ran XP12/XP10 combo. They worked well on my C5. I tried the Hawk DTC70/60 combo and didn't like how fast they could eat a rotor. The stopping force on them is incredible.

Pros: incredible stopping force

Cons: eat rotors fast

Vehicle: Chevrolet Corvette C5

OEM Volkswagen › Brake pads

VWestlife 25 Jan 2026, 03:17

Braking:

Rating 3.0

When I traded in my 2018 Jetta at just under 90k miles it still had the original front pads and rotors, but the rear brakes needed to be done at 60k miles, and then within my last year of ownership one of the rear calipers seized and needed to be replaced.

Pros: long-lasting front pads

Cons: rear caliper seized, rear brakes needed replacement

Vehicle: Volkswagen Jetta

Mileage: 90000 km

Hawk Performance › Brake pads

Noobasdfjkl 28 Jan 2026, 19:15

Braking:

Rating 1.0

I had DTC70s for about 2 months and tossed them without even using them up. Terrible pad. Never used a Hawk pad I liked.

Cons: terrible pad

Hawk Performance › Brake pads

GhostriderFlyBy 28 Jan 2026, 06:57

Braking:

Rating 1.0

You absolutely do not want DTC70s on street. They will devour your rotors and vice versa.

Cons: devour rotors, not for street

Vehicle: Mazda

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Which brake pads to choose — Hawk Performance or OEM Volkswagen?

If choosing brake pads across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.

We compare brake pads across these categories:

Comparison of brake pads Hawk Performance and OEM Volkswagen

PR Score.
Overall ranking.
Vote balance.
Average rating.
Number of reviews.
Feature ratings.
Car owners’ choice.

Which brake pads are better — OEM Volkswagen or Hawk Performance?

In March 2026 on PartReview, brake pads Hawk Performance were overall better than OEM Volkswagen.

Hawk Performance received a PR Score of 81 out of 100, and OEM Volkswagen scored 63 points.
Hawk Performance ranked 4 in the overall ranking, and OEM Volkswagen ranked 25.
The average rating is higher for Hawk Performance (4) than for OEM Volkswagen (3.5).
Brake pads Hawk Performance have better feature ratings than OEM Volkswagen:
- Noise - owners believe, that this property for Hawk Performance is better than OEM Volkswagen.
- Braking - drivers claim, that this property for Hawk Performance is outperforms OEM Volkswagen.
- Dust - reviews suggest, that this property for Hawk Performance is preferred to OEM Volkswagen.

Which brake pads are more popular — Hawk Performance or OEM Volkswagen?

In March 2026 on PartReview, brake pads Hawk Performance were overall more popular than OEM Volkswagen.

By vote balance, brake pads Hawk Performance surpassed OEM Volkswagen:

For Hawk Performance, the ratio of positive (1010) to negative (230) votes is 780 votes.
For OEM Volkswagen, the ratio of positive (309) to negative (180) votes is 129 votes.

By number of reviews, brake pads Hawk Performance surpassed OEM Volkswagen:

For brake pads Hawk Performance there are 396 reviews: 302 positive, 52 neutral, 42 negative.
For brake pads OEM Volkswagen there are 154 reviews: 85 positive, 27 neutral, 42 negative.

Which brake pads do car owners prefer — Hawk Performance or OEM Volkswagen?

In March 2026, according to PartReview, brake pads Hawk Performance led more car-specific ratings than OEM Volkswagen:

Hawk Performance are chosen by owners of cars such as: Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Toyota Supra, Volkswagen Scirocco, and others.

OEM Volkswagen are chosen by owners of cars such as: Volkswagen Corrado, Volkswagen Phaeton, and others.

Other comparisons of brake pads

If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.

For example, comparisons of brake pads Hawk Performance with: EBC, POWER STOP, Akebono, Brembo, Ferodo, Bosch, STOPTECH, Carbotech, Mintex, Raybestos.

Also available: comparisons of brake pads OEM Volkswagen with: EBC, POWER STOP, Akebono, Brembo, Ferodo, Bosch, STOPTECH, Carbotech, Mintex, Raybestos.

You can also see who is better among other brake pads manufacturers: EBC or POWER STOP, EBC or Akebono, EBC or Hawk Performance, Brembo or EBC, Akebono or POWER STOP.