Brake pads Hawk Performance or OEM Volkswagen

I've had my black/black 2020 R-Line for 2 months and ~3.5k miles now. I work in sales, and it's great for visiting and entertaining customers. I'd give it a 8/10. Pros: LED headlights are excellent Comfortable ride when cruising on the expressway Comfortably fits four 6-ft plus adults Nice sporty lines for such a large car MPG Lane assist and ACC Huge trunk (for beer league hockey on weekends) Remote start (this'll be huge in the winter) Well appointed for the price Cons: Brakes... no linear feel. It's nothing nothing nothing, then STOP Engine is under powered for a car this size Automatic transmission wants to move too fast for my liking when you release the brake at a stop No visual TPMS (one of my biggest VW gripes. I want to know the actual pressure) Seats don't offer much bolstering, and no lumbar support in the passenger seat Wish the steering wheel telescoped out more. I'm 6'3\" and for ideal leg-room, my arms are nearly at full lock. R-line wheels... they just aren't appealing to me

I like the Hawk HPS 5.0 pads, but I'm not sure if they will be good on the track or not.

if you are sick and tired of scrubbing your wheels then i would highly recommend ceramic pads as the dust is a fraction of the OEM pads. I just changed out mine a few months ago (hawk ceramic from pelican parts) and the change is night and day. I don't track may car and i would say i'm mildly spirited in my driving, but these have been great so far.

I had about 21,000 kms on my GLI and noticed a little bit of vibration at higher speed braking. I was sick of the OEM pads dust so I swapped out the pads to Hawk HPS street 5.0's. The front rotors had a ton of wear on it for a relatively new car. I heard from a few shops that the OEM pads eat rotors. I decided to change the front rotors but kept the rears as there was hardly any wear on it. Brake pedal feels much more solid and next to no brake dust and better braking power. Great upgrade and strongly recommend.

Hawk HP+ is a very good multiuse pad if you can get them for your car. Be warned - they will squeak pretty loudly and dust your wheels, but they work fine on the street, great in the canyons, and will still last at least a few sessions on track.

HAWK HP+ front pads for Track Days

I have had mine activate the brakes on me, I was at a light behind a car that wasn't moving once it changed to green. I started to just engage first gear and creep up a bit to let them know the light changed and apparently got too close so my car slams the brakes and makes me feel like it's my first time driving a manual.

Stock pads were driving me insane so I switched to ceramic Hawks. I don't track my car and the noise is gone so I'm happy with them. I don't have to clean the car that often either since the dust is minimal.

I've got these. Great pedal feel, stopping distance. The ****ing worst dust and noise.

Whenever I talk to people they don't say too much about reliability, but what they do say is how they hate the maintenance costs with VWs. $100+ oil changes, paying for maintenance items off warranty at dealer (brakes), etc.