Brake pads OEM BMW or Hawk Performance

I was pretty unhappy with the short life span/brake dust of the stock rotors/pads, so when it was time to change them I went with: Centric Cryo-Treated rotors, Hawk HP Street 5.0 pads. I got what I was looking for in terms of improvements to longevity and brake dust, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the bite of the stock setup.

Centric high-carbon rotors and Hawk HP Street 5.0s. Less initial bite than the OEM pads, but more stopping force with higher pedal pressures and much less dust.

I run Hawk hps 5 and have had a great experience with them the past 2 years. Seem to have improved stopping power and they produce less dust.

For pads I'm having pretty good success with the new Hawk Ceramic 5.0. I run those on my GLI(with Golf R calipers/brakes) and on the .:R. I was surprised for light track duty they were ok on both cars. Not a full on track pad to be clear. They are also a high torque pad so they have really good bite.

I'm using Hawk HPS pads and Raybestos Advanced rotors. No issues with braking, much stronger than the stock equipment. Still limited by the tires.

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.

My local Bavarian car specialist refuses to install ceramic pads and will only do OEM due to low performance in the cold and increased wear on rotors. I was looking forward to less brake dust, especially on the front, but I live on top of one of the steepest hills in the city. I now have OEM pads.

But seriously, having owned several BMW's and Porsche products (equally bad for brake dust) I've just gotten used to cleaning wheels more often and ignoring dirty wheels when I don't have time or energy to clean them that day.