Brake pads OEM Subaru or Hawk Performance

PartReview Score

Rank #40 in ranking

3.2

Braking

3.1

Dust

1.0

Noise

2.8

Owners' choice:

Subaru Forester

PR Score

Ranking

Votes

Reviews

Average rating

Properties

Car

PartReview Score

Rank #4 in ranking

780

302

396

4.0

Braking

4.1

Dust

3.0

Noise

2.6

Owners' choice:

Reviews

All

OEM Subaru

Hawk Performance

OEM Subaru › Brake pads

Pmint-schnapps-4511 27 Jan 2026, 02:33

Braking:

Rating 4.0

I have a 2017 Forester XT with 131,000 miles - have only done routine maintenance and have had to replace brakes front and rear as well as both control arms and struts, all expected with this many miles on it. I plan to keep it for as long as I can. Love it!

Pros: love it, expected wear

Cons: replaced brakes, replaced control arms, replaced struts

Vehicle: Subaru Forester

Mileage: 131000 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

OEM Subaru › Brake pads

Servile-PastaLover 16 Jan 2026, 19:33

Braking:

Rating 5.0

I do the minor maintenance myself: oil/filter, air filters, wiper blades.

I save enough $$ on the DIY portion, so I don't mind using my dealer for the other stuff: front & rear dif fluids, CVT fluid, brake fluid, brake pads, etc.

Pros: great work, trust dealer

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

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

Hawk Performance › Brake pads

LiamLikeNeeson89 22 Jan 2026, 19:43

Braking:
Noise:

Rating 3.0

Just put Zimmerman rotors and the Hawk Street pads on my non- PP gti. These pads unfortunately shift up and down and make a loud “clank” when braking on transition from 1st to reverse. They still bite great

Pros: bite great

Cons: loud clank, pads shift

Vehicle: Volkswagen

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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Show all

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

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 OEM Subaru and Hawk Performance

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

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

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

OEM Subaru received a PR Score of 59 out of 100, and Hawk Performance scored 81 point.
OEM Subaru ranked 40 in the overall ranking, and Hawk Performance ranked 4.
The average rating is higher for Hawk Performance (4) than for OEM Subaru (3.2).
Brake pads Hawk Performance have better feature ratings than OEM Subaru:
- Braking - owners believe, that this property for Hawk Performance is better than OEM Subaru.
- Noise - drivers claim, that this property for OEM Subaru is outperforms Hawk Performance.
- Dust - reviews suggest, that this property for Hawk Performance is preferred to OEM Subaru.

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

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

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

For OEM Subaru, the ratio of positive (149) to negative (101) votes is 48 votes.
For Hawk Performance, the ratio of positive (1010) to negative (230) votes is 780 votes.

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

For brake pads OEM Subaru there are 79 reviews: 41 positive, 13 neutral, 25 negative.
For brake pads Hawk Performance there are 396 reviews: 302 positive, 52 neutral, 42 negative.

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

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

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

OEM Subaru are chosen by owners of cars such as: Subaru Forester, 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 OEM Subaru with: EBC, POWER STOP, Akebono, Brembo, Ferodo, OEM Volkswagen, Bosch, STOPTECH, Carbotech, Mintex.

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

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.