Brake pads Textar or Raybestos

Raybestos has always treated me well. They feel close to OEM but last longer and stop stronger under load. I've run them on work trucks and they held up fine with trailers.

Went Raybestos and they have been good so far. I wasn't impressed with the pads machining quality though. They just looked rough, but I haven't had any issues in 20k miles with some towing use.

I always use Textar - a boggo (albeit OE) brand, and never, ever have a problem.

I’ve ordered the Raybestos Element3 for multiple vehicles and been happy with them

The Element 3's have treated me very well on multiple vehicles now.

I just daily my 17 GTI. The stock pads and rotors finally gave up at 103k miles. I was perfectly happy with the oem brakes, but not spending $700. I went Zimmerman and Texstar pads. So far no complaints, they feel like the stock brakes when they were new.

I put Akebono ProActs on my car 3 years ago, and it has the softest pedal of any car Ive ever owned; I almost have to plan ahead before hitting the brakes it takes so long to come to a complete stop. I Put the Raybestos E3 on my wife's van (which previously had warped rotors), and the braking was fantastic for the final 2 years we kept it. More bite, no warping (even with the Semi-metallic pads), stop on a dime, no noticeable noise. Meanwhile the Akebonos on my car squeal like frightened pigs now, and the rotors just started warping (hence why Im on this sub, comparing other brands).So I'm going back to the Element 3s, or moving up to PowerStop. IDC what Scotty Kilmer says about the Akebonos - the main thing I want from my brakes is to stop the car quickly and safely, hopefully without warping the rotors. Everything else is secondary. The friction on the "premium" ProActs is mediocre at best (also no warranty, but that doesn't really factor in for me). And with my family as passengers, Im more concerned with stopping safely than a little noise or dust, or pad longevity.YMMV, but for me, Im done with the 'bonos.

I would recommend Raybestos ST43s but they’re going to be the same price and availability is scarce.

I recently replaced some on a 981 with Textar and don’t recommend it. So much dust and some noise at low speed braking.

I got Raybestos pads+rotors back in December… 4mo later and already vibrating when braking so prob warped the rotors, and the pads already squeal at low speed braking.