I just got my '03 330i ZHP a few weeks ago. It needed nothing except the front pads were almost on the wear sensor.
I did my research on the forums here and heard that the Akebono Euro's were a good choice for low dust.
I love my car but DAMN... with OEM pads the wheels are dirty in ONE DAY, and I wax the wheels (not with "wheel wax" brand though, I should try that). I'm a clean wheel N AZI, and it was killing me to no end. And if any of you have cleaned ZHP 135's before, you know my pain!
I got the front set of Akebono Euros for $50 (my tirerack wholesale price). Turns out this is the FIRST brake job on the car at 60k.. not too shabby! Sadly this means the rotors were a mil or two under minimum thickness so I had to drop another $120 on OEM rotors.
To the review:
Initial bite is CONSIDERABLY worse than OEM. Coming from Honda/Toyota brakes, the OEM 330i brakes wow'd me with their bite. I really enjoyed it. I'd say the Akebono Euros initial bite is maybe 70% that of OEM right off the bat and it has been getting steadily better but starting to taper off. I'd say now it's about 80% of OEM. You DEFINITELY notice the lack of initial stopping power.
That being said, at medium to heavy braking they are almost identicle to OEM. They don't feel unsafe by any means. They still stop better than my little Civic with upgraded brakes. It can't outbrake my MR2, but the mid-engine has an unfair advantage (much more even brake distribution).
Now the best part! One day after cleaning the wheels and using OEM pads, I could swipe my finger and see a considerable amount of dust (and a finger swipe in bright silver ).
It's been a week and I have almost NO DUST AT ALL with the Akebono Euros. I swiped my finger across and there was barely anything on my finger at all and no swipe mark on the wheel. They look as clean as the day I washed them (last Friday?).
To the brake-feel people, I would NOT recommend these pads. I definitely feel like I lost that "bite" when you tap the brakes. But for everyone else, they brake just fine, better than most cars brakes, and have almost NO DUST.
I won't go back to OEM. To me, the constant wheel cleanings were not worth that extra bite.
I did my research on the forums here and heard that the Akebono Euro's were a good choice for low dust.
I love my car but DAMN... with OEM pads the wheels are dirty in ONE DAY, and I wax the wheels (not with "wheel wax" brand though, I should try that). I'm a clean wheel N AZI, and it was killing me to no end. And if any of you have cleaned ZHP 135's before, you know my pain!
I got the front set of Akebono Euros for $50 (my tirerack wholesale price). Turns out this is the FIRST brake job on the car at 60k.. not too shabby! Sadly this means the rotors were a mil or two under minimum thickness so I had to drop another $120 on OEM rotors.
To the review:
Initial bite is CONSIDERABLY worse than OEM. Coming from Honda/Toyota brakes, the OEM 330i brakes wow'd me with their bite. I really enjoyed it. I'd say the Akebono Euros initial bite is maybe 70% that of OEM right off the bat and it has been getting steadily better but starting to taper off. I'd say now it's about 80% of OEM. You DEFINITELY notice the lack of initial stopping power.
That being said, at medium to heavy braking they are almost identicle to OEM. They don't feel unsafe by any means. They still stop better than my little Civic with upgraded brakes. It can't outbrake my MR2, but the mid-engine has an unfair advantage (much more even brake distribution).
Now the best part! One day after cleaning the wheels and using OEM pads, I could swipe my finger and see a considerable amount of dust (and a finger swipe in bright silver ).
It's been a week and I have almost NO DUST AT ALL with the Akebono Euros. I swiped my finger across and there was barely anything on my finger at all and no swipe mark on the wheel. They look as clean as the day I washed them (last Friday?).
To the brake-feel people, I would NOT recommend these pads. I definitely feel like I lost that "bite" when you tap the brakes. But for everyone else, they brake just fine, better than most cars brakes, and have almost NO DUST.
I won't go back to OEM. To me, the constant wheel cleanings were not worth that extra bite.