PBR/Axxis Ultimates Vs StopTech Vs Akebono Euro Vs They said it couldn't be done

[bimmerfiver]

Installed Zimmerman Z-Coat Rotors with Akebono Euro Pads in March.
Was not thrilled with lack of bite in brakes.*

Removed Akebono Euro pads and installed StopTech pads.
Still was not thrilled with lack of bite in brakes.*

Had replaced Brake Booster over the Winter.
Had replaced Master Cylinder too.
Have stainless steel lines for two years now.
Suspected that MAYBE air in ABS was to blame for lack of love with my brakes.
So...I had BMW Dealer bleed brake system to remove ALL air from ABS etc (and was arse raped by them with cost to do so).

Still didn't like my brakes.

Today I removed the StopTech pads and installed PBR/Axxis Ultimates, highly recommended by mmm635.

MY BRAKES ROCK.

End of story.

* = I believe that yes, low-dust pads can be nice...and work well once they are warm/hot...but dudes...when you NEED to stop and you hit the pedal you can't estimate that well, wait, my pads aren't warm/hot. I can see how the Akebono Euros or StopTech might be ideal for track/auto-cross...but when I shoot JAWS, I wanna do it with Quint's 30.06 and not a .22 that needs to be warmed up in order to be firing on all cylinders.

I will extend my review of PBR/Axxis Ultimates as they wear-in. I bedded them in and I am thrilled with the rock hard brake pedal the moment I touch the brake pedal.

[Jason5driver]

Told ya!

Do you like the Ultimates better than the OEM pads?

How is the center support bearing quest?

[bimmerfiver]

Told ya!

Do you like the Ultimates better than the OEM pads?

How is the center support bearing quest?

I wanna say that PBR/Axxis Ultimates completely remind me of the OEM-feel. I can't say just yet. I will say that OEM pads bedded-into a nice rotor...you can be at a red light and let off the pedal slightly and hear the moan of the pads as you eek forward at .1 mph; in other words OEM pads are friggin sticky which I love.

I have to hold off on center bearing. Next stop is Gumbi's Shop in New Jersey. I ordered all power steering hoses from EAC Tuning and have to eliminate the leaking...BUT I also suspect engine oil leak. My car is a bloody mess, my front sway bar is covered in fluid. I truly have a hunch that my Oil Filter Housing Gasket is leaking and it makes 100% sense to do the power steering hoses and the oil filter gasket at the same time. Gumbi's father-in-law is The Man. Gotta save some dough, then head to NJ.

I'll be back at Gumbi's for new engine mounts and driveshaft center bearing in a few months.

[Gopher2k]

Interesting thoughts, my friend.

I was just getting ready to buy some new pads for the rear of my cars which are stocks. I have Akebonos Euros in the fronts which I am fine with--I've never been thrilled with their feel compared to stock, but I love the lack of dusting...

P.S. I just swapped out those blown FSDs with fresh... FSDs. Koni was supposed to send me yellows but ended up giving me another set of FSDs under warranty. The cars feeling great for now... hopefully I get more than 2 years out of this set.

[Jason5driver]

Interesting thoughts, my friend.

I was just getting ready to buy some new pads for the rear of my cars which are stocks. I have Akebonos Euros in the fronts which I am fine with--I've never been thrilled with their feel compared to stock, but I love the lack of dusting...

P.S. I just swapped out those blown FSDs with fresh... FSDs. Koni was supposed to send me yellows but ended up giving me another set of FSDs under warranty. The cars feeling great for now... hopefully I get more than 2 years out of this set.

I give the FSD's 15k miles until they blow again...

[g00dwagen]

Give me brakes that work great every time I need them. The hell with dust, I want to stop. I am a Textar fan personally.

[Jester4176]

I'm running the Zimmerman Z-coat and Ake Euros on my 5 and love them. 90% of my driving is city, so they're always warm. I ran the Axxis Ultimate's on the front of my 325 once...and once only. They wore out in under 20K miles. The stopping power was good, but way too much dust, and wore our way too fast for my taste. The 3 now runs Ake Euros as well.

[Mark@EAC]

I have some hawk brand pads for you to try out next time you need brakes Keith.

So many pads to try, so little time.

[newton22]

I have the Akebono Euros on right now. My verdict is basically: any pad will stop your car all the same provided you jump on the brake pedal, but the major weakness in the Akebonos is that they make your pedal feel like it's resting on a sponge. You don't get the definite feeling of pads biting into the rotors. The pedal feels slushy and it feels like you really have to put your foot into it to get the car stopping.

And yes, my brakes have been bled and properly bedded in. I'll make do with them for now, but would like to swap the pads eventually.

[knux11]

the axxis pads were noisy to me and very dusty. braked well tho.
the akebonos were (and are) quiet, and low dust, but not as great braking.

I'm using akebonos. axxis was very noisy, too noisy.

[P11]

I have the Akebono Euros on right now. My verdict is basically: any pad will stop your car all the same provided you jump on the brake pedal, but the major weakness in the Akebonos is that they make your pedal feel like it's resting on a sponge. You don't get the definite feeling of pads biting into the rotors. The pedal feels slushy and it feels like you really have to put your foot into it to get the car stopping.

And yes, my brakes have been bled and properly bedded in. I'll make do with them for now, but would like to swap the pads eventually.

I'm in the exact same boat, Euro Akebono's on the front and I am definitely not pleased with the spongey feel they provide.

[bimmerfiver]

I have some hawk brand pads for you to try out next time you need brakes Keith.

So many pads to try, so little time.

Let's put Hawks on the rear this November.

[thetinpusher]

Axxis Ultimates and Stoptech slotted rotors, love the bite, dont love the dust but have had no problems with noise or pedal feel, oh, stainless lines too from stoptech, they did make a difference at the last DE I did.

[kbahus]

Word of warning, Ultimates need to be up to temp before they work. You might not notice it this time of year but when it's cold outside and you need to make an emergency stop you will.

Believe it or not, out of the pads I have experience with, Hawk HP+ have the best bite when below freezing.

[f355spider]

Porterfield R4S might be a good compromise for you folks to consider. Slightly firmer pedal than Axxis Deluxe Plus I used previously, slightly more dust, but better fade resistance like oem. Still WAY less dust than oem... http://porterfield-brakes.com/images...6_02_41_04.pdf
I still prefer the lack of dust of Axxis Deluxe and would like to go back to them.

[Stankia]

That's why you warm up your brakes before you get out of your neighborhood, how hard is it to warm up the brakes?..

[Kevin Da Clean1]

I have some hawk brand pads for you to try out next time you need brakes Keith.

So many pads to try, so little time.

That's what I'm putting in my M5 in a few weeks. They worked great on my 98 BMW M3 sedan before I totaled it... !

[Jason5driver]

Word of warning, Ultimates need to be up to temp before they work. You might not notice it this time of year but when it's cold outside and you need to make an emergency stop you will.

Believe it or not, out of the pads I have experience with, Hawk HP+ have the best bite when below freezing.

I am on the fence over these pads....
Axxis Ultimates or Hawk HP+ pads...

I know Michel - aka - "mmm635" swears by the Axxis Ultimates, but he lives in the south, where it doesn't really get cold like it does here.
That was my major concern with the Ultimates, is the cold bite...

[325icintn]

Axxix Ultimates were absolutely quiet and performed great, including better feel. Great street pad. I will buy them again. As with all performance pads, you must follow the bedding procedure, or you won't be happy.

(I live in the South too, so I don't know about sub-zero performance.)

[mmm635]

the axxis pads were noisy to me and very dusty. braked well tho.
the akebonos were (and are) quiet, and low dust, but not as great braking.

I'm using akebonos. axxis was very noisy, too noisy.

The noise is an installation issue, but you are correct about the dust - to be fair, the performance overshadows the dust issue. I have had many sets on different cars and never experienced this problem.

Word of warning, Ultimates need to be up to temp before they work. You might not notice it this time of year but when it's cold outside and you need to make an emergency stop you will.

Believe it or not, out of the pads I have experience with, Hawk HP+ have the best bite when below freezing.

This is a silly warning that is highly exaggerated. I used to live in NoVA and Michigan using these pads and never had an issue in cold weather. By the time the car is properly warmed up to water/oil temp, then the brakes are usually ready to go at full speed. They are extremely capable of a panic stop in any weather.

That's why you warm up your brakes before you get out of your neighborhood, how hard is it to warm up the brakes?..

Exactly!

[Orxan4ik]

Oem jurid is where it's at

[gjVah]

I'm still waiting for my cross drilled brembos and akebono pads.... They should arrive on monday.

[540 guy]

zimmerman x drilled z coated with pbr pads.

The lack of dust presence is a huge load off the mind, but there were a couple of moments when i wish i had the oem's back. Braking full force in potential accident situations, it just didnt seem good enough, for me atleast.

And it does give me that spongy feeling that others mentioned they had with the akebonos. It will just take some getting used to i hope.

[Jason5driver]

zimmerman x drilled z coated with pbr pads.

The lack of dust presence is a huge load off the mind, but there were a couple of moments when i wish i had the oem's back. Braking full force in potential accident situations, it just didnt seem good enough, for me atleast.

And it does give me that spongy feeling that others mentioned they had with the akebonos. It will just take some getting used to i hope.

I am assuming you the PBR pads you mentioned that you have on your car are the Axxis/PBR Deluxes....?
Hence, the reason for your spongy braking IMO...

[bimmerfiver]

zimmerman x drilled z coated with pbr pads.

The lack of dust presence is a huge load off the mind, but there were a couple of moments when i wish i had the oem's back. Braking full force in potential accident situations, it just didnt seem good enough, for me atleast.

And it does give me that spongy feeling that others mentioned they had with the akebonos. It will just take some getting used to i hope.

PBR...they make several types of pads....Ultimate, Deluxe and Metal Master, see here:

http://www.importrp.com/pbr.html

You should have a rock hard pedal with PBR/Axxis Ultimates...I do.

I wanna go on record here...I am NOT convinced that leaving the Z-Coating ON the rotors is THE thing to do. I swear to Christ it 'gums up' and becomes a severe hinderence to the effectiveness and simple function of brake pads 'bedding in'.

I know people will disagree, fine. But here is some huge news to support my notion...I had Akebono Euros mated with the Z-Coats, hated it. Within 500 miles put StopTech pads on, hated it. Here is the deal...just yesterday I removed the StopTech pads, which had 1K miles on them...and there was gummed up shit all over the pads! It looked like dark gray bubble gum, chunks of it and I saw the same thing on the Akebono Euros AND guess what? Removing the StopTech pads yesterday and installing the PBR/Axxis Ultimates...a very noticeable vibration IN my car has now diminished by 75%!

I do not not not believe that Zimmerman makes bad rotors. Mark and Jared from EAC Tuning swear by them and they clearly know their sh*t. I am still using the Zimmerman rotors on my car, but I would never again install them and simply leave the 'wallpaper-like' coating on the rotors and allow that crud to mesh with my pads. My theory is supported by the fact that Akebono Euros barely worked with them...my pedal was a total sponge and weak braking...my theory was advanced when the StopTechs encountered some of the leftover 'Z-Coat' and the StopTech pads were yes an improvement over the Akebonos, but not much...and my theory is advanced even further by the fact that imo, the Z-Coat gets all munged-up in the pads, creates high spots of crud and caused me a significant vibration while driving the car.

I would use Zimmerman based on Mark and Jared's advice. I would remove the Z-Coat from the faces of the rotors based on my experience. My vibration was driving me effin nuts. My weak brake pedal drove me nuts (I replaced the brake booster when it was frozen with ice last winter) replaced my master cylinder, have stainless steel lines, Castrol GTLMA Synthetic brake fluid flushed through the system three times and spent a lot of money at the dealership to have my system bleed of air (as I had to eliminate this as a potential cause).

Ever since installing the Z-Coat rotors in March with Akebonos, I have chased my tail trying to resolve weak brakes and vibration. Now that the Z-Coating is burnt off the rotors (which have 1,500 miles on them) and I have new PBR/Axxis Ultimates, my brakes rock and I have no vibration. So if someone wants to suggest that Z-Coating was not to blame, I firmly disagree.