Brake pads

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Neekk1

well yes of course i want good pads but i guess i should have stated that i dont need ones that are rated for racing.

Nor do you want pads rated for racing. They chew up the disk, squeal like crazy and don't really work very well until hot.

The ebc reds are a street pad with a ceramic matrix, which makes a lighter colored dust than metal matrix pads, and is easy on rotors. They also have very good cold and hot performance.

The OEM pads are better than most stock pads on other cars and the Boxster is one of the best braking cars in existance so you'll be fine with OEM. But there is a noticeable difference with the EBC pads. You don't have a wrong choice here.

[RandallNeighbour]

Ekam, the brakes on my DD are actually far better than my Boxster. My 550i has the best brakes of any car I have owned.

I just spend more on Boxster pads because they will not get worn out as fast so I treat myself and go from "very good" to "very very good" pads.

Plus, I tend to drive the Boxster far more aggressively than my BMW, hence the better pads that wear out faster and create a lot of dust.

Hope that makes sense now.

[ekam]

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2011/april/cars/best-and-worst/breaking-distance/index.htm

Not sure how your BMW 550i can brake quicker than the Boxster when it's the best out of all vehicles tested by Consumer Reports. I know this is a 2011 report but Boxster has consistently beat the chart for quite a while.

Since the boxster have very good brakes stock you shouldn't need to improve on it unless there's something wrong with your boxster's brakes.

[RandallNeighbour]

Ekam, you make a good point. However, the weights of the cars are drastically different and so is the age of the cars and their onboard technology (my boxster's a 1997 and the BMW is a 2007).

The brakes in the Boxster are quite good and I've no complaints... I just don't use them nearly as much as I brake in my BMW, and I brake completely differently as well, so it's quite subjective to me. The Bimmer will probably get factory pads next go-around to preserve the rotors longer and for the fact that the factory pads are quite good.

But we're hijacking this thread in a serious way now. Neekk1 wanted to know which pads are best for his boxster.

Neekk1, I've tried three different types of brake pads on my boxster since I bought it seven years ago, just to see if I could find a low squeak, low dust, street pad that didn't compromise braking in cold or hot situations. I think I'll spring for EBC pads next time around and see if the EBC pads make a big difference over the brands I've tried thus far.

If budget is of any concern, choosing Textar, Mintex, or Pagid will not give you any regrets with typical street performance. These are the brands I've tried and I did not dislike any of them.

You know, we should query the entire forum about what pads they are running and see which ones are the most popular. I'll see if I can set up a new thread with a poll on it.

[thstone]

The standard Textar, Mintex, or Pagid will be great for your daily driver.

[WhipE350]

I put Mintex on mine (made by TMD, it makes several other OEM also). The Mintex were really inexpensive and worked great.
I didn't like the dust so replaced with Akebono...no dust. I have them on my Benz and before I put them on I had dust in 40 miles...know I can go a month and I only clean them to keep them perfect.
Don't let others tell you they aren't good enough, I use them on both cars now and they stop on a dime.