Time for me to grab some front brake pads. 99.9% street driving. I want oem pads but honda switched the oem ap1 pads to civic si pads and from what I've read, performs less then the oem ap1 pads. Ap2 pads brake dust more and also heard didn't perform as well. I want to stay away from autozone etc for my pads. Everyone complained about the oem pads I mention but never said what they ended up with. Project mu ns400 is also an option for me. Best price for ns400 is $95ish for the fronts. Oem run $55ish. What pads do you guys suggest?

 

If you want low dust, powerstop Z23's are decent. Most low dust pads are garbage in terms of feel and stopping power. Z23's are probably some of the better low dust pads out there. Or Akebono performance ceramic.

If you're able to accept a little more dust, the Centric Stoptech Sport (street performance) pad is very good. Good bite, no squeal, etc.

Beck Arnley sells Axxis Semi Metallics...which are fantastic for bite. But get ready a fairly high amount of dust.

I shop at rockauto for any of the above.

Hawk HPS is a great street pad. Also kinda dusty, though.

You need to bed any pad in for it to work, of course.

 

whats wrong with pads from autozone? I use autozone for daily driving duties, and hawk hp+ for track days. I bought a full set of front and rear rotors specifically for the hawk pads, so I can switch out a full set for street use and track use. I have tried Hawk HPS for street use, and like mentioned, they do dust quite a bit, and I did not notice any major difference over the Autozone Duralast gold pads.

 

The problem I have with autozone pads is that they don't last as long as oem pads and they dust like crazy. My wheels now are a major pain to clean as it is. Autozone pads are kinda the opposite of what I'm looking for. I want low dust and a decent bite.

 

Kinda want to hear from the fellows who ended up using the oem si/rsx pads or the new ap2 pads.

 

FWIW...I run Hawk HPS pads,EBC slot rotors & Goodridge SS lines on my 03.

For me,it's a good DD setup.

\rlr
Carolina

 

Carbotech 1521's have been great for me, low dust, rotor friendly and good initial bit even cold. They easily survived a Dragon trip, not recommended for track use but they worked fine for me on an occasional visit to the track for a few laps. I will run these pads as long as they are available, they have everything I'm looking for in a street pad.

 

I've used stock AP1 and AP2 pads. They're nothing special. The AP2 pads are a bit better. They dust a little less than the stoptech that I run now for street use.

Autozone/Advance's "high level" ceramic pads aren't much different than the stock pads. Virtually the same overall feel.

They do the job for street driving. But none of them offer vastly improved bite or feel or modulation. They're just normal ass pads.

 

with Joey.
Much better pads than the original AP1.
Better bite,less dusty, and not noisy.

 

I have akebono ceramics. a little pricey but absolutely no dust and last on street forever.