[JustinHEMI]

Received and installed my Carbotech 1521 pads today! Install was easy peasy, maybe 30 minutes per wheel at most. Rear was also super easy after putting car in service mode using bimmerlink.

Carbotech says no bed in needed for 1521 just drive "normally" for 3-400 miles. Well "normal" for me is hard, so let her rip I guess!

Anyway, I did go for a quick 20 minute run and I cannot tell any difference in bite and stopping power between these and the OEM, so that's good! They may even be better, but I have no scientific way to state that definitively. I can say that I didn't detect a DECREASE in performance so that's good.

How bad they dust will take some miles to tell. I'll try to avoid washing my new wheels for a few hundred miles to post an after pic, but I did take a pic after my 20 mile run. Very little dust and it's more brown than black. So far so good!

The only "issue" is on the front pad, the cut out for the wear sensor didn't quite fit snugly enough so I just tied off the sensor. I'm never going to use it to decide on pad replacement anyway.

Here's the wheel after nearly 1200 miles and before washing.




OEM vs Carbotech fronts.



OEM vs Carbotech rears.




I like the blue vs red.





Also while I had the wheel off, I put in the yellow DRL modules. I snapped a pic of the brake cooling duct for curiosity.





Two swipes of a finger to get dust of the new pads.





I'll post back after a few hundred miles on how they're doing and how the dust is!

[StickyPickle]

Subscribed, definitely interested to see how much these reduce the dust. I was trying to cheap out and avoid getting these, EBC Redstuff or iSweep 1500 but looks like I’ll have to bite the bullet if I want to get a quality pad that is decent at reducing brake dust. Plus there’s not many other good options out there in this class that offer front pads.

I don’t think the EBCs do as good as good of a job compared to the Carbotech and iSweep and plus you can’t find any of the fronts in stock so I’m down to those 2.

[JustinHEMI]

Originally Posted by StickyPickle

Subscribed, definitely interested to see how much these reduce the dust. I was trying to cheap out and avoid getting these, EBC Redstuff or iSweep 1500 but looks like I’ll have to bite the bullet if I want to get a quality pad that is decent at reducing brake dust. Plus there’s not many other good options out there in this class that offer front pads.

I don’t think the EBCs do as good as good of a job compared to the Carbotech and iSweep and plus you can’t find any of the fronts in stock so I’m down to those 2.

Yeah I was really debating between iSweep and Carbotech, but being USA made and available on my timeline won out for Carbotech. So far so good! I'll definitely make updates.

[babym_gen]

A timer app could have given you your 60-0 times and distance before and after.
Sure you need to give time for your new pads to settle and try the test at the same time of day and same weather/temperature but this kind of data is invaluable I find despite the hassle.

[JustinHEMI]

Yeah nah. Not doing that.

[M2siast]

Originally Posted by babym_gen

A timer app could have given you your 60-0 times and distance before and after.
Sure you need to give time for your new pads to settle and try the test at the same time of day and same weather/temperature but this kind of data is invaluable I find despite the hassle.

I don’t think there would be any difference, it shouldn’t anyway. Pads do nothing to help stop shorter or longer, brakes make no difference.

What we’re looking for is fade resistance. But that’s hard to measure. And if OP is never tracking the car he may not need to ascertain that anyway. I’d be interested to see if it fades more quickly than stock, but I’m not sure a scientific controlled method is possible or easy to do at home.

How much did they run you OP?

[JustinHEMI]

600 with expedited shipping.

[Axylus]

Originally Posted by M2siast

I don’t think there would be any difference, it shouldn’t anyway. Pads do nothing to help stop shorter or longer, brakes make no difference.

What we’re looking for is fade resistance. But that’s hard to measure. And if OP is never tracking the car he may not need to ascertain that anyway. I’d be interested to see if it fades more quickly than stock, but I’m not sure a scientific controlled method is possible or easy to do at home.

How much did they run you OP?

Can you define what fade means?

[M2siast]

Originally Posted by Axylus

Can you define what fade means?

The inability to continue to help the car decelerate at maximum efficiency after repeated attempts, where heat has built up.

As brakes heat up they lose efficiency and the friction coefficient is reduced. If heat is extreme, brakes can totally fail.

This normally only happens if driving down a mountain pass riding the brakes (reason why we need to reduce gears to help the engine brake hold the car) or driving on the track.

Bigger brakes have more area to absorb the heat exchange and thus have less tendency to overheat (reason why faster/heavier vehicles have larger brakes).

Pads come in different materials that help with brake fade (some materials work better in higher temperatures). Some materials, like “ceramic” pads are great for brake dust as they don’t generate as much, but do not resist to heat as well as metallic materials. They “melt” under extreme use.

It’s always a compromise. They’ll all stop the same way, but some will continue to help the car stop for longer periods of braking.

[Squidget]

Originally Posted by M2siast

Bigger brakes have more area to absorb the heat exchange and thus have less tendency to overheat (reason why faster/heavier vehicles

Yes, and "brakes" means not just pads, but also the rotors. Rotors are drilled/vented to increase surface area so they cool faster. And they are massive so they can absorb more heat. Also this is why sports cars have ducts to route extra air over the brake assembly.

Brake fade can be most dangerous when you boil your brake fluid. Boiled fluid becomes compressible, and that means no hydraulic pressure. This happens super quickly, so your brakes can be fine one moment and totally gone the next. That's why semis crash so often coming down mountains; by the time the driver notices it's too late.

[M2siast]

Originally Posted by Squidget

And "brakes" means not just pads, but also the rotors. The value of drilled rotors and massive rotors, is all to increase surface area (so they cool faster) or mass (so they can absorb more heat) respectively. Also this is why sports cars have ducts to route extra air over the brake assembly.

Brake fade can be most dangerous when you boil your brake fluid. Boiled fluid becomes compressible, and that means no hydraulic pressure. This happens super quickly, so your brakes can be fine one moment and totally gone the next. That's why semis crash so often coming down mountains.

Correct, but semis crash because of heat in the contact with pads/rotors, not fluid boiling since they’re compressed air operated, and function inverse to how our brakes work. We push the pedal, hydraulic pressure is built to push the pads against the rotors.
Air is always pushing the pads out of the rotors, and when you push the pedal that pressure is alleviated to have the pads put pressure on the rotors.

So when their brake assistance fails, the brakes lock up. That’s why sometimes you see skid marks on highways. Sometimes it was a near (or full on) accident, but sometimes it was a brake failure (so they locked up).

Anyway, a bit of digression sorry!

[KevinC]

I’ve got about 8k miles on mine. MUCH happier than with the stock pads. More linear feel, and in my usage which is 99% daily driver stuff, virtually no dust.

[JustinHEMI]

About 150 miles with hard braking. Also, they do squeak at low speed, like creeping up at a stop light or pulling into the garage. That said, squeaking was never a problem for me.

[StickyPickle]

Originally Posted by JustinHEMI

About 150 miles with hard braking. Also, they do squeak at low speed, like creeping up at a stop light or pulling into the garage. That said, squeaking was never a problem for me.

New wheels?

[JustinHEMI]

Originally Posted by StickyPickle

New wheels?

Yes see other thread in this section.

[StickyPickle]

Originally Posted by JustinHEMI

Yes see other thread in this section.

Ah, forgot about that one. Nice!

[JustinHEMI]

I read this from Carbotech on another forum,

"Squealing and dust will reduce over ~1k miles or a few months as the stock pad material is removed from your rotors."


So I'll continue to update. About 450 miles now. I should note that what squeaking I do hear from time to time is nothing compared to OEM.

[StickyPickle]

Originally Posted by JustinHEMI

I read this from Carbotech on another forum,

"Squealing and dust will reduce over ~1k miles or a few months as the stock pad material is removed from your rotors."


So I'll continue to update. About 450 miles now. I should note that what squeaking I do hear from time to time is nothing compared to OEM.

I was thinking maybe the squealing was due to the bedding process being different than other pads but not sure. As far as the brake dust, is it easier to clean and wipe off? Dust will never 100% go away but if it’s reduced and it doesn’t stick as much as OEM pads do so it’s easier to clean then it’s totally worth it. I will probably ceramic coat the wheels just for that reason.

[JustinHEMI]

Originally Posted by StickyPickle

I was thinking maybe the squealing you were experiencing was due to the bedding process being different than other pads but not sure. As far as the brake dust, is it easier to clean and wipe off? Dust will never 100% go away but if it’s reduced and it doesn’t stick as much as OEM pads do so it’s easier to clean then it’s totally worth it.

Yeah I agree and when I saw this, it made sense. My rotors were well and bedded with OEM pad material and if I'm not going to knock it off another way, then these pads need to work it off over time.

I think this dust is easier to clean but I'll know for sure in a bit. When Headed out to give her a bath. I was going to avoid washing the wheels for a while but I had them rebalanced yesterday and now they have hand prints all over them, so starting fresh. Plus I need to get some more photos for Richland Forged.

When I finger swipe the dust, it doesn't seem as thick and sicky as OEM.

[JustinHEMI]

200 miles or so since yesterday's wash. Not a lot of dust.

[M Division]

Great info and post

[JustinHEMI]

Probably my last update on these unless something goes wrong because overall, I'm happy with them. They do dust less, it's a different kind of dust that is easier to clean and doesn't turn brown, the braking seems at least as good as OEM. They do squeak a little from time to time but it's barely noticeable as compared to OEM. They aren't dust free if that's what you're after.

All in all I think they're a decent option.


This is after a few hundred more miles. I could "live" with that dust on there a while, whereas the OEM dust would have been browning and such. I do need to give her a bath as she'll be on video next weekend.

Lastly, cosmetically, I like the little touch of red back there with the blue calipers. It all kinda goes with the 50th anniversary emblem on the wheel caps.