The OE tires are NLA .. Can't comment on your rotors /pad combination. I can only tell you with stock the brakes have great feel and no fade. W/O getting into the dynamics of braking -- is just a question of the brake being able to stop the rotor .. there is no way the stock brakes can not do that. After that it's a question of fade .. maybe you simply have a bad combination of pad and rotor material. Stock Akebono pads on Japanese cars have just as much dust as any European car. The offering of less dust or dustless is a compromise.

It is what it is ... you are not getting out of the pad rotor combination what the designers gave you. Brembo now has a huge subsidiary in China making the aftermarket line.

The R1 upgrade was marketing -- they did the 100 and offered the brake upgrade after. It was a difficult sell because it really did not offer anything .... and the larger tires were too big for the cars suspension (rough). It was not popular.

I had pre-ordered a 996tt ... Porche was popularizing the larger painted brakes ... the 996tt came through in red ..... and MB was doing it with the AMG's. Jaguar was now siting with the same design since 1994 and the all AL body was delayed. The R1 was not offered because the stock system was inadequate. Drove a few .. had one for a week

 

Sorry for bumping in on this. It seems most recommend the Akebono, but does anyone know where they might be available from in the UK?

 

Once again. OPINIONS VARY...... My opinion is that standard XJR brakes are mediocre at best while you believe they're great... fine.

As to the Akebono pads, the difference in the amount of brake dust from these CERAMIC pads and standard pads is HUGE. I found myself having to clean my Asteroid wheels at minimum every 100 miles or so as they were totally covered in brake dust ...even more if just driving around town using the brakes more. The Akebono pads totally eliminated this problem for me.

As to your Brembo rotors comment "inferring" that they "chinese crap" is somewhat offensive. ....thats RUBBISH. Apparently you are unaware that Brembo made a massive capital investment in a huge $100 Million plant they opened in 2017 in Michigan USA as its sole supplier to the US Market which is Brembo's largest market. . ( this is where my rotors came from ). They also built plants in China and Poland. Everyone I ever knew that ran Brembo rotors on their cars swears by them....So do I.

On the " R "hi performance brake option..... I totally disagree that that it is a "marketing gimmick" and makes no difference as you say. .. Just curious, have you ever driven an XJR with this option ? I have and can say unequivocally that it is a different car with these brakes. They are SPECTACULAR.

As said, Opinions vary .

 

Ronco1 .. I'm not here to argue. You do what you wish and think what you wish .. I'm only trying to provide information. There is a reason why brakes make dust ... If Porsche could make a conventional setup dust free and still work properly ... they would. The solution is going to 5k+ setups with special rotors.

The ceramic pad/ rotor mismatch is your problem -- you wish to believe otherwise ..OK.

We supply textiles (now) to the auto manufactures ...... one of my forefathers started a little brake company back in 1924 .. after getting out of the gear business.


Edit: I will add that China is a huge supplier of blanks (rotors) ... companies can source various qualities and do the final grinding. There has always been a wide quality variety available. More so today. The last I checked Zimmerman still produced. Many go through Mexico and into USA with NAFTA.

The units for the x308 are sold in matched pairs -- they balance them. The front end design has always disliked imbalance -- the switch to cast steel in the X308 helped.

 

On 2/17/2018 I ordered these components below. I did not see that there seems to be a dogma about the Brembo/Akebono package until after I ordered. I'm a bit funny, when I read "it's the ONLY way to go," I am often dubious. I did search some other threads on this issue and then ordered:

CENTRIC 10503941D Posi-Quiet Ceramic w/Shims and Hardware Front $ 33.79 for the set.

CENTRIC 12520014 High Carbon Alloy Brake Disc Front $ 52.79 each.

At 1000 miles with combined city and highway driving these are functioning excellently with minimal to no dust. Yes, that dust issue IS a big issue for me. Keep in mind I don't routinely drive my Jaguar hard but I like to know that power and breaking are always in reserve. This Centric combo was in the middle to slightly above high performance rating according to a few sources. One thing I really like about them is that they don't "grab" at that last moment just before you come to a stop. The OEM Jaguar ones (the numbers were on the pads) did.

One of the problems I had with making a decision is that people here kept saying what brand they liked but NOT what specific product within that brand. For instance, people routinely mentioned Centric but not which specific product of say the 6 different ones available at Rockauto. That is why I am listing the stock numbers as well as the brand.

 

Just for reference in case anyone else is in the process of choosing new pads, I just fitted Akebonos front and rear, purchased from my local NAPA Auto Parts store. Excellent progressive feel and minimal dust.

Part numbers are as in above pics.



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