Hi to all..........

As many people have complained about brake dust I wanted to share with forum members the results of my findings (although already pretty well known)
I just installed both front and rear Power Stop Ceramic pads (purchased off of ebay) The result was almost TOTAL reduction of brake dust. I previously had Centric semi metallic on the rear and OEM on the front. The fronts dusted the most and the Centrics about 1/2 as much.
Our cars are not unique in this situation. Look at any BMW, MB etc and the problem is the same. You will find part #s as follows:

Front Power Stop #16-1241 $45 shipped
Rear " " #16-1095 $33 "

If you do the work yourself you will need a brake piston caliper compressor from either Oreilly or Auto Zone as the rear pistons "screw" in as opposed to push in like most others, fronts are just a push in. Really no big deal.

Hope some forum members find this helpful. I have a 07 XK.

 

Thanks for the advice. The next obvious question is how do they perform?. I know they're not bedded in yet but any noise or reduced stopping power?

Thanks

Steve

 

I understand that the reason ceramic pads shed very little dust is because they are a much harder compound than the OEM Jaguar pads. This would appear at first glance to be a good thing. But since ceramic pads are harder, they are also more likely to score the rotors than the OEM pads. That means you'll probably have to replace those rotors the next time you replace the pads. Not a big deal with inexpensive rotors, but if you have Alcon brakes...front rotors list at $505 each!

I decided to have my dealer install new OEM front pads at 30K miles while my Alcon rotors were still in good shape. Just a basic "pad slap". Without turning the rotors, they should be good for another 30K miles. In my experience, turned (resurfaced) rotors always warp eventually and you have to replace them.

For me, putting up with brake dust is a minor inconvenience compared to buying new Alcon rotors.

I suspect that Jaguar (and Alcon) would use ceramic pads if they thought the advantages outweighed the disadvantages for a particular application. What do you think?

Stuart

 

I'm with you Stuart 100%. I have the Alcons too and I think ceramics may cut down brake dust but they would eat up the rotors too fast.

Mine isn't a portfolio and so the Alcon + 20" Senta wheels were a $5500 option package which I'm sure Jaguar found to be the ideal brake set-up on these cars.

I offered my brake dust solution on a couple threads but as usual my advice fell on deaf ears since most are already geared up to get the ceramics regardless. (or in other cases they only care about the 5.0 XKR) but you may find this valuable: I mix a capful of optimum ONR with my GC car shampoo in the bucket and just wash the car. The ONR polymers create a super slick surface and brake dust now only starts showing on my wheels at the 2 week point or 400 miles.

 

In a discussion about this topic in another forum here, I received the following reply. Would like your comments, as it basically says the opposite of what you guys have said:

"Semi-metallic brake pads are more abrasive and wear rotors faster. I have found more rotor wear and brake dust using semi-metallic pads not less rotor wear. Ceramic pads cause less rotor wear and less visible dust.

Since they were first used on a few original equipment applications in 1985, friction materials that contain ceramic formulations have become recognized for their desirable blend of traits. These pads use ceramic compounds and copper fibers in place of the semi-metallic pad's steel fibers. This allows the ceramic pads to handle high brake temperatures with less heat fade, provide faster recovery after the stop, and generate less dust and wear on both the pads and rotors. And from a comfort standpoint, ceramic compounds provide much quieter braking because the ceramic compound helps dampen noise by generating a frequency beyond the human hearing range.

Another characteristic that makes ceramic materials attractive is the absence of noticeable dust. All brake pads produce dust as they wear. The ingredients in ceramic compounds produce a light colored dust that is much less noticeable and less likely to stick to the wheels. Consequently, wheels and tires maintain a cleaner appearance longer.

Ceramic pads meet or exceed all original equipment standards for durability, stopping distance and noise. According to durability tests, ceramic compounds extend brake life compared to most other semi-metallic and organic materials and outlast other premium pad materials by a significant margin - with no sacrifice in noise control, pad life or braking performance.

Basically I think the evolution of ceramic pads is an engineering improvement over past materials and they don't eat rotors they save them."

 

comment: get out the salt shaker. The wording sounds like it was directly lifted from a marketing brochure.

Ceramic is pretty hard stuff. Harder than steel. Rub one against the other, one of them has to give.

 

FWIW I've had Akebono ceramics on my XJR for 90k miles and there doesn't appear to be any unusual brake disc wear. By that I mean that there is no *visible* problem....the surface on all 4 discs is smooth and flat.

Cheers
DD

 

Aah Michael,

Car forums are overrun with dabates ranging from the better brake pads to liquid wax vs. carnuba to tires to anything people use on their cars and a different option exists.

Bottom line I'm not getting hooked into this one, I've stated what my opinion is based on my experience and advice received from others more knowledgeable than I plus at $400 per 400mm alcon rotor, I'm not risking mine.

Bottom line, both types off pads will do what they are intended to do: Stop your car.

It's your choice what you feel works best.

I will offer this Jaguar XKR Portfolio

There is a nice couple of paragraphs describing mine and Stuart's brakes not found on the standard XKR.