Hi all,
Just had new front and rear pads installed on '10 XKR at a tire/brake store. The front pads were really really low and rears were also. Had Brembo ceramic pads installed and they just don't seem as sticky as what I had (pads were very low). Not sure what I had as I didn't ask the shop. Have to mash much harder to get it stopped now. At stop light, if I lift off just a little, the car rolls forward. Does it take a while for the brakes to wear in? Or are Brembo brakes just not that sticky?

 

ALL brakes need to be broken-in. Ceramic pads are also not as sticky as S-Ms or whatever else, so they take a bit of getting used to.

 

There's a reason Jaguar engineers didn't specify ceramic pads on our cars. Ceramic pads typically are a harder compound than the OEM pads, so they might need to get warmer before they grip faster. In addition, they might be noisier and cause the rotors to wear faster.

Let us know how the ceramic brake dust compares to the OEM pads, which are notorious for turning silver wheels black. Unless you have black wheels, it should be less noticeable since ceramic pads leave a light tan colored dust. If you wipe a wheel with a black cloth you'll be able to see the ceramic dust.

 

In my experience (XFS, XFR, F-Type V6S) OEM Jaguar pads and rotors are both fairly soft and both wear quite quickly, which is why they make so much black dust.
I have read somewhere that JLR do/did this on purpose in the interest of better brake performance especially more immediate "bite".
On all three Jags I was not happy with the same three things - masses of dust, a loud "graunch" from the brakes just as the car came to a stop, and waaaay too much initial bite such that in stop/go traffic the brake pedal was like an impossible to modulate on/off switch causing the car to "lurch".
I fitted new front rotors - after market but OEM spec - and Centric PosiQuiet semi-metallic pads all round to the XFS and that improved things a bit, maybe half the dust, 2/3 the graunch and 2/3 the on/off switch.
I fitted Centric PosiQuiet semi-metallic pads to the XFR then a bit later Hart brand after market drilled and slotted rotors with new "ceramic" pads which turned out to be the exact same Centric pads as I already had on, and now things were a little better again, maybe 1/3 of the initial three problems.
When I got the F-Type I immediately transferred the front rotors and pads from the XFR to it - exact same 380 mm brakes - but not the rears until a year later as different size brakes 376 mm vs 326 mm - then a year later I bought 376 mm rear brake parts and fitted them and the "old" 376 mm rotors to the F-Type. When I upgraded the rear brakes I also fitted Porterfield "carbon kevlar" R4S pads all round.
The brake dust has been dramatically reduced to I would say 1/4 of the OEM level, the stopping "graunch" is much milder and almost disappears once the brakes are warm, but the biggest improvement is the progressiveness of the brakes - nice and smooth at all times with zero "on/off" switch feel anymore. The braking power and fade resistance is just as good as OEM. The biggest change, in line with the OP's ceramic pads, is the lack of initial bite. When I first installed the Porterfields the difference was so pronounced I thought maybe I had let some air into the brake lines so I bled them all again but no change. I since discovered this was normal for the Porterfields and ceramic pads such as EBC Reds, I quickly got used to needing a little more pressure on the brake pedal for initial braking, and now I would never go back to OEM pads or rotors.

 

Interesting. I did try the slotted, drilled approach. I was expecting better performance. but that was not my experience. I’m back to solid disks and proper metallic pads. And on wash day, 2 minutes a wheel with warm soap and water and a soft cloth. Only on the wheels I use dish detergent in that water.

 

i also use centric posi-quiet on my other cars. on my altima they're paired with EBC v-slot discs. it feels like a kart, it stops incredibly hard with light foot pressure even now, two and half years later -- well, after admittedly only about 12k miles, thanks covid. but yeah i would recommend their semi-metallic and their ceramic, both work fine, and if jaguar intended the XK not to have ceramic then simply, buyer beware, results not guaranteed.

on the other hand my XK feels like it has air in the lines its so soft, and no change even after brand new pads/discs (i honestly can't remember what brand, and apparently i don't have a copy of the order email anymore, but i believe they were also centric parts. just a standard disc surface). i bled the lines with a motive power bleeder to no avail, however my indy shop did say that it could be that the ABS unit has to be held open while bleeding to fully flush, so, could be that.

i've found that if i grab the brake pedal quick, it offers harder resistance to my foot and better braking, instantly. i often give it one of the soft pushes then briskly pump my foot off and on to get the firmness back and stop faster. if i slam on it quick from the get-go, that also gives some decent stopping performance. anyway, try it and see? i can't see that anything's wrong with my car but between the two of us we might deduce an issue. i'm not even sure i want to fix it because the soft "mode" has proven incredibly good for trail-braking as one does not have to flex the leg and foot quite so hard to moderate brake pressure when the pedal is that lenient, yet with a double-tap i can still come to a hard stop when needed.

 

Slotted and drilled on street driven cars is for looks only.

I switched to ceramic as the brake dust from oem semi metallic was unreal.

 

But they do look soooo purdy* and save me over 45lbs in unsprung weight



*Just proving I'am multilingual...but will keep taking the tablets!

 

Here's my 6 week update.......these Brembo's are NOT STICKY. My car, with old pads almost totally gone, stopped much better than the Brembos. Granted, I don't have much brake dust anymore, but dang......something has to be wrong. Maybe fakes??

 

part of it is ceramic vs metallic.
Nonetheless, the brembo metallic pads were on the other car and they were nothing short of fantastic.

 

Yeah....I should've gone SM and not ceramic. Live and learn.

 

Or… set them straight and replace them. I had a scare years ago where I had to really press the pedal hard and they still didn’t start to bite for at least 25 yds…. replaced them the next day while visiting the RIP Waltham dealership. I’m not ever using them again. Fine for city cruising. Not fine how I use my car.

 

While riding in the XKR two days ago, the wife said to me "you really don't like using brakes much, do you?" because she thinks I drive like a nut. Anyway, I went to just give them a light tap, and they did a Mighty Anchor imitation. They didn't get Grabby or anything, they just did what really good brakes do.
Oh, and I have Porterfield pads, can't remember which version.

 

I have the factory Jaguar pads on my car (well dealer installed factory replacement stock pads at 48k by the former owner, have 74k on it now). They dust a LOT, but the stopping is so nice for my street driving, I just ceramic coated my wheels and keep up with a touch up spray and the dust falls off with water sprayed on. They still have halfish life left based on last time I was under the car with a flashlight lol.

I've put ceramics on a few cars; and from what I've learned is, they often are a trade off with low dusting and braking performance. This is not an absolute, and great ceramics can be great stoppers too. Generally I've found on a street driven car that I prefer to stick with stock or if improving brakes, looking at a LOT of info before popping pads on. Temperatures, sounds, dusting, pad life, rotor life, etc. The stock is not necessarily an end all be all; its an engineered compromise based on the manufacturer's belief on the users intended use case of the vehicle. It's usually a no brainer decent setup for street use in terms of stopping performance and longevity on most GT cars though.

I will say I've had excellent aftermarket pads from Porterfield, Akebono, Hawk, Performance Friction and Carbotech.

 

I put StopTech Posi Quiet Ceramic pads on my Jag, no problems at all. The brake feel is different, not worse at least for me, I do drive my car very hard. I have switched previous Euro cars to ceramic and as it goes with all forums debate raged on regarding stopping efficacy. Some users tested with their G-tech device with traction control off and on, ceramic vs oem BMW pads. No difference when using measuring devices.

 

The 380 mm discs were fitted from the factory with the Jaguar C2d3801 pads sourced from Jurid with the compound code 310 rather than the usual ATE. They are according to their edge codes a very high friction pad (GG rated). For me, that's how they feel; grippy but easy to modulate. I switched mine out for TRW pads (well known OEM brand but affordable) and didn't like them - they needed more pressure were graunchy at near stop and felt less powerful, This was also shown up on the TÜV brake test inspection where they showed up 30% or so less than the previous test with the Jaguar/Jurid pads. I couldn't find another road pad with a GG rating so I switched back to Jurids.The dust doesn't bother me. I just wash the well-polished wheels before they get too bad.

Check the DOT/edge codes of the pads you are considering if you can. It does seem to have some direct correlation between what it says and what you get. I think I saw a photo of those Brembo pads and the DOT code looked to be FF, which should be OK. Maybe it is a borderline FF and the Jurids are a solid GG?