So I'm now done with installing a set of the Akebono pads on the Brembos for my 05 STR. I put the rears on first and drove the car for a couple of days. The only thing I noticed was that there was a lot less dust. Great!

Today I finished my major service and went out to bed the front pads as well as make sure that I got a nice flush/bleed of the braking system.

These pads seem to be a lot less grabby than the OEM pads which is nice.

Is that correct or do I need to check a bit further? It's really different but the pedal is firm.

If this is normal does anyone know if these pads yield less stopping power or is it just more manageable?

Thanks.

Bob S.

 

My Ake's have a rather soft/not-grippy feel under light use. When you really bear down on the pedal they grip very fiercely. Inbetween those extremes I find them easy to modulate.

Originally I was convinced that I had air in the system and I bled-bled-bled the fluid. No change. Later I heard from a couple other people reporting similar feel.

I think that's just the way they are but I can't explain why.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks Doug. I had the exact same sensation and thoughts about potential air in the system but a soft pedal feels different than this. It's good to hear you came to the same conclusion. I'm glad to increase the feel of the brakes as well.

Bob S.

 

I love the Akebonos. Excellent stopping power and no brake dust.

 

Well I can't say they're any better at stopping and maybe not as good?But it's possible that they're just different too.
I doubt anyone did a back to back comparison test.

Bob S.

 

It is well known that ceramics require more "pressure" than semi-metallic or metallic pads. The wife hated the brakes in the Honda, she felt that they "didn't work". I told her that since they were ceramics they needed more pedal pressure to "bite". So, now she has crappy looking dusty wheels on the van since she would freak if I went and changed composition on her.. Now my car is running a set of "low dust" Centric semi-metallic pads that have been nothing but great on dust and bite, but they seem to be wearing the rotor pretty fast (just like ceramics). So, like oil, if you like it, stick with it. For me, I'm not convinced that ceramics are the best solution..

 

Another vote from me for the Akebono's!! My 2005 STR works very well with them. Thanks to this forum I found out about them!! Really a great change for a street car.
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I haven't heard that the Akebonos were tuff on the rotors. I hope not. My rotors looked very good for 19K miles but that GD black soot from the OEM pads just won't come off with anything but physical contact of a rag or brush. It's the worst I've seen. I've used EBC green stuff pads on another one of my cars and I didn't notice a big change with those but the dust was greatly reduced.

So I guess the question is if the I've actually reduced the stopping power or simply changed the initial response. I'm hoping for the latter.

Bob S.

 

Yeah I know you liked them but do remember when you changed did you have a similar reaction to a noticeable difference in feel?

 

Yes. The factory Brembo pads are very grabby. Hard to smoothly apply the brakes. If you jumped on them hard then it was OK. I seemed to get the car jerking around on non-emergency stops. I do like the pedal feel of the ceramics and yes it is a bit softer. I guess the performance is about the same but without actually testing before and after. Who knows??
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Ive done several sets of akebonos and just do not like the feel, and without measuring they dont brake as well to me. I do however love ebc red stuff forget the green. The pedal feels great, low dust, and heavy brake usage(like slamming on the brakes at 50mph or more when you thought you had enough time on a stale green with a red light camera) and never any brake fade

 

Interesting. Red stuff pads used to be strickly for the track. They took too long to heat up for emergency purposes. So I just went to their website and all of their pads have changed completely since the last time I bought them. Hmmm.

Well I'm going to try these for a while. If I think the stopping power is substantially less I'll change them out. But I do like the better feel over the OEM pads.

So what didn't you like about the feel of the Akebonos?

Bob S.

 

Red stuffs are what I am looking into as well. It seems a lot of people like them

 

Red stuff are listed as performance street and yellow are track use. But you have to look cause yellow stuff are listed as performance street for my nissan truck

 

I had the Akebono brakes on my 370Z and they performed really well. The best part was ZERO brake dust, the dust on this car is awful. I will add that the Z weighs 3400lbs so there is considerably more mass to slow with the STR.

 

But several years ago there was no yellow stuff ...
Anyway, I should have checked their website for updates as they've changed the meanings of thei various categories considerably over the years.

Bob S.

 

This is good. I have tried a couple of different pads. I guess that on my next install, then I will use the Akebonos.

 

They have worked flawlessly on my STR for 18k miles. This first thing I did after purchase was install these pads. They have had a good workout I can assure you.

If you want to get rid of brake dust purchase some high quality de-greaser that is usually sold in gallon jugs and dilute one to one with water in a spray bottle. Wash the car with a good quality car wash soap not dishwasher soap as that removes the wax.

Once you have washed the car use a different wash mitt reserved for just the wheels, exhaust tips and wheel wells. Spray the de-greaser/water mixture on both the wet wheels and tires on one side and let sit for a minute and use whats left over of the car wash soap to wash them. Rinse thoroughly and I mean thoroughly. Then move to the other side and repeat. Towel dry the car first and then the wheels/tires.

The de-greaser/water mixture will not damage the paint but may remove some wax. Do not use it on the body. I use this same mixture to clean my engine compartment. Spray on a cold engine/compartment and let sit for a minute and rinse with a sprinkle setting spray thoroughly. I have also followed up with a light wash of the engine/compartment again using what is left of the car wash soap to remove any film left over. Rinse thoroughly and towel dry.

I have done my STR engine/compartment a couple of times making sure not to use a hard spray and avoid electrical connections. Wipe down immediately after.

Proceed at your own peril as this advice is worth exactly what ya paid for it...

 

I'll just mention that straight Simple Green won't cut the OEM brake dust and that stuff melts backtop. They should have used the OEM brake pad material on the space shuttle ...

I've driven the new pads for about 100 miles now and I do like the feel a lot more but I'm still not convinced they have the same ultimate stopping power.

In the mean time another frickin' headlamp is hangin' like 80 year old ****. All I did wasput the car up on jack stands for a week, do an oil change, coolant exchange and change the brake pads! WTF!

Looks like the same issue, perch is busted.

Bob S.

 

I've recently tried the Armor All Wheel protectant stuff in an attempt to at least reduce the ignorant amount of brake dust that collects on the wheels. It does seem to help the wheel shed the dust a bit better than nothing at all or regular paste wax.

It goes on like an aerosol, you "paint" the wheel with it. Only problem is you can't really tell where you missed until you drive it and then you'll see more dust will stick to the spots you missed.

It doesn't prevent brake dust sticking to the wheels, but it does seem to reduce it a decent bit so it doesn't get too bad between washes.