At 40,000 miles I am getting the low brake pad message so sooner or later at least the pads will have to be changed and I want to use ceramics. Does anybody have real experience with ceramics and recommend a brand or type to use. Car is driven only on street and highway....no track or racing.

Thanks in advance.

Joel

 

I'm using the EBC Red stuff pads and they work well. Still trying to see how much dust they produce since I didn't wash the car for a while. Like that they aren't as touchy as the stock XFR pads though.

 

EBC Red here also, not as much dust and what dust there is, is not black as from the factory pads. Not much in the way of pad selection for Jays. But I like the EBC's.

 

I replaced the stock brake pads with PowerStop ceramic pads from Rock Auto over a year ago now, and they have been brilliant. Less than 1/3 the cost of OEM pads from my local dealer, even allowing for postage cost from the US to Oz, much more progressive feel than the stock pads, very low dust (the stock pads were shocking for dust), and they have barely worn after roughly 10,000 miles.

 

I hear good things about the Akebono pads.

 

Akebono's are great, but only available on the rear of the XF (at least the 2011 NA). They are supposed to come out with fronts this year, but that's not a certainty.

EBC's still dust a lot. And less dust is really not much better than lots of dust. Your wheels will still look dull from brake dust in 1 day, so nothing gained.

Zero dust like the Akebono is the way to go. I am still experimenting with front pads to find an equivalent.

 

As I said earlier, the PowerStop ceramic pads I fitted a year or so ago are very low dust.
I give my wheels a quick wipe once a week, takes 30 seconds each wheel, and they come up looking like new.
These PowerStop pads come in a range of sizes to suit the different size XF rotors, including the stock 326 mm rears (and fronts on lower spec XF models), the 355 mm fronts I have on my XFS, and the 385 mm fronts and 380 mm rears on the XFR.

 

I found this on YouTube on the PowerStop pads.

 

Powerstops are what have have waiting to go on the fronts:

Here are the Akebono's I use for the rear:

 

Could you please keep us posted on this?

 

Update on brake pads:

I just installed the Power Stop in the front, but be warned! All the 3rd party sites that sell Power Stop list the 16-1241 as the right pad for the 2011 XF Premium Front Pads. They are all wrong! I ordered those pads from Amazon (which also lists them as correct), and while they looked almost identical to the original pads, they are slightly different. The pad doesn't sit on the disc properly and the caliper won't go on all the way. I checked the Power Stop website, and it showed 16-1240. I ordered that one, and it works perfectly. Amazon didn't hesitate to take back the wrong ones.

How do they compare? The braking feels good. It doesn't grab as much as the stock pads, which I prefer. But even though it's better, it's different. After a week, it will become the new norm for you and you won't remember the grabbiness of the originals.

The brake dust is much much better than the EBC Reds. It's not zero dust like the Akebonos (I don't know how they do it), but it's definitely a light color and very little.

So the Power Stop are winners for me, because I wanted to get rid of the black dust from the stock pads and the EBCs. I will be ordering another set of Power Stop front pads to replace the EBC Reds on my other XF.

 

Same here, I found that the stock pads were way too grabby for my liking, in low speed stop start traffic the brake pedal acted like an on/off switch, very difficult to drive smoothly no matter how hard I tried to modulate the braking.
Pulling into my garage then stopping was a real chore.
The PowerStops are so much more progressive and nicer feeling, and as you say you quickly get used to the lack of initial severe bite.

 

I have the same pads with centric high carbon rotors that I had installed about a year and a half ago. The setup has been amazing so far. Almost no dust and good stopping power

 

They have great prices on Powerstop pads -- I can get the front and rear pads for my 2010 XF 5.0 for only $60, with shipping. I never bought from them before, are they okay? They also have Centric Premium front rotors from them. Anyone have experience with Centric rotors?

 

Yes rockauto is the best parts supplier in North America. I got centric high carbon rotors and power stop ceramic pads for my 09 from them about a year and a half ago. All in I paid about $500 CAD for the parts. So far it's been a great setup.

If you're into saving money, buy all your consumables from rock auto.

 

I've used Rockauto for years, 100% satisfaction. Before you order, google for a rockauto discount code. They run a 5% off coupon every month. Not much but every little bit helps.

 

I just ordered Akebono Euro Ultra Premium for the rears (fronts are not yet available from Akebono) from Rockauto for only $60 shipped. I think I have a bit more life left on the fronts, so I'll wait on those. Thanks for the info!

 

I am loving the Akebono's on the rear axles. I just put Akebono's front and rear on the Range Rover Sport. It's amazing how these pads feel better, but don't dust or eat the rotors.

Go ahead and get the Power Stops for the front of your Jag so you don't eat through the rotors with those terrible stock pads. The Power Stops feel better than stock and they don't dust either.

So nice.

 

I know I said earlier that Power Stop do brake pads for all variants of XF, including the XFR (which I now have). No, they don't do pads for the XFR, so I've bought Centric pads instead (front & rear, semi-metallic rather than ceramic), I'll report back once they are fitted and have a few miles under the belt.

 

I have Centric ceramics on mine and I have been very happy with them. They aren't as grabby at low speeds which is great. The dust is almost completely eliminated.