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      04-05-2017, 06:22 PM   #1
Jadar
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Drives: 2018 Audi S3
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan Ave.

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PowerStop Pads Z23 UPDATE 6/19/17 *Changed Reccomendation-Trust me SKIP these*

UPDATE: 6/19/17I have been meaning to update this thread for a few weeks now. Initially I recommended these pads and I will stick to that IF you only use them for street duty.
They are cheaply priced and for good reason. I got a chance to hit the drag strip on 5/31/17 and the experience with the pads was not good...actually it was horrible and scary at times.
Elaborating on the situation I did 5 drag passes in my car. At no point did the pads make me feel the car had bite up top when trying to slow down. Approximately 120 mph.
They faded insanely fast and I usually had to take the last or 2nd to the last exit on the US41 Motorplex return lane. Very disappointing indeed.
I guess for $90 on all 4 corners you get what you pay for and this is just a drag strip. I am not sure if they needed more heat or what but I made two back to back passes and it was just getting worse. Do they function...? YES...but do not under any CIRCUMSTANCE TAKE OR USE THESE PADS FOR ANY TRACK DUTY PERIOD. I would hate to see what they do on an actual race track like the Autobahn here in Joliet Illinois. .
I cant really recommend these pads honestly. Skip these and deal with the dust and be safer and wash the wheels. The squeaking is intermittent as well comes and goes. I cant ever get it to fully go away. I will be swapping these out ASAP.


UPDATE: 4/12/17I put about 100 miles on the pads. At my lunch break I took a drive to get some food and coffee, and there was a squeak. It just would not go away. I have to say it drove me nuts.

Once I got home I disassembled the pads and I also purchased NAPA sil-glyde and really applied that grease liberally everywhere. I mean I coated every metal to metal contact. Redid the back of the pads. I also found a round piece of metal in my left rear caliper lodged on the pad. This could have been the main issue causing the pad-s to vibrate on the piston and sing like crazy.

Re-bedded the pads once again and so far so good.

The verdict is still out I guess on these pads. The zero dust is so worth it, but if the squeak comes back I don't know what I will do. Hopefully it wont. Once I put a good 1500-2000 miles on them I will know really how they pan out.


EDIT: 4/10/17 Trying to update as I get more miles on the pads. They seem to be getting better, much better in terms of feel. 200 miles now on the pads and the bite is very good on the initial braking. NO dust to report yet .
However they will squeal very bad upon initial cold start or 1st daily drive when the car sits overnight. The squealing is getting less as the pads properly brake in but they will still make the noise until you drive a block or two, basically once they have some friction or heat to them they stop, its gone for the day. A small price to pay for virtually no dust IMO.

ONE thing to report and this is important for those who are sensitive to every single strange little noise your car makes. If you run the slotted and dimpled rotors these pads will accentuate that fan like sound upon low speeds and windows down. It does occur even on the M performance pads but not nearly as noticeable, so be warned it takes a bit to get use to it. Once you lay off the brakes the sound goes away. Its not that bad IMO.
If you are wondering what that sounds like, its like talking into a fan lol or putting your ear very close to it and it gives you that sort of buffeting sound.





INITIAL WRITE UP
I wanted to briefly post this up and I'll write a review and updates.

I ordered front and rear PowerStop z23 pads for my m performance bbk.

The issue for me personally on the stock m performance pads is the damn dust. They're good pads for street use and some light track duty but it ends there. But the dust is just unbearable. (See pics).
I've done some research and the f80 board folks seem to really have taken a liking to these z23 pads. So for under $85 I ordered front and rear.

I awaiting the rear set as these are a bit hard to find
At the moment so I purchased them off amazon, the rears were out of stock so still waiting.

I can't wait to see these in action. Supposedly as good as oem m performance bite but virtually zero dust.

Pics below are to compare as a starting point, 3 days about 150 miles driven and the wheels are just nasty looking with oem pads.

EDIT: 4/6/17 received the rears today. Ordering everything on Amazon I showed deliveries tomorrow and Saturday, but it all came 2 days earlier. So the seller on Amazon is awesome and super reliable for the record .

Review and impressions to come today.


UPDATES
EDIT: 4/6/17 INSTALLED
Impressions are absolutely positive! I installed these pics and I'll throw up some more photos for fun. And look at the old pads and dust that came with it. Also I show I Stowe's the pad sensors for guy track guys!

Initial feel, WOW! Cold bite right down the driveway I loved it. I properly followed powerstops bedding procedure. And yes again the cold bite is a step or two better than the m performance pads. I was shocked. Now these are the z23 pads are suppose to be more performance oriented. We shall see how they do on dust. There are some street pads called z17 that are suppose to be dustless but also the performance isn't as good as z23.

What I love on the cold bite the feel is immediate and you get that progressive 2nd level instantly with no slop or waiting that split second "oh there it is" feeling. These pads are a big WIN and thank goodness I found them. The m performance pads are good but there is now a much much better option for me.

I don't have any long term opinions yet. Only 35 miles on the pads. So far no squeal, I did use plenty of pad grease.
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Last edited by Jadar; 06-18-2017 at 09:20 PM..
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