[Mr. 5]

Background

Here’s my situation…I’ve been running the Rotora Caliper kit with EBC yellowstuff pads for approximately a year and the braking was outstanding. I’ve tracked my car a couple times and the results have been great. Unfortunately, I’ve had to go back to the OEM brakes because of some personal sacrifices, so I was thinking that if I’m going back to the OEM calipers I wanted to make sure that I was going with a superb pad and wanted to make sure that the pedal feel was as close to what I had with the Rotoras. This is why I chose Cool Carbon brake pads with ECS stainless steel brake lines. I kept hearing that Cool Carbon brake pads were the ultimate street/track pad. People will say that it’s impossible to make a track pad that is great for the street and vice versa, but I truly believe that Cool Carbon has done it!

I installed the mid lines from ECS a while back and the quality was top notch and the fitment was perfect, so when it came to picking a SS front and rear set there was no other option.
My write up on the ECS mid lines is here:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202576

Packaging

I’ve never received brake pads that had a “wow” factor before I installed them. The way the pads were packaged in their individual boxes and the overall display of the pads was surprising. It’s very obvious right away that one is getting a high quality product.
In the past, every time I ordered a set of pads (regardless of manufacturer), the pads come either shrink wrapped together or rubber banded and thrown in a box.
So I’m thinking to myself, is the performance as nice as the packaging?
Notice also that the pads are not beveled like the OE pads. This means that there is more pad, to create more friction on the rotor.




Fronts




Rears



Installation

I’ve done quite a few brake installations before, so I knew what to do and what to expect.
If you are installing brakes for the first time then you can follow my DIY that I wrote a while back here:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76418

Resurfacing the rotors isn't necessary all the time but I definitely needed to do it this time since the OEM pads uses more of the width of the rotor than the Rotora calipers. If I wouldn't have done this then the Cool Carbon pads would have worn unevenly.

It seems like the only bad reviews that I’ve read with the Cool Carbon pads have to do with noise but if you take the proper steps when installing the pads, you will have no squealing whatsoever.
It is extremely important to use an anti squeal solution to the backing of the brake pads and a synthetic grease to the ears of the brake pads. I have always used CRC Brake Quiet to ensure that the pad doesn’t vibrate against the brake piston.
There is a misconception about brake pad squeal and where it comes from. Many think that the squealing of their brakes is the pad against the rotor but it is actually the pad vibrating against the caliper.
There are detailed instructions on the Cool Carbon website about this as well:
http://www.coolcarbonperformance.com/faq.html

Experience

First off…It’s important to properly bed in the brakes to get the maximum life and maximum friction out of the brake pads.

So I’m out bedding in my new brakes and I’m trying to figure out why the pedal isn’t fading after the 6th stop. I do the 7th and 8th stop and still no fade! 9th stop and 10th stop and now the pedal starts to feel a little softer but the brakes are still fine. I smelt them after the 12th stop and then stopped with the bedding process.

We’re talking about 12 stops from 70 mph to 20 mph with hardly any fade!
When bedding in my EBC yellowstuff pads, I would experience fade after the 8th stop so I was really blown away! We’re talking about OEM single piston floating calipers getting more consistent stops than a 6/4 piston setup with another high friction pad!

I’m trying to think about how the heck a brake pad can be so good with the first stop of the day and also be so good at the 12th consistent stop from 70-20!
How do they do this?
The secret is a 3 part formula where every part has their own overlapping temperature range. This means that the pads work very well when cold, and continue to work really well at much higher temps without any fading.
Not only is the temperature range so wide, the pads have been known to clock over 40k miles on a single set.

The pedal travel also feels extremely good with the Cool Carbon pads. Even when I compare the pedal feel to the Rotora calipers. There is great feedback when applying the brakes. OEM pads have great initial bite but then if you heat them up there is a fine line between not stopping hard enough and activating ABS. The OEM pad is more like an On/Off pad meaning that it works great initially and then push them a little more and then you’ve just locked them up. Cool Carbon is very linear; The harder you push, the better you stop! In addition, the hotter you get the Cool Carbon pads, the better the friction gets.

The bottom line is that these Cool Carbon pads really are the ideal replacement pad.
- They are a low dust pad.
- The pad is stable in cold temperatures and temperatures over 1100 deg F!
- It’s a quiet pad.
What more do you want?

Thank you so much to Cool Carbon and ECS for making such great products! You can get the stainless steel 6 line set from here:
http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/...category=Lines

AND...
You can get the Cool Carbon pads from here:
http://www.autoindividual.com/shop/c...y.aspx?catid=8

Just and FYI…Steve at AutoIndividual is offering a 15% discount right now on a full set of these Cool Carbon brake pads. Just enter the code exactly as shown (without the quotes) and you will get the discount. The discount code is “BFEST09” The Discount code for the month of July is "pano709"

I’ll be adding more information after I go to another track event, so I’ll keep you posted with what it was like.

Here are just a couple pictures of them installed. Nothing special, but pictures are always nice.

[Mr. 5]

The feeling of these brakes are just getting better and better!

[canucklion]

wow. So if price/money was not a facor and you had to choose between your Rotora setup and this one, would you go with this set up (OEM caliper + Cool Carbon pads)?

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by canucklion

wow. So if price/money was not a facor and you had to choose between your Rotora setup and this one, would you go with this set up (OEM caliper + Cool Carbon pads)?

To answer your question honestly, the perfect scenario would be the Rotora calipers with Cool carbon pads but Cool Carbon doesn't make a pad for the bigger brake kits (yet).

There are pros and cons for both.
The Rotora has the clamping power, but it all comes down to the pad.
I'll also put it this way...I would take the OEM calipers with Cool Carbon over the Rotora calipers with the Rotora pads any day. The rotora pads faded easily at higher temps and the pad life was very poor. Leftcoastman went through a brand new set of H2 Rotora pads in 15 minutes!

I just can't get over the Cool Carbon pads not fading during the bedding process.
I was so hard on them and they just grabbed.

[canucklion]

Thanks, Mr. 5. Those pads sound awesome!

[therealm3]

Nice review. Are the rear pads a true 335 fitment or another BMW size that is "close enough". I ask cause for some bizarre reason rear pads in the aftermarket are virtually non existent.

Thanks!

[iAerodynamic]

haha i saw the title i thoguht the brake pads were actually "cool"

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by therealm3

Nice review. Are the rear pads a true 335 fitment or another BMW size that is "close enough". I ask cause for some bizarre reason rear pads in the aftermarket are virtually non existent.

Thanks!

Yes, the pads are a true fitment. The only difference is that the Cool Carbon pads are not beveled like the OEM pads which creates more surface area on the rotor.

[AJayE92]

when you say low brake dust pad

how low are we talking? cuz its so annoying having to clean the wheels every other day if you dont want them looking black lol

[ToadHollow]

Great review and JUST what I was looking for. Just purchased my set .......... the OEM pads just don't seem to get along as well as I had hoped with the slotted/dimpled rotors I currently have installed. Hopefully these pads will work well for me.

Thanks for the review, 5.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by AJayE92

when you say low brake dust pad

how low are we talking? cuz its so annoying having to clean the wheels every other day if you dont want them looking black lol

It's lower than the OEM pads for sure.
It's amazing going from the EBC yellow stuff pads because the yellowstuff pad is a high dust pad. At the time I got the yellowstuff I didn't care too much since I bought them mainly for performance. Now, it's nice to have both the performance and the low dust.

Originally Posted by ToadHollow

Great review and JUST what I was looking for. Just purchased my set .......... the OEM pads just don't seem to get along as well as I had hoped with the slotted/dimpled rotors I currently have installed. Hopefully these pads will work well for me.

Thanks for the review, 5.

Thanks man! You won't be disapointed. Just be sure to take the proper steps with the prep work and bed them in properly and you'll love them!

[335iheLLraiseR]

out of curiosity, anybody know which one has the lowest brake dust? The Cool or Hawks?

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by 335iheLLraiseR

out of curiosity, anybody know which one has the lowest brake dust? The Cool or Hawks?

Which Hawks? If comparing the Cool Carbon to the HT-10s then the Cool carbons will take the cake with low dust. Does Hawk make a low dust pad?

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

The feeling of these brakes are just getting better and better!

Nice review. I've gone through 6 sets of cool carbons. Quality control is top notch.

Your experience is the similar to what Orb and I had posted about the pads.

With R comps, I can't get these pads to fade. Great product.

Wait until you get a few heat cycles into the pads. On the track performance is great once you get some heat into them. I catch myself braking too soon. I still haven't fully accepted how well these pads slow your pace.

Thanks for the coupon --- in for 3 more sets.

[to_riffic]

sick review mr. 5!!!

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by ToadHollow

Great review and JUST what I was looking for. Just purchased my set .......... the OEM pads just don't seem to get along as well as I had hoped with the slotted/dimpled rotors I currently have installed. Hopefully these pads will work well for me.

Thanks for the review, 5.

Hi Toad,
I am thinking about getting a set of rotors like yours (7 lbs lighter per axle is too good to pass up!) -- not to thread jack, but please comment more, especially once you get some experience with the CC pads.

[ToadHollow]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

Hi Toad,
I am thinking about getting a set of rotors like yours (7 lbs lighter per axle is too good to pass up!) -- not to thread jack, but please comment more, especially once you get some experience with the CC pads.

Will do.
Ordered the pads last night and just received my FedEx tracking info .... right on.

I'm heading out of town Saturday and won't be back til the 27th so it'll be a little bit before I get these pads installed.

[MMAJNKE]

nice writeup!

[Raz335]

Would you say that these are as dust free as the Axxis Deluxe/Centric combo?

[therealm3]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

Yes, the pads are a true fitment. The only difference is that the Cool Carbon pads are not beveled like the OEM pads which creates more surface area on the rotor.

Thanks for the info. I may have to get these when the time comes (soon). My only fear is they sound more like a track pad than a street pad. I don't track the 335.

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

Which Hawks? If comparing the Cool Carbon to the HT-10s then the Cool carbons will take the cake with low dust. Does Hawk make a low dust pad?

The Hawk HPS are a low dust pad and stop well, but don't have the "bite" of the OE pad. I wouldn't use them for track duty. HP+ can be an entry level track pad but they dust and are noisy. I run these as my street pad on the M3. Blues or HT-10 would be the next step for a track only pad.

[AP Racing - Chris_B]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

Which Hawks? If comparing the Cool Carbon to the HT-10s then the Cool carbons will take the cake with low dust. Does Hawk make a low dust pad?

Yes, the Performance Ceramic pad is very low dust. Of course, you must agree to take a performance hit to run those. It is less of a hit than most other "ceramic" pads I've tried, but they are not top performers.

[Craig@SupremePower]

nice review man...