Low dust brake pad suggestion for my 2001 M3

[bmw2727]

Ok, so I know there are a lot of opinions, but I am looking for a very low dust set of brakes for my street driven 2001 e46 M3. I see Axxis and others mentioned on the web sites but real experience from our membership will help. I have black wheels and have to clean them all the time; I am currently using Hawk pads.
Thank you in advance for your comments.

[BJerolimic]

For low brake pad dust I run Akebono Ceramic pads... but note they don't have quite the same bite nor stopping power, they are adequate however and have ridiculously little dust

[kbsilver]

I have also run Akebono Euro Ceramic pads. Very low dust, very rotor friendly, and will probably last the life of your car. My son has 90K on Akebonos on the E46 and still going strong, and he is typically hard on brakes. But as indicated, they do not have the initial bite that the dusty OEM pads have. They will stop as fast, but you will need to press the pedal harder.

Interestingly enough I know BMW started changing pad composition around 2010. The OEM pads on our E90 produce very little dust and have the same bite as the older pads. We're at 82K miles and are still running the factory originals. I am not sure who actually makes these pads, or even if this composition is available for older cars.

I've read about Centric PosiQuiet Semi-Metallic pads which also look interesting for low dust street pads.

[brewsterE30M3]

++ on the Akebono ceramic pads on our e46's....low dust and pretty quiet.

[DrewZ]

Ditto on Akebono Euro Ceramics. Hawk HPS used to be my go-to low-dust street pad. I have them on my E46, but tried out the Akebonos on my E39. The Akebonos produce noticeably less dust than the HPS, and have better initial bite. I was hesitant to get the Akebonos because I installed them on our Mazda5, and they don't fit as perfectly as they should. In low-speed maneuvers, you can hear the pads clanking in the carriers. I haven't experienced anything like that with the Akebonos installed on my E39.

[RealM3E30]

I use the Okebono's on all my vehicles, 328XIT has about 60k on them, not even half way, rotors look like new, well almost. The 12 X5D is getting them next week, we can't go 20 miles without brake residue getting all over the wheels.