Coming from my Mercedes E420, which had horrible brake dust from the stock pads, I'm wondering what to expect of the RL.

The Mercedes pads were very soft, offering great control, allowing a very smooth initial bite and final stop. Imagine a stereo volume knob with about 20 notches. However, after a 30 minute drive, the wheels (especially the fronts) were blackened.

About 30,000 miles ago I switched to Porterfield Racing R4-S pads, and brand-new OEM-sized Brembo rotors. HUGE improvement in initial bite and shorter stops. I'd guesstimate there is about 1/10 of the brake dust as well. However, the trade-off is that there is less control, fewer degrees of braking -- like that stereo volume knob only has only 5 notches instead of 20, get it?

Hopefully my "stereo volume knob" analogy makes sense. Using the more aggressive pads is worth it overall, but in stop-and-go traffic it can get tiring.

Anyway, how bad is the dust on the RL's wheels? Has anyone switched to aftermarket pads? Less dusting? Better performance?

Randy

 

Why would anyone want to TRADE OFF control for less brake dust ?

I don't find much brake dust with the Acura.

All German pads are much softer and therefore create more dust.

 

I don't know about the dust, but I get one tremendous sqeek from the front brakes in weather un 60 degrees f.
Any one else?

 

During the winter my brakes would squeal like a banshee (I'm talking like a bus stopping) during the first few uses in temps that were around under 5 celsius and it was embarrassing. Now that it is warmer they dont seem to squeal but they do have that little common squeak whenever I come to a complete stop if I am braking slow no matter how many times I brake it is there.