[halcyon_waves]

I just wanted to take some time to warn anyone considering Textar pads, as I've had a horrible experience this past year. Not only do they squeal, they also cause warped-rotor-like symptoms. They are also not OEM suppliers, as many are lead to believe. Here is a chronological detail of what transpired over the past year (I had an old mechanic that I was going to before I got my 2013 F30 335i M Sport, but now I mostly bring it to a reputable BMW specialty indy because they do a much more thorough job):

11/7/2018 (Old Mechanic): replaced all brake pads with Textar and resurfaced all rotors based on recommendation (I chose Textar at the time because he said that's what he uses for German cars and a quick Google search told me that they are OEM manufacturers). I began to experience steering wheel vibration and seat vibration around January of 2019 that proceeded to get worse as time went on.
4/7/2019 (Old Mechanic): recommended resurfacing front rotors again to resolve vibration issue. While this helped initially, it started to come back stronger and stronger. This also only eliminated steering wheel vibration, not seat vibration (since rear rotors were not machined).
6/18/2019 (BMW indy): I finally decided to take my car to the new shop to have it evaluated, where I had my front rotors replaced (with BMW OEM) due to recommendation. They also mentioned that BMW and themselves generally do not recommend resurfacing rotors, and to replace them once they are worn. The steering wheel vibration went away, but the seat vibration was still present.
7/13/2019 (BMW indy): I replaced the rear rotors (BMW OEM) based on recommendation and all vibration completely went away. However, within a few weeks to a month I could start to feel it coming back. About 5-6 weeks later, it started to get much worse, so I called up my old mechanic and explained the problem. He said that he would try to get the Textar pads warrantied.
8/30/2019 (Old Mechanic): I replaced all pads with Akebono (I had them on my previous car and absolutely loved them). During the process he actually managed to put a ding in one of my rear rotors, and I wasn't too happy about it. He insisted that it wouldn't cause any issues and didn't do anything about it (see attached photo).

The difference between the Textars and the Akebonos is night and day. I recall the owner of my BMW specialty shop saying - after I had replaced my rear rotors - that he hopes the Textars don't tear up my rotors too much, which was surprising to me because I didn't know that brake pads could do that (I am now a little upset that he never once recommended replacing the Textars). I chatted with him briefly and he said that when he first opened the shop after leaving the BMW dealership, he was putting Textar pads on his cars because they were OEM suppliers. After a while he noticed that they weren't grabbing like they used to, and that they had a tendency to squeal a lot. That's when he realized that they're two different things now, and it's quite obvious that Textars are not an OEM supplier, despite being labeled as such on sites like FCP Euro. A lot of forum members here also swear that they are in fact OEM.

As of now, the car brakes pretty smoothly (I've been driving with the Akebono for a couple days), although at high speeds I still feel a tiny bit of the seat vibration. I'm worried that the Textars may have ruined my new rotors, and I'm not sure if I should ride it out, replace my rotors, or get it slightly machined. I've also seen videos where people will sand down their rotors, so perhaps this is something I can also look into?

Here is my initial post on the subject matter from a couple months ago: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1620943

In conclusion, I had no idea brake pads could be that bad. It really stressed me out whenever I had to brake, to the point where I was downshifting as much as possible to avoid braking. The braking was not smooth, and at it's worst, it was causing my entire car to shake violently when braking at freeway speeds. I would avoid Textar at all costs.

[Gen13 F36]

+1 on akebono

This is why so many arguments here on brake pads. I have been using akebono for my previous cars and they will replace my OEM m-sport pads when the time comes.

On the side notes... never heard of Textar.

[AndDown]

another shout out for Akebono pads. I replaced all four rotors (Brembo) and went with Akebono's on my E46 in 2015. I sold my car to my B-in-law in 2018 and the pads/rotors are still doing well, no squeal, very little brake dust. Anyone know what material the pads are made of? I'm thinking ceramic, but I might be mistaken.

[BashShah]

I put textstar on 3 months ago.
20 days after I put them on, I called the recommending old mechanic, and told him These pads squeal and the brake dust is HORRIBLE.... Worse than my Front OEMs.
ans these are on the rears.
can't wait for my Akebono pads to arrive.

I think I am going to throw these Texstars at my mechanic.

[F32Fleet]

Textar could be OEM but not OE for your vehicle.

OE = Manufacturer of Genuine BMW.

[Enabled]

Originally Posted by Gen13 F36

+1 on akebono

This is why so many arguments here on brake pads. I have been using akebono for my previous cars and they will replace my OEM m-sport pads when the time comes.

On the side notes... never heard of Textar.

First BMW?

[Gen13 F36]

Originally Posted by Enabled

First BMW?

First BMW 😅 yes... but I've been servicing my friends bimmers on my garage...from mostly 5 series and some Audi's

I use akebono on my S14 with 300zx big brakes

[rak299]

to me, the vibration and uneven wear sounds more like the mechanic didn't thoroughly clean the backing plate before mounting rotors, and not related to choice of pads.

[435MSport6Speed]

Brake squeal is to be expected with some pads - usually the more aggressive ones.

I just put G-loc pads on my Mazda as part of a full upgrade and I'm thrilled with the performance.

G-loc is run by two engineers that left Carbotech.

I would suggest a look at WinnmaX. I drove an M235 on the Nurburgring with WinnmaX track pads and they were nothing short of spectacular. There was squeal but the braking power was unrelenting.

[Gen13 F36]

Another track pad being suggested for a DD car. Seriously, they don't last long and they eat up the rotors. And don't mention they very dusty.

[435MSport6Speed]

G-loc level 1 pad is a street pad.

WinnmaX makes a street pad, too.

Thanks!

[halcyon_waves]

Originally Posted by AndDown

another shout out for Akebono pads. I replaced all four rotors (Brembo) and went with Akebono's on my E46 in 2015. I sold my car to my B-in-law in 2018 and the pads/rotors are still doing well, no squeal, very little brake dust. Anyone know what material the pads are made of? I'm thinking ceramic, but I might be mistaken.

Yep they are ceramic pads.

Originally Posted by BashShah

I put textstar on 3 months ago.
20 days after I put them on, I called the recommending old mechanic, and told him These pads squeal and the brake dust is HORRIBLE.... Worse than my Front OEMs.
ans these are on the rears.
can't wait for my Akebono pads to arrive.

I think I am going to throw these Texstars at my mechanic.

Seriously though, these pads really are that bad and the dusting is the worst I've ever seen from brake pads (granted I haven't used a whole lot of different ones). They are in every way worse than OEM and not even worth the money.

Originally Posted by rak299

to me, the vibration and uneven wear sounds more like the mechanic didn't thoroughly clean the backing plate before mounting rotors, and not related to choice of pads.

But it continued to happen after the BMW indy installed brand new rotors, and I'm certain they're the type to properly do installations. I'm sure after telling them my issue they would pay extra attention to such details.

[Gen13 F36]

Originally Posted by tarheelsauce

But it continued to happen after the BMW indy installed brand new rotors, and I'm certain they're the type to properly do installations. I'm sure after telling them my issue they would pay extra attention to such details.

.

The vibration is it during braking? Where is this coming from? Are you sure it's the brakes.

Just a question... are you on aftermarket wheels?

[halcyon_waves]

Originally Posted by Gen13 F36

.

The vibration is it during braking? Where is this coming from? Are you sure it's the brakes.

Just a question... are you on aftermarket wheels?

Yep, during braking. I experienced vibration in the steering wheel and also in the seat/body of the car. If I were to let go of the steering wheel it turns violently side to side on its own, and during high freeway speeds my car would shake during braking.

I'm on OEM 403M wheels.

Anyway like I said, since I've installed the Akebonos everything is pretty much back to normal (pre-November 2019) except for a bit of vibration still in the seat when braking at higher speeds. I'm worried my rear rotors may be a bit damaged from the Textars, but I'm also not sure if brake pads can cause that much wear on rotors.

[leejak]

I had an Indy shop put textar pads on my rears on my f13 640i.....they were horrible....bad stopping distance.....finally had them replaced with padgid.....never again will I use textar......it’s jurid or padgid for me for aftermarket pads.....like akebonos as well...had them on another Bmw in past....

[Polo08816]

Textar is OE for the M Sport Brake Option. Jurid is OE for the M3/M4 brake pads. ... I believe. Or the other way around, can't remember. It's printed on the Genuine BMW brake pads.

[Enabled]

Originally Posted by Gen13 F36

First BMW 😅 yes... but I've been servicing my friends bimmers on my garage...from mostly 5 series and some Audi's

I use akebono on my S14 with 300zx big brakes

Lol.

I put Textar on my F31, since it's a very respectable brand for the older models.

Well. On F31, I should have gone with Akebono. It was one of my choices when shopping on a friend's Worldpac account, and I was considering them.


However, I put textar pads on rear, with good stock rotors that were already on there. They squeak mildly when hot.


Then later I put textar pads on fronts, left stock rotors on, horrible squeaking. Annoying like crazy. So I changed rotors with Zimmermann coated rotors, and kept pads... Squeak went away.

No big wear issues, just quite dusty.

[halcyon_waves]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Textar is OE for the M Sport Brake Option. Jurid is OE for the M3/M4 brake pads. ... I believe. Or the other way around, can't remember. It's printed on the Genuine BMW brake pads.

While it may be the same company I believe they are two completely different products. Anyway, like I said, the owner of the (very respectable) BMW indy shop I go to said that he has stopped using Textar pads and only recommends OEM for replacements.

This sounds similar to high fashion brands (ie. Burberry) creating cheaper variants of lower quality for their outlet stores.

It's unfortunate the way things are going but people are always looking for a deal, and in the end, end up shooting themselves in the foot.