OK good, someone else has had the same experience. I wonder if it is possible that we got a defective set of pads...maybe the "*** end" of the pad mixture?

 

I'll be willing to bet that it's rotor-dependent. IF we even got a bad set of pads, I still would think twice about buying them again, unless someone decides that there is a quality issue and that it has been resolved. Not sure which other pads would match their braking power. I've been driving my '88 Supra all week, and I almost ran into the back of a car in front of me at a red light 'cause I only have about half the braking power in that car than what the EBC's give me in the GS4.

 

I am still breaking in the the Akibono pads which I installed last week, but so far they feel as strong and I've noticed much less brake dust.

 

What rotors do you have? Lexus stock?

 

No...well sort of. The EBC's munched the lexo stock rotors...I replaced them with drilled slotted Roto-Tech's when I put the akibono pads on,l so that may compensate for the extra power I feel.

 

Count me in as another with bad experience with the EBCs. Extremely dusty and my rears actually wore out quicker than fronts. No idea how that happened. With no warning, the rear brake was completely gone and I was grinding the rotor pretty good with the metal backing of the pad. I've got stock rotors btw.

 

BINGO! EBC seems to think it's cool to not put squeal tabs on both pads...no squeal tabs = munched rotors. Another update...the Akibono pads definately put out A LOT less dust than EBC, stopping power is compareable...no signs of abnormal wear yet.

 

My akebono pads put out way more brake dust than what my ebc pads did..

 

I'm MUNCHING my stock rotors as we speak!!! The EBCs are down to nothing in the rear - metal-to-metal. NO warning whatsoever. I haven't checked the fronts yet, but I'm guessing that there's less than half the pad left. I've been trying to get in touch with EBC for weeks about the brake dust, but having trouble. Now I need to find out why they wore so fast - less than 10K miles.

I'm about to buy 4 new rotors, and not sure which pads I'm gonna use now. Don't want the dust, don't want the wear-out, but I sure was enjoying the stopping power....

 

I've got Axxis (now PBR) ultimates on the front (big brakes) and I'm about to put PBR MetalMasters on the back. I've heard nothing but good about the reputation of Axxis/PBR. I do have a ton of brake dust on the fronts and the ultimates do squeak a little on really slow stops when the brakes are hot which is why I'm trying the MetalMasters (less aggressive) on the back with my new drilled rear rotors I'm about to put on.

 

I just spoke to EBC's U.S. Customer Service and I've come away with some good information (I think).

First, I put Greenstuffs on all 4 wheels on my GS right before the winter. Didn't turn the rotors, they were in pretty good shape at the time. After 15K miles, I've worn the fronts about halfway, and the rears are down to zilch - metal-to-metal on one side. I've had a horrendous brake dust problem since day 1 - very irritating to say the least. The dust looks black and carbon-like.
The EBC guy has told me that because these pads are so soft, if you don't have the rotors resurfaced, the carbon and other deposits from the previous pads (Lexus factory, in this case) will actually contaminate the Greenstuffs and cause them to glaze over. This can result in pad OVERHEATING, and what he told me was that the black dust that I'm getting is actually from the overheating. He claims that the dust will be lighter gray if that was not the case. Because of the soft pad, the EBCs are supposed to be very kind to rotors, and he claims that the average life is about 25-30,000 miles. Other types of pads are supposedly harder, and will actually resurface the rotor themselves. Apparently the opposite is true regarding the EBCs.

I asked whether slotted/drilled rotors would make a difference. He said yes, partly because of the cooling, but also because the slots would continually scrape away the pad surface and any contamination/glazing. This does result in higher pad wear and shorter pad life, however.

I'l be willing to bet that if we took a poll regarding who has which rotors (OEM vs new, slotted vs drilled vs plain) and whether they were resurfaced prior to installing the Greenstuff pads, a trend would show up.

Meanwhile, I think I will try the Axxis Ultimate pads next, with new slotted rotors.

 

I see this in chemicals products at my job and other general products all the time. Companies are constantly trying new ingredients to lower there bottomline cost.

If the same pad can get 15k with half the pad left, then another set of the same type only gets 8k...there is definitely something changing in the pad. Either the guy with worn pads at 8k miles got a bad set or they are changing some component in the product. ...or like others have said..it could have something to do with the rotors...I guess if the same driver had two different sets of pads, on plain OEM rotors...that would be real test ot see if something is different or inconstant.
BIGd

 

engin_ear, glad to see you cleared things up and went to the trouble of finding the root cause.

I only read through this post now. My experience with installing new drillled / slotted rotors and EBC's installed front & rear is WAY less dust than the carbon-metallic pads I had. My rears have gone 15k + miles and still look good.

Last year I changed to AP Racing calipers / rotors in front and went with EBC as well. My old Supra TT brakes w/EBC pads, had 10k miles on them when I changed over and they were in great shape too.

EBC's have been highly recommended on CL forums for the 3 years I've been online, so I was surprised to see such negative comments. Atleast in your case we know it was not all EBC's fault. As for the others, well no product is perfect. There could have been a quality issue, but EBC wouldn't admit to that would they?

I also have Mercedes buddies that changed over to EBC as soon as they bought their cars and are very pleased I'm sure you've seen the dust on a stock Mercedes front wheel.

If you took a poll to see how many were satisfied with EBC wear and got less dust, I'd bet EBC would fare better than most other pad brands, though I'm not saying they are the best.

 

i have ebc on my ap racing now as well and they work great. love the fact that there are so much less dust. braking is definitely a lot worse than the original, but i prefer less dust

though i have a feeling my rotors are going soon...