Hello, I need to replace the brake pads on my F355 and wanted to see if people had any opinions on which type I should chose? I'm looking for a pad primarily for road use that doesn't squeak too much and is good from cold. The choices I can see so far are either the OEM Brembo pads, Mintex M1144/M1155, Ferodo Premiere/DS/DS2500 or some Riccams. The Brembo ones cost the most, does anyone have any experience of how the others compare? I've used Mintex Xtreme pads on another car which have been good, does anyone know if you can get them for the F355? If not then I'm probably thinking of trying either the Mintex M1144 or the Ferodo DS which are both around £80 a pair. Thanks.
So far as I know the early 355's used the same pads as the late 348's, and the Axxis Metal Master pads are FANTASTIC for braking, no brake dust, and absolutely no squealing on 348's with turned rotors. Cheap, too: http://www.buybrakes.com/axxis/apps-Ferrari.html
I have had great luck with Porterfield R4S pads. Reasonable cost, great performance and reduced dust and noise. Have them in my 348 spider, will install in my 355 spider when required.
+100000000 AXXIS pads are the best for aggressive street driving........ no dust, no squeal and no fade!!!!!
I installed R4S' in all my performance-oriented cars, and haven't been disappointed yet. Used the F355 the last time we were at Laguna Seca (a track known to be harsh on brakes) and the Porterfield R4S' gave good, predictable bite every time during all sessions. On the street, it works from cold and there is no squealing for me to complain about. Best of all, they're right here in California and their customer service has so far been very, very good.
+1, I switched to Portefield R4S after getting tired of all the noise and dust from the factory oem pads. Definitely better initial "bite" and way less dust. BTW, my understanding is the factory oem pad is made by Ferodo? Not sure of what version pad material...
You sir, are correct. In fact, all 348s and 355's (not including Challenge cars) use the same pad front & rear.
Thanks for all the replies. I don't plan on taking the car on track and don't want any squealing so I think I'll probably try the Ferrodo pads as I can get hold of them for a decent price. Does anyone have any experience of the standard DS pads? Also do the DS2500 pads allow the brake pad warning sensor to be fitted correctly?
My Ferrodo pads squeaked, but I don't know what version they were as the prior owner had installed them.
Have you put significant miles on yours? The Axxis on my M3 didn't squeal when new. But after 16k miles, they sometimes do when warm. No complain though, as they are better than the OEM, and less brake dust to boot.
