ATE Ceramic Brake Pads: Review & Performance

Hello,

Some time ago, new original brake discs were installed in an Audi A6 4F, along with Ate Ceramic brake pads.

These advertise with:
- Low dust (minimal brake dust)
- Low noise (quiet)
- longlife (high durability).

These types of brake pads were installed because the aluminum rims became very dirty very quickly due to brake dust.

After now 20,000 km, the following conclusion can be drawn: The advertising promises were partially fulfilled. The rims have remained very clean, and the wear on the brake pads is very low. This also indicates a high durability of the brake pads.
Unfortunately, the brake pads are a bit too hard for the brake discs they are installed on. Instead of wearing down the pads, the discs seem to be wearing out more. To make matters worse, "grooves" are forming on the discs, which unfortunately means they are not "low noise": When braking harder, the brakes make a grinding sound.

So, if you want to minimize brake dust, you can try this type of brake pad, but you should be aware that, depending on the brake rotor, it may result in increased wear.

Personally, I will no longer use these on front brake discs, despite the advantages.

"In some vehicles (e.g., Audi A3 8P), the rear disc brakes are prone to rust if the handbrake is not used sufficiently. The rust eventually wears away the softer brake pad material, which then no longer provides even braking. For such vehicles, I think it might be worth trying Ate Ceramic pads on the rear axle."

It would be interesting for me to know if anyone from the forum uses these pads, with what results, and with which brake discs.

Best regards, Rainer.

"Hello, I installed these ceramic brake pads on the front axle of a BMW 116i E87, together with ATE PowerDisc rotors. This 1 Series has always had a relatively high rate of brake pad wear on the front axle, but these ceramic pads completely destroyed the rotors. After six months and about 5,000 km, noticeable grooves were already visible on the rotors. After a year and a half and approximately 12,000 km, the rotors were at the wear limit and incredibly noisy."

The brake was subsequently converted to Becker brake pads, and it has been operating smoothly ever since.

Thank you for your feedback! Unfortunately, it seems like these things are simply too hard.

How about switching to more robust brake discs?

And another question: What was the braking performance like?

Hutfahrer wrote:

What if we were to specifically opt for harder brake discs?

It's certainly possible, provided you know that beforehand... but there's nothing stated anywhere that indicates the pads are only compatible with specific rotors.
If so, these brake pads should be sold as a package with the corresponding brake discs.

Hutfahrer wrote:

And another question: What was the braking performance like?

That's fine. However, that doesn't necessarily mean anything about the brakes, as they are generously sized for the vehicle's weight.

Best regards, Rainer.

Hello!

I've installed these brake pads several times before, mostly on BMWs owned by wealthy people. BMWs are generally a bit sensitive when it comes to brakes, and also, the doctor specifically requested them.

Well, I can't say anything bad about it, even after all these years.
I always installed them together with new brake discs from ATE.

Hi,

For the Ceramic brake pads, ATE recommends smooth rotors. Officially, this is due to the increased noise produced by slotted or drilled rotors. I have been using the Ceramic brake pads on my Audi A6 4F for almost 20,000 km (with smooth ATE rotors), and so far, everything has been quite unremarkable in terms of wear; the wheels remain relatively clean, and there is no squealing.

Best regards from Berlin.
olli

Okay, so it seems to work, although not with every brake disc. I'm curious to see how the pads perform on the rear brakes of the Audi A3 8P (also using original brake discs).

Best regards, Rainer.

Hi,

I only installed them on the rear of my GTD, along with new, smooth ATE brake discs. ATE explicitly recommends installing them with new discs because the transfer layer needs to form optimally in that way. Of course, they also want to sell discs, but mine work perfectly fine. No noise, no vibrations, etc. However, they are only on the rear, so that might not mean much. The second recommendation from ATE is against their own slotted Powerdisc brake discs, which are apparently not recommended due to noise.

So far, after 20,000 km, there is no noticeable wear. The rims do indeed stay cleaner, which was also the reason for installing them.

Currently, ceramic brakes are also being installed as standard equipment on some models, such as the A4. However, to the best of my knowledge, they are only available as a retrofit option for less powerful vehicles. There must be a reason for that.

"For a few weeks now, my parts supplier has been stocking TRW DTEC brake pads, which are also a low-dust ceramic variant. I might try those out on my Benz sometime in the spring."

The fact that ATE brake pads are only available for the smaller engines was also a topic of discussion in the E-Class forum. However, both ATE Ceramic and DTEC brake pads are available for engines up to the E500, which has a considerable 388 horsepower. I assume that it simply doesn't make economic sense to develop suitable brake pads for the relatively small number of vehicles equipped with Brembo or similar systems, and that it's less about inferior braking performance.

According to some posts in the forum, the ATE Ceramic brake pads are said to start "fading" under high load and temperature, which can reduce braking performance.

For the rear axle on cars like the Golf 4 and similar models, it's definitely worth considering, as the brake discs tend to rust there due to infrequent use.

My experience with ATE Ceramic brake pads is that they work well initially, but they are completely overwhelmed by even the slightest amount of surface rust. That is, even the smallest trace of rust remains and is not removed.
Therefore, in my opinion, it is only suitable for use with new brake discs.

So far, they have generally been well-behaved and not excessively aggressive.

Hello.

I tried the ceramic pads back in 2012.
I replaced the front brake pads on our A4 B5 with new ATE rotors, and on our A4 B7, I installed new ATE rotors on the rear.

The braking performance was initially similar to the original, around 400 km, but it quickly deteriorated.
This was particularly noticeable in the B5 model, as it was equipped with ceramic brakes on the front axle (braking distances could exceed 200 meters during full stops).
With the B7 model, it wasn't as noticeable because the pads were only installed at the rear.

The brake discs have developed significant rust, and a film has formed on the surface, which has severely reduced their braking performance.

I submitted the brake pads and rotors for a warranty claim to Conti/Ate after approximately 3,000 kilometers.
Everything was replaced without any issues. Even the labor time for the replacement was paid for.
However, I decided to go with the tried-and-tested ATE brake pads again.
They have been performing their duties flawlessly ever since.

Regards,
Bolzer.

Hi, somehow Bolzer's disc image seems more indicative of a vehicle with mild braking issues, rather than aligning with Rainer's statement about higher disc wear.
They should actually be spotless. If they had been thoroughly cleaned, they wouldn't have been noticeable.
This ceramic category also includes the EBC Green Stuff brake pads, which, as the reviewer wrote back then, provided excellent performance (low brake dust and wear, high thermal resistance).
The windows are more likely to turn blue.

Hi.
As someone who doesn't really hold anyone back,
I drive 80km to and from work every day, and the brakes get a lot of use.

"I've never experienced this squealing noise before, and it hasn't reappeared since I replaced the brake pads with ceramic ones."
Since the issue appeared simultaneously on two vehicles and only on the axles with the ceramic brake pads, I can confidently attribute it to the brake pads themselves.

However, I experienced very early symptoms.
Shortly after its release in 2012. Perhaps the friction material composition has changed since then. But that's just a guess.

Regards,
Bolzer.

dann kann ich mir nur Belag Materialauftrag vorstellen, der dann an rostet. Funny.
I thought that hard brake pads would tend to grind away at the rust spots along with the disc. If that's the result, you can forget about the pads.

edit: I checked, and ATE says the following:

Question: Does the use of ATE Ceramic brake pads affect the lifespan of the brake discs?
Answer:
After a short break-in period, ATE Ceramic forms a blue-gray "transfer layer" on the brake disc, which consists of very hard and wear-resistant carbides. In other words, the brake pad no longer makes direct contact with the brake disc during braking, but instead contacts this transfer layer. This significantly reduces the wear on the brake disc.

What is the braking performance like in this condition? And considering the grime on the discs, I would also expect some noise.