ATE Ceramic Brake Pad Review

Hello,

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

They 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: Some of the advertising promises were fulfilled. The rims have remained very clean, and the wear on the brake pads is very low. This also contributes to the high durability of the surfaces.
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 down more. To make matters worse, "grooves" are forming on the discs, which unfortunately means they are not "low noise": The brakes make a grinding noise when braking harder.

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 lead to increased wear.

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

On some vehicles (e.g., Audi A3 8P), the rear disc brakes are prone to rust if the handbrake is not used sufficiently. This rust eventually wears away the softer brake pad material, causing uneven braking. For vehicles like that, I think it would be worth trying Ate Ceramic brake 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 E87 116, together with ATE PowerDisc rotors. The 1 Series has always had a relatively high rate of brake pad wear on the front axle, but these ceramic pads have completely destroyed the rotors. After just six months and about 5000 km, noticeable grooves were already visible on the rotors. After a year and a half and approximately 12,000 km, the brake discs were at the wear limit and incredibly noisy.

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

Thank you for your feedback! Unfortunately, these things seem to be 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, the brakes shouldn't be a concern, as they are generously sized for the vehicle's weight.

Best regards, Rainer.

Hello!

I've installed these pads several times before, mostly on BMWs owned by wealthy people. Because BMWs are a bit sensitive when it comes to brakes, and also because that's what the doctor ordered.

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 ceramic brake pads, ATE recommends using smooth brake discs. This is officially due to the increased noise levels produced by slotted or drilled discs. I've had the ceramic brake pads installed on my 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 stay relatively clean, and there's no squealing.

Best regards from Berlin,
olli

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

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 are working quietly. No noises, no vibrations, etc. But they're only on the rear, so that might not mean much. The second recommendation from ATE is against their own slotted Powerdisc brakes, which are probably... Noise generation is discouraged.

So far, after 20,000 km, there is no noticeable wear and tear. The rims actually stay cleaner, which is also the reason why they were installed.

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 has to be a reason for it.

"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 attaching them to the 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 suspect that it simply doesn't make economic sense to develop suitable 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 there tend to rust easily 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, meaning that even the smallest traces of rust remain and are not removed.
Therefore, in my opinion, it is only suitable for use with new brake discs.

Otherwise, they have generally been well-behaved so far, 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 deteriorated quickly.
It was particularly noticeable in the B5, as the front brakes were equipped with ceramic brakes (braking distances could reach over 200 meters during full stops).
With the B7 model, it wasn't as noticeable because the pads were only installed on the rear brakes.

The rotors have developed significant rust, and a film has formed on the surface, which has severely reduced the 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 problems. Even the working time required for changing shifts was paid.
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 to fit more with a vehicle that has slightly reduced braking power, rather than Rainer's statement about higher disc wear.
They should actually be spotless. If they had really gotten into it, they would have been quite noticeable.
This ceramic category also includes the EBC Green Stuff brake pads, which, as the reviewer wrote back then, offered excellent performance (low brake dust and wear, high thermal resistance).
The windows are more likely to turn blue.

Hi.
As someone who actively participates, I don't consider myself a killjoy.
I drive 80km to and from work every day, and that puts a lot of strain on the brakes.

"I've never experienced this issue with the brake disc 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.

I, however, experienced very early signs.
Shortly after its release in 2012. Perhaps the compound mixture has been changed since then. It's just a guess.

Regards,
Bolzer.

Then I can only imagine that it's a coating material that's applied and then rusts. Weird.
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 topping.

edit: I checked, and ATE writes the following about it:

Question: Does the use of ATE Ceramic brake pads affect the lifespan of the brake discs?
Sure, here is the translation of the text from German to English:

"Antwort:"
"Answer:"
With the use of ATE Ceramic, a blue-gray "transfer layer" forms on the brake disc after a short break-in period. This layer 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. The wear and tear on the brake disc is thus significantly reduced.

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