my "break pad" warning light just lit up on my e39
 

and was wondering what is everyone using as post-oem pads?

the oems are fine for normal driving that I do (525iT) - curious about pricing with non-oem and oem, let me know your experience.

I have been very happy with AKEBONO pads for my 530. The have about 90% of the stock bite and feel, and 95% less dust. Bimmerspecialist.com has them for about $85.

thanks for the recommendation - can anyone else vouch for these?

I am neutral with organic or non-organic. however, less break dust is a bonus though.

+1 *th-up*

this might be a stupid question, but i'll ask anyway.

my 525iT has the sports packaged, it definitely has the sport suspension factory installed, but does it have the "sports" brake pad setup as well - or is there such a thing for this model?

thanks again

HAWK HPS if you want better stopping power with about the same/slightly less dust.

Sports package doesn't make a diff.

how do they compare to the OEM from TRW/Lucas - minus the breakdust?

any experience with TRW/Lucas (apparently they are BMW OEM) and some guy on ebay is selling them for a fraction of what's available from bimmerspecialist.com

I have don't have much longer term experience with e39s specifically, but generally speaking Hawk HPS usually offer better stopping power over most OEM pads.

They resist fading more and have a higher heat tolerance than OEM. Usually good for aggressive street/some track/autox.

that made me laugh - my wife drives the e39 and does the opposite of what you described. :)

In that case buy the cheapest pads you can find that don't squeal! :D

Just get a low dust pad and sacrifice some braking performance.
No exp with any specifically, but i assume something like EBC greenstuff, or something along those lines would satisfy her.

are the pads actually ready to be changed? The sensor could be just flaking out.

I actually went with OEM again... my last set lasted 130,000 kms and still no squealing! I had minor brake fade at "extreme" high speed braking... but I don't think you can expect to get that from aftermarket.