Rafal

I am seriously considering fitting Porterfield R4-S pads in my E55.
I 've just been told by them that their pads do not come with sensor ports (why?!?).
Has anyone used them or other aftermarket pads without sensor ports?
Are there any photos of OEM pads showing where the ports are?
Can these ports be drilled into the aftermarket pads to allow sensors to be fitted?
Any comments on performance, dust, noise?

These Porterfield pads are not cheap so I am not looking for an expensive paper weight on my desk if they turn out to be duds.

Thanks guys!

FASN8N

I run the R4S pads on my Dinan S2 540 with the Brembo 15in BBK and love them! They produce much less dust than the factory pads and withstand repeated abuse.

They dont have the sensor port so your brake light will probably be illuminated, but the switch is worth it.

I purchased them from

http://www.livermoreperformance.com/brake_home.html

E320BENZ

They are good pads, dust free....

JokerzWld

Rafal: I had them put on and it's true that there is no wear sensor port. My dealership cable tied them to my suspension-I said that doesn't make me happy. When I bought them from Porterfield they didn't tell me that there was no port opening for the sensor-ouch. Also, when I had them on they didn't fir quite right and made this metallic rattle that was totally unacceptable to me. The folks at Porterfield were excellent in servicing my issues and I retd. the front and rear sets without a problem, I had 6 miles on the sets, so....ideas? I would love to have them installed but until those 2 issues are resolved they wont work for me and my E55.

MARK CUMMINS

The Porterfields I Have Had the notch for the Brake pad sensor on the Metal Backing plate...But NOT the Pin hole for the sensor in the Brake Pad material..Drilled the Hole..Problem solved.

Evolution Marine

Rafal - I use the Porterfield pads on my VW GLX Jetta and when I installed them I just drilled a hole in the Porterfield front pads to handle the wear sensor issue. I have nothing but good things to say about the Porterfiels Pads that I have about 10,000 miles on - Good Wear, less dust, great pedal modulation, not hard on rotors, good cold operation, less brake pedal effort needed to accomplish daily driving conditions, do not rattle at low speed while not being used, do not squeal when breaking. I have never raced the pads, however the guys on the VWvortex Forum, that do, swear by them. - Bob

Rafal

Thank you all for your response. Porterfield advice is that we cannot just drill into the pads but it's a two-step milling job to get it just perfect, OEM standard. All up 2 hours machining per set. They said that most E55 owners just wait until this mod is done, some go without like JokerzWld above. Result: Porterfield are sitting on their hands and not selling any E55 pads in the meantime! Maybe a few more direct enquiries would jolt them into action?

blackbenzz

Has anyone tried Axxis Ultimate ceramic pads?