I'm in the process of redoing the front brakes on my Six. . and it had always seemed funny that the correct brake pads do not cover the entire width of the rotor. . there is almost 1/2 inch at the center of the rotor that is never used. . seems like finding a pad that was a little wider wound help out by using more of the rotor. . Has anyone every looked into this ???

It doesn't make sense that a manufacturer would leave so much braking area on the table.

Are those aftermarket pads or oe? Our cars share brake pad design with other German vehicles. For example a 4 cyl. Front pad is the same a a 80s Benz S class rear.

Years down the road I guess the cross-reference can get mixed up and aftermarket vendors can't tell if what they are selling is a perfect fit or not.

Pads are centered on the pistons for equal pressure. A "deeper" pad would need support from a larger caliper with larger pistons. Even a modern huge caliper still leaves space between the bottom of the pad and the bottom of the rotor.