Brake pads for street and road racing?

[Stangman@SM]

Hi Guys,
I need to upgrade my brake pads. My car is a daily driver that will see the track about once every month or two. Looking for brake pad suggestions that might not squeal too much on the steet, but still work good for the weekend road course. I was thinging about Hawk HP Plus, but I hear they can be noisy.

What are you guys running? Suggestions?

 

[Ryan]

I have the Hawk HP Plus on my SVO. I've been happy with them. I don't drive the car that much and last time out they started a bit of squeaking. It could also be that it hasn't been driven in a few months.

 

[wheelhopper]

If you're getting to the track once a month you may want to have some dedicated track pads. Your skills will improve beyond what the HP+ can handle on the track for a heavy late model Mustang.

If you want to try to avoid swapping, I used Performance Friction 97 pads for a while on the front. They never fadded on track, just did not have the hard initial bite that I was looking for. They also did not squeel. are rotor friendly, and worked well when cold.

 

[dragon40k]

I use hp+ on my cobra for the track and the trip there, however I wouldn't suggest using them for a daily driver as the dust is unreal. They are a compromise on and off the track and once i'm done with this set its dedicated pads and rotors.

 

[TroyV]

+1 on swapping pads. Pads are easy enough to swap that it doesn't really make sense to make compromises. I had the stock 00R galpher stock pads for the entire time I had those brakes....3+ years....they still had 50% life left. They are quiet, dust very little, and are a fine pad for street use. The cost savings is there. Spend the cash on a good track pad. Right now, my fav for a full weight mustang is the Cobalt XR2. Even on stock PBR calipers, when heated properly, you can slam passengers off of the dash who are too cool for seat belts.

Don't skimp on pads. Get the good stuff, and you'll get more out of your machine.

 

[Stangman@SM]

I appriciate all the advise. Is there any problem using the same rotors and just changing the pads back and forth? Any wear issues on the rotors or pads if the rotors are not being turned and a new set of pads thrown on?

Thanks guys!

 

[brkntrxn]

My Carbotech XP10s didn't squeel very much on the street. With the brake ducts, they don't dust too bad either (it gets blown away). The XP8s on the back are not noisy either. So far, the XP12s on the front are not noisy either.

But then again, I have not back seat and no trunk paneling, so my car is kinda noisy anyway.

The Hawk Blacks on our 01 Vert squeel like a stuck pig.


I agree with everyone above, get a dedicated set of pads. If you were running with any of the groups I run with, you would need to at least bleed your brakes 30 days prior to going on track to ensure you have fresh fluid in the calipers. By the time you do that, you could have already swapped your pads at the same time. As long as you stick with the same manufacturer for street and track pads, you shouldn't have any issues with your rotors getting buildup.

 

[pkwest]

I have a second set of rotors and pads for the track. I use carbotec on the track and use hawk hps on the street. Don't forget to use some hi temp brake fluid. Boil the fluid and you will have no brakes. I use Motul rbf 660.

 

[MFE]

HP+ will eat your rotors pretty quick on the street, they dust like mad, and they'll squeal like a city bus.


For a few years, when it was track season I'd leave my Carbotech AX6's or XP8's on for street use between events. I finally realized all this did was create some really costly dust, and didn't save me all that much labor what with constantly trying to keep the wheels clean.

So I got some trailer hitch pins like the ones Steeda re-packages and charges 4x more to use as caliper quick-release pins, and now I swap back and forth between HPS for the street and Carbotech XP8's for the track with no problems at all.

 

[brkntrxn]

Where did you get those hitch pins? I haven't been able to find any in a thin enough diameter.

 

[MFE]

Lowes had them. 5/16 diameter.

 

[brkntrxn]

The 5/16 ones I found at my local Lowe's had way too much of a loop in the wire. What I mean is I was worried that the bow of the wire that looped over the end was so large that I was afraid it would hit the rim.

Any worries about that?

 

[dragon40k]

now I swap back and forth between HPS for the street and Carbotech XP8's for the track with no problems at all.

Do you worry about the different pad materials that are deposited on your rotors by using differnt pad brands not just different compounds from the same brands?

 

[gcassidy]

Kevin, you're not running the blacks on the street, are you?
They'll waste your rotors in under 2500 miles of street driving.



Don't ask me how I know.......

 

[brkntrxn]

Greg,

Yeah, I hear you on that one. I bought the Blacks from a guy at the track when I ran out of pad one weekend last year. I had just blown the engine in the 99, so I took the 01 as a last minute change and was not fully prepared. On Saturday afternoon, I ran the front pads down to the plates and was in a bind for a set and a guy at the track happened to have a set of new (old) Blacks with him. I bought them for not much at all and put them in for Sunday.

From that one day of three sessions, the Blacks ate into the rotors enough that I just left them on there. I have a set of Carbotech Bobcats and a set of used stock rotors to put on it when the Blacks are finished. We don't drive it enought that I worry about the time it takes to clean the wheels when I get back home. But I hear you, I would NEVER recommend Blacks to anyone at all. Dusting, noisy, rotor eating mofo's for certain!!!!

 

[TroyV]

...and blacks aren't even a very good pad. I think Hawk is behind the curve in general. They are doing a little better with their DTC compounds, but they are more cash than CT or Cobalt, and CT and Cobalts are still a bit better IMO. I was hammering the Cobalt XR2's from 130 to 85 at Tremblant repeatedly last year..no fade, and brick wall stopping power.. just an awesome pad. I got 5 or 6 events out of them. CT XP12's were just about the same, but with less initial bite..

 

[nightstalker865]

+1 one the cobalts. The XR2's are awsome pads!

I have run every compound from carbotech besides the XP16. I have had good results out of all of them. They just tend to wear quicker than the cobalts.

 

[MFE]

Do you worry about the different pad materials that are deposited on your rotors by using differnt pad brands not just different compounds from the same brands?

I've thought about it, but I don't worry about it, even with an understanding of film transfer and its effect on braking. I put the track pads on and drive it to the track. I don't necessarily re-bed them, but by the time I get there it's gotten a morning commute and then a highway drive to the track on them and so far, if there's performance I'm leaving on the table by the time I get to the track and get them up to temp, I'm not sophisticated enough to notice it. I get no vibrations and no hot spots going either way, between street pads to track pads or track pads back to street.

 

[MFE]

The 5/16 ones I found at my local Lowe's had way too much of a loop in the wire. What I mean is I was worried that the bow of the wire that looped over the end was so large that I was afraid it would hit the rim.

Any worries about that?

Yes, one of mine would consistently rotate itself into contact with the rim. I simply tie them both down to the caliper bracket with a hook I made out of wire. Takes 2 seconds to undo the hook, then pull the pin, and the hook is only noticeable if you're really looking.

edit: I'm talking about the kind that have the squared-off bail, not the semi-circular bail. If you don't find them at Lowe's, keep looking at Home Depot, Ace, Tru Value, etc. They are out there in quantity.

 

[brkntrxn]

edit: I'm talking about the kind that have the squared-off bail, not the semi-circular bail. If you don't find them at Lowe's, keep looking at Home Depot, Ace, Tru Value, etc. They are out there in quantity.

Yeah, it was the squared off version I was looking at. I like your idea of wiring them up. I'll go pick up a set from the store and see how they fare. Thanks.



On the topic of XP12s versus XP10s, now that I have used both, I am going back to XP10s. I can induce ABS and lockup my slicks on stock calipers and the XP10s. So in my opinion the XP12s are not really giving me anything more in stopping power AND they have a shorter life than the 10s. I'll give up that smidgeon more of stopping power that my unexpert rear end can't feel anyway for a little more pad life.