Tearing up Rotors! New brake pad choice?

[mustangsally50]

So, I'm running the Hawk HPS+ on front and rear. I also have the SS brake lines, cooling ducts, and high temp ATE brake fluid. I love the way these Hawks grab.......BUT they are tearing up my stock Brembo rotors. I can usually only get a set of the Brembo rotors to last for 2 track days before some SERIOUS groving/etching occurs.

Are there any other pads that grip like the HPS+ without tearing up the rotors so much? I don't care about dusting, it just gets expensive buying rotors all the time.

 

[DaleM]

I hear the CarboTechs get great reviews but alas I just use the Hawks.

 

[TroyV]

I was talking about this subject with a friend of mine who also open tracks his 03. Front rotors are under 70 bucks each from tire rack, and rears can be found for cheaper. He run hawks and replaces rotors at a faster rate than pads..

I run Carbotech XP11 pads in front and bobcats in the rear. I was able to get two track days out of the front pads, and four or five days out of the rear.....including the street miles (I don't swap the rear pads track to street) the rotors are in very good shape all around.

So the crux of it is: With the more aggressive Hawk compounds, you eat rotors faster than you eat pads. With Carbotech's more aggressive compounds, you eat rotors slower than you eat pads.

A set of pads from carbotech will run roughly 220 bucks give or take a few. Rotors would be roughly equivalent to that depending on where you get them. So it really depends on where you want to spend your money. If 200 track miles spends a set of pads, or if it spends a set of rotors..

For me... I prefer to spend the pads and save the rotors for a couple reasons. Spare pads weigh less in the bin than spare rotors. The dust from carbotech pads is a lot less damaging to paint and cleans right off. The dust from Hawk pads has lots of rotor material in it and is harder to clean off. Carbotechs do not seem to exhibit as much initial bite as the Hawk HT10's do, but I feel the Carbotech pads modulate better and make trail braking a little smoother....that's just my opinion though.

 

[NyteByte]

I've run the Hawk HPS pads at one event and they barely lasted one day (about 100 track miles). They also had some major fade issues and created a LOT of dust which ended up all over the sides of my car.

They grooved the rotors a little bit, but not too bad.

In my opinion, the Hawk HPS pads are NOT well suited for the track. You'll be better off with the Carbotech's.

 

[Cobra-R]

Your best bet is to have a track set of rotors/pads and a street set. I just removed the Brembo rotors from my race car after being on there for over a year, they are still in pretty good shape wear wise, a little too stress cracked for my taste.

Brian

 

[MFE]

Bottom line is Hawk HPS pads are not track pads. It's not even that they're all that aggressive, like a Blue might be until you get it hot. The fact is, track use on a heavy car is asking far too much of them. Carbotech XP series, hell even Panther Plus like I run on my '92 coupe would suit you far better. I get a whole season of track events (around 1000 miles) plus thousands of miles of street driving out of my Panther Plus pads and a set of rotors.

 

[TTA89]

Hawk suck IMO and like everyone else said the HP+s are a dusty noisy Auto X pad. I have been getting about 4 days on a set of Carbotech XP10 and 12s, the 03s are Heavy Turds but the Pads stop the car without destroying the rotors and although they are a bit dusty it washes right off.

I bet they last a lot longer on a 3000lb Fox car. I just don't like the nasty dust from Hawks. Its such a PIA to get off the car, especially if it gets wet.

 

[mustangsally50]

Thanks for all the info. I was looking at the Carbotechs, but the HPS+ I have now work great and was affraid to change. However, I am still going through rotors faster than I was going through the pads which I thought was strange.

Which set of Carbotechs for use at track and street? Their XP8? I drive very little on the street anyway. I may just bite the bullet and get dedicated track pads/rotors, like the XP11s. Are the stock Brembo rotors still a good choice for the track?

 

[TroyV]

Yes.. Brembo blanks are fine.

 

[jfranci3]

Is grooving and etching the rotor a big deal? Mine do that after every run. As long as the rotor is within tolerences, you're ok. My last set of rotors had a whole bunch of veins running around them and a visible step in the metal when I replaced them

sorry about that!! BC

 

[ac427cobra]

Is grooving and etching the rotor a big deal? Mine do that after every run. As long as the rotor is within tolerences, you're ok. My last set of rotors had a whole bunch of veins running around them and a visible step in the metal when I replaced them

sorry about that!! BC

You know I have seen that a lot and I've often wondered what actually caused it?

Want to hear my WAG??!?!

Insufficiently seasoned rotors and improperly bedded pads. That's my wild ass guess. Rotors need to be seasoned to give you long service life. I just made a deal with my Nephew when I installed his brakes. I told him I'll put new rotors on his car every two or three months for him. That way I don't have to worry about seasoning any more rotors with my "R" on the street!?!? :rockon:

Rotors need to go through several heat cycles, cooling for as long as possible (preferrably 24 hrs) between heat cycles.

Then on well seasond rotors, bed your pads according to your mfg. specs. usually with your cooling ducts closed. Now you have pads properly bedded to your seasoned rotors!

YMMV

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

 

[GordsFord]

Re your rotor life, I would bet that your problem is that you are not properly bedding in the pads and rotors. If you have worn pads and you install new rotors it is critical that you do the proper bedding and cooling cycles. Otherwise the cast iron surface will be too soft and will wear rapidly. The stock Brembo rotors are an excellent rotor. Replacement ones that are not Brembo may have a different life expectancy but would require either the same, or even more careful bedding.

I have had relatively good experience with both the Hawk HPS and Hawk HP+ brake pad compounds. They are very dusty but have a good life both on the street and on track. The HP+ are also squeaky on the rears. I had 25,000 miles of which included about 30 track days. My rotors were still in excellent condition and probably would have lasted about either the same (100%) amount of time and wear again, or at least an additional 50% more life.

I use Kumho Victoracer track tires - more grip and thus harder on brakes and three of the tracks that I run on have a couple of hard braking points each from 125 to 130 mph down to less than 50 mph. I would not classify myself to be easy on the car or brakes at all!!

I have brake ducts on the front which help a lot, both in pad life and I think also in rotor life.

In total, before switching to Stoptech fronts, I had used:

Fronts -

Stock pads - 3000 miles and 1 track day

HPS - 1 set - 6,000 miles and 6 or 7 track days

HP+ - 2 sets - 7,000 miles and 8 track days each set

No new rotors, no cracking. These are the original stock Brembo rotors.

Rears

Stock pads - 10,000 miles and about 10 track days

HPS - 10,000 miles and about 10 track days

HP+ (still on the car) - 8,000 miles and 10 track days. Still several track days life left in them.

I found the stock brakes to have pretty good stopping power and fade resistance to a point as long as you use a good pad.

I changed to Stoptech front brakes and they are excellent, but expensve! I have hardly begun to use their full potential.

Re Carbotechs, my friend uses them on his Z06. I am not sure which compounds. They have very good braking and pad life but they are hell on rotors. He only gets 2 or 3 track days and they crack. Sometimes only 1 day.

Good luck, and remember to bed the pads and rotors properly!

Gord

GordsFord Performance

 

[racebronco2]

I have never heard anyone using the kevlar pads. I have used them for about 1 1/2 years and they seem to hold up very well. i usually go thru 3 sets of pads for every rotor which is about 8 track days and a few thosand miles. little noise and a little dust but have never had brake fad even while running down a viper, fordgt and trying to keep up with the griggs gt40 equipped street car. The pads are about 100.00 front and rear.