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Greetings all,

Some of you know me as a Supersprinter in the NSW state series. I like to ask if any of you are willing to divulge your opinions on what are good brands and compounds of brake pads for supersprinting.

I was looking at some Project Mu compounds, but I am not sure how much time all those $$$ will save me. What else is out there that might be 90+% as good for less cost? What about wear rates...are the Project Mu pads reasonably priced if wear is considered?

I used to use Green Stuff pads, which worked from the second or third brake application, and lasted for at least 3 laps of Eastern Creek, but they struggled to lock the wheels on warm semi slicks. I am sure I can do better.

Anyone?

TIA

I was a regular Supersprinter last year too. We must know each other. Shame I can't put a name or face to your username!

What class are you running in? I'm in 1A. Used Bendix Ultimates for the last two seasons of trackdays. They were OK but didn't give a lot of feel at the lock up point. I could lock the fronts no problem, even with hot & sticky R specs. I've recently fitted Hawk HP+ on the front and Bendix General CT on rear. They were great at Phillip Island. I've yet to see how they go at Wakefield and Eastern Creek with R specs.

I've never used Project Mu's but as long as you don't stomp the pedal on initial application, tyres are warm and your going in a perfectly straight line I wouldn't expect a lock-up even from race pads if the brake balance is well sorted. So I wouldn't use locking up as a measure as to whether pads are good. The best pads are the ones that work everytime you use the brakes

Personally my favourite pads have been the Carbotexh XP12's. They last really well, don't destroy my rotors so fast and I havn't managed to overheat them yet. They also bite really hard....

If I had to guess Bryan I'd say it's the driver of a silver NA6. There's only 2 people I can think of from Supersprints that I know aren't on here that were at EC consistently.

Nice use of logic Mark. Well done.

I think that if your brakes are not sufficiently "grippy" to lock up a tyre, then they are giving away braking capacity. That is, if the tyre has the potential to out grip the brake, then the brakes become the limiting factor in determining deceleration rate. I like to be able to lock a tyre, as I can balance braking up to (around?) that point, and know that I can get maximum retardation from the tyre.

Thanks Bryan. I'll ask you how you feel about the Hawks when I see you next.

Is this Scott?

I run an NA6 in the super sprint series and use EBC RED Stuff on the front and Green Stuff on the back.
On the warm up lap I have to do 2 or 3 crash stops from 100+ to about 40 to get enough heat into the pads. Once the pads have reached temp they work very well with no fad or drop off over the secession or the day. When the pads are cold you get inconsistent lockup but when they reach working temp they give very good feel and feed back.

The first set lasted 1 year (just) running the full super sprint and club track days.

I purchased them from MX5 Parts in the UK. The last set for under $100.00 landed.

I will at the next trackday and at the Creek if you want to ask any other questions.

That'll be Scott then.

Mark's pad recommendation is great for the track but very noisy for any street use.

Eastern Creek on 26th Feb? We'll chat then.

I run Hawk Blue on my track car. A few corners on the warm up lap to get heat in and then they are brilliant from that point on.
Good feel and bite, and fairly easy on rotors. (Stories of them eating rotors is only by people who use them cold on the street, not recommended..)

I get a whole season (10 sprints) out of one set of fronts and almost two seasons out of rears..
About AUD$140 delivered for front set from Goodwin.. Awesome value imo. Just about to get my third set for spares while the dollar is still good...

I only do the club track days, but will comment on the Hawk Blues.
I only use them for the track and found they have chewed out my OEM Mazda rotors on the front only. This is in a modified SE so would be alot harder on the brakes then your NA. Rear rotors and pads are fine.
Also one pad wore excesivelly (mainly due the caliper seizing up a bit) but the other 3 have about 4mm left. Possibly would get 2-3 more club track days out of them if the other pad wasn't stuffed. I think they are over heating as the centres are loosing chuncks out of them.
However the braking capabilites with them in are rediculous. I did one of those Easterncreek drive days with 20 minute sessions and did not get brake fade once. Just paint catching fire on the calipers and pads.
All up I got 3 and a bit MX-5 trackdays, one eastern creek drive day and one wakefield park speed off the streets day out of them. I could possibly do the next MX-5 day on them but I would be on the very edge of the pad that has excessive wear. Don't think ~1mm is safe to try my luck on.
I have a new set of blue for the front and a pair of DBA 4000 rotors to put on, so I will see how they go with that setup. Hopefully the centres will stay good with the slotted rotors. If not I might try the Carbotech's since Hellmun seems to give them the thumbs up.

Your welcome to take my car for a lap during lunch Luke and check them out. I can vouch that I've never had fade on the Carbo's and they've seen over 700C for enough time to remove the heat markers off the rotors. I've also been getting more than 12 trackdays per front set.

I use QFM A1RM's

never had an issue and seem to have held up quite well for 2 years of motorsport

http://www.gslrallysport.com/shop/

Thanks all.

Hellmun,

I have followed your lead and ordered a set of Carbotechs. The price was competitive and they are used by the Spec Miata racers in the USA, so can't be too bad. And you aren't slow so they must be OK.

When it comes down it, you sometimes just have to jump in and try these things.

As an update, I have received and fitted the Carbotech pads. I bought the XP8 compound figuring I never do more than 3 laps at a time, that the cheaper lower temp compound would work sooner, and last long enough.

Anyway, the rear pads did not fit the calipers. They were missing the slots required for them to fit over the sliders. I cut both slots in each of the 4 pads by hand. They seem to fit and slide OK. It took me much of one day to cut all 8 slots and file accurately to size. ?Did the USA spec Miata run a different caliper to Aus or JDM spec cars? Hmmm.

The front pads are so thick that I cannot use the backing plates on the pads. Without the backing plates the pads barely fit the standard rotor, with them they don't. This could be a good thing, insofar as I am getting plenty of meat in the pads, and maybe the backing plates are redundant in any case?

But my initial impression of the Carbotechs is not a good one. I am starting to wish I had bought some Hawk pads. I hope the Carbotechs work well.

I have trialed so many different pads (Project Mu's, Endless, EBC, Brig, Brembo etc), and have not yet found a pad that has as much control and stopping power as a Endless MX72 pad. They don't fade and have always been consistent up to 10-15 laps lapping consistent 1.10's - 1.11's at Wakefield.
Saying this, the Endless MX72 pads work well with certain rotors. I found them not to work so well wih the DBA 4000's. They were pretty good on Project Mu SCR Pro's, but were best on Dixcel Type FS rotors.
Just my 2 cents. I wouldn't use any other pad but an MX72.

StillIC wrote:As an update, I have received and fitted the Carbotech pads. I bought the XP8 compound figuring I never do more than 3 laps at a time, that the cheaper lower temp compound would work sooner, and last long enough.

Anyway, the rear pads did not fit the calipers. They were missing the slots required for them to fit over the sliders. I cut both slots in each of the 4 pads by hand. They seem to fit and slide OK. It took me much of one day to cut all 8 slots and file accurately to size. ?Did the USA spec Miata run a different caliper to Aus or JDM spec cars? Hmmm.

The front pads are so thick that I cannot use the backing plates on the pads. Without the backing plates the pads barely fit the standard rotor, with them they don't. This could be a good thing, insofar as I am getting plenty of meat in the pads, and maybe the backing plates are redundant in any case?

But my initial impression of the Carbotechs is not a good one. I am starting to wish I had bought some Hawk pads. I hope the Carbotechs work well.

Who'd you get the carbotech's through? Also what part number was on the box? I've never had issue with fitment but I have the 01+ sport brakes which are in their own section on the 949 site. I'd be interested to know whether the wrong pads were delivered or whether it was an actual manufacturing fault. I've also never tried the XP8's specifically.

I got the pads through 949 Racing. But...

I take back what I said about the rear brakes. When I attempted to mount the rear calipers on my car I found that I had purchased NA8 rear calipers, not NA6. This is quite strange as both calipers were sold to me separately by two different wreckers, and both sold as NA6 calipers...they were both wrong! Now that I have had a look at NA6 calipers, I realise that the pads will fit correctly, so my mistake (well, the wreckers), not Carbotechs.

So, now I am after some NA6 rear caliper brackets......

BTW, I hope you are feeling OK Mark.