Street/Track pads with good cold performance

[Nark]

Hi all,

Want a new set of pads for the NB8B but it's hard trying to find all the info I want.

Car is (enthusiastically) daily dríven with occasional track/hillclimb duties. My drive to work is about 20km and I reckon I don't touch the brakes for the middle 18km (at 90km/h) unless traffic gets in my way. The real kicker is that there are mornings when I'm driving in -7 temps.

So... Looking for a pad that can bite from cold but still be good when things heat up.

Called DBA and I was recommended Hawk Blue (!!!).
Called Competition Friction and they reckon Hawk HP+.

There are also the QFM A1RM that are equivalent to Ferodo DS2500?

DS2000s aren't made for the NB8B and DS2500s are $466:$433 F:R!!!!

Anyway, anyone had experience with any of these pads? I was told that the Hawk Blues are good in the cold but the guy was a Queenslander who had a heart attack when I mentioned -7...

[Hammer]

These thread might give you more info:

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=40448&p=521841&hilit=hawk#p521841

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=41049&hilit=hawk

[fattima]

Hawk HP+ are a good on the track and fine on the road. I had no problems with them on my NA6, but I never saw temps as low as you do.

Another cheap option is TRW pads, they just need a really good bedding in. Myself and couple of others guys here in Vic have run them and are happy with them.

[Caffeine]

HP+ are awesome cold or hot, but then you're talking really cold...

[NMX516]

I use Hawk Performance Ceramic and have found them well suited to my needs - mostly road driving with track days every few months on average. Approx $200 per end. If anything they can be a bit dusty, but I suspect that my slotted rotors contribute more towards that than a solid rotor would - not a big issue though. I'd buy them again.

They work like standard pads from cold, and no noise.

[Nark]

Thanks for the comments so far, guys. Keep them coming.

[danman]

I've recently put in a set of the QFM pads and have been happy with their performance both cold and warm.

[Hellmun]

Well I've used quite a few different pads now.

Sumitomo - Basic street pads, cooked them on the track with a standard car
DS2500 - Never faded, actually had them on fire multiple times but worse than the street pad when still cold. I got these for $180 a LONG time ago....
DS3000 - Wooden when cold...never faded but as above survived seeing over 700C multiple times. Have an old phone picture somewhere of rotor glowing and still having perfect brakes. These ran out really quickly though...faster than the 2500's. Got these for $200 in the old packaging before they went upto $460 again.
Hawk HP+ - Could get these to fade on the limit, rather dusty and a little worse than a street pad when really cold. Used these when the Ferodo's were all to expensive.
Carbotech XP10 - Similar to the HP+ but without as much dust. Could still get these to fade just.
Carbotech XP12 - Never had fade, similar behaviour when cold to the DS2500/HP+ and still not too bad on dust. I've used about 3 sets of these now and I'd try the XP16's if they weren't such a bump up in price.

The caveat with the carbotechs is I'm told they're quite sensitive to being bedded in properly and having a clean rotor to start on. I got a new set of DBA4000's when I moved to the XP10's and am still using the same rotors. Scary to think that's 9 sets of brake pads in about 4 years....3rd set of rotors

[Sasso]

After a few stops the brakes will be a hell of a hot hotter than -7 even for 20km, if you're worried just warm them up periodically.

Have used Hawk HP+ with 1.6 brakes 80wkw, very usable on the street but come alive when warmed up a little, very dusty but I found them to fade at the end of the braking zone at eastern creek turn 2, otherwise good, until put turbo (142wkw) and faded within 2 corners.
Tried hawk blues once too (stock power), but they were very on off but probably because I had not enough power to heat them up. On the street they chewed up the rotor within 2 weeks and cracked the pads and dusted to the crap house, don't use them on the street, don't work when cold either.

Bendix ultimates with 1.8 brakes (not sport), they are much nicer to use on teh street than teh HP+, much less pedal effort, more consistent with ranging temps ie linear and good modulation (would get them again for street only or stock power), they work from stone cold just as well as when warmed, haven't used on teh track but got them to fade with pushing hard on a mountain pass (with the turbo). Crap loads of dust like the HP+. They're supposed to work up to 550deg.

About to get a set of Carbotech XP12 will see how they go on track and street. Heard very good reviews and pretty cheap too. SUpposed to work up over 1000degC, but be kind on rotors.

Personally I'd try teh Ultimates or the carbotechs. I'm more impressed by the brake feel of the ultimates over the HP+ (especially when cold) and they're cheaper.

[greenMachine]

I used a Mintex pad in the GM when it was a dual purpose daily driver/track car, and they did the job for me - the results speak for themselves. Good feel, good cold performance, no fade (can't remember the heat range, but they stand up very well when really hot). They also wear pretty well.

PM me if you want more details, I can put you in touch with the supplier I used.

BTW, 'cold' performance is, afaik, a reference to 'cold as in not heated by use', rather than hot or cold ambient temperature. Happy to be corrected though. Certainly the Mintex pads stood up well in Canberra winters, not surprising given they are a European product.

[deviant]

I am a big fan of the QFM A1RM pads. I always buy them through GSL Rallysport.

I used them in a lard-arse WRX on trackdays with DBA4000 rotors and only get them to fade once the heat sensitive paint on the disc told me I had gone way beyond what the pad was designed for. I am not hesitating to have a set made up for my new trackday MX5.
QFM do a pad material beyond the A1RM if needed.

The thing I loved the most about the A1RM's was their absolute ease of use...

They did not score my discs
They did not squeel EVER
There was very little dust
They have a great operating temperature range...under normal road driving conditions they felt and worked exactly like a stock pad but I could drive on to a skidpan or motorkhana where there is no warm up time and they would be 'on' the first time I hit the brakes, 2nd time I hit them they would bite hard.
Bed in process was easy...there pretty much is none! They pretty much felt good out of the box.
Don't forget the price!! On my WRX they were $110 an axle set and DS2500 were 3 times that!!! My MX5 has got some pretty funky calipers in it so I am having to get a set of A1RM custom made...$180! To buy specific brand pads for my calipers is an obscene amount of money so there is no contest.

I want to make it clear that I have no commercial interest in the pads or GSL Rallysport...I am just a very very happy customer.

[Luke]

What I've used.

OEM Sumitomo Pads - Fried the fronts in the SE after three trackdays. I mean they were completly glazed over and had cracks in them, as well as chunks missing. Rears were mildly glazed so kept them for road use.

Now use:
Road use - HAWK HPS, work when cold, are really quiet and have low dust. Only paid something like $110 imported from goodwin racing in the USA for the fronts. Don't know what they do when they are hot, but I guess I'll find out when I'm to lazy to take to put the race pads in for a track day.

Track use - HAWK Blue - Excellent on the track. Could not even get them to fade at eastern creek, even though the blue paint on them caught fire. But bad for street. Just simply don't work when they are cold. Also produce large amounts of dust, and eat the rotors. But then again thay are a proper race pad and you should not even conisder using these for the road. And I'm pretty sure they would be illegal for street use, but don't qoute me on that.


Recomendation
A good in between pad at a reasonable price, if you don't want to change pads each time you got the track would be the HAWK HP+. They do produce dust though, if you are worried about that.

[justinowell]

Hawk HP+ are a good on the track and fine on the road. I had no problems with them on my NA6, but I never saw temps as low as you do.

Another cheap option is TRW pads, they just need a really good bedding in. Myself and couple of others guys here in Vic have run them and are happy with them.

I would have to agree that a great inexpensive option would be TRW pads. Also check out other TRW parts as they are very reliable.

[NitroDann]

My hillclimb pad of choice (I might point out that you dont get a chance to heat up a hillclimb car so what you need is instant stopping like street use)

IS the bendix heavy duty. They are high metal content so they bite hard from cold. They still take me about 3 minutes to overheat, trying very very hard. they cost about 80 bucks from anywhere at all and are only available in that compound for the fronts.

Dann

[Lokiel]

EBC Greenstuff? http://www.rdabrakes.com.au/index.php/pads.html

I'm looking at EBC Redstuff for my SE as a future upgrade.