littleman

would you say its a waste of a trackday? i figure the worst case would be i buy another set if they dont feel good and use the stoptechs for street?

macr88

Stock pads work for some and don't work for others so if you think stock wouldn't work for you at the track then save yourself the headache and go with some track pads.

Carbotechs work ok with the stock pad compound if you really don't want to change rotors (not recommended though)
Don't mix cobalts and stock pads, they don't get along.

chuhsi

i did my first 8 or so track days in SoCal on oem pads and upgraded fluid. worked fine because i'm a slow driver.

RedlinedITR

Street:

Axxis - No longer available, the pad squealed in the last 20 ft and caused too many people to complain. So .. "off with it's head!" said Stop Tech.

Stop Tech - Replacement for the Axxis, custom compound with a decent bit of metal. They work well on street and canyon runs- quite a few people have tried them and I've gotten great positive feedback.

Hawk - HP+ and HPS, meh. Definitely don't bother taking either one to the track. I didn't like either when I had first started out, I had people ready to chuck them out after the first week of use.

Stock - Pretty darn inexpensive.

Track:

Carbotech - The advantage here is that the pads create completely non-corrosive dust. XP10 is a good track pad to start out with in the front, you can use XP8 in the rear and the combo will last you a while as you get quicker. Some start with XP8 Fr/Rr, but I don't see the need really. If you choose to run the same rotor and swap the pads, the 1521 and XP10 for example are compatible on the same rotor. Some don't care for using 1521 in canyon runs, but as a street pad alone, they work fine. IMHO, it's cheaper to get the $50 Stop Tech pads and a set of street rotors.

Cobalt - XR3 to start out with. They do create corrosive dust. XR5 for the rear.

Ferodo - DS2500 is a dusty but workable compound for street and beginner track use, and it's cheap. Wouldn't recommend using it at Laguna, you'll get a decent bit of fade and chew through the pad quick, it doesn't play well with the heat the S can generate with a decent driver. DS3000 would be better, but there's even better out there. DS2500 Front and Rear. DS 3000 Front / DS 2500 Rear.

As for rotors, the cheap autozones works fine for most and autozone replaces the rotor if you have issues with it at no charge.
The Napa, C-Tek, etc. work fine for a while when you start out.

Unfortunately, when you get quick it seems a lot of rotors start cracking for most folks (I personally haven't had it happen yet, but I am a couple to few secs behind the fastest guys out there). I sent a couple cracked rotors to a friend working with metallurgy labs and asked another in the business to get me some answers. These included Autozone, C-Tek. Both vendors were manufacturing in China and using recycled metals, dubbed as 'Gray Iron.' In brief, the cracks can either be internal (don't appear at the surface) or can show signs at the surface when the rotor sees repetitive heat cycling (ie track use). I found a couple companies that manufacture out of virgin metal we'll be testing them Jan 28th. Will get results up here, I also know that Centric has moved to the 125 series over the previous 120. I'm not terribly informed on this change, something about higher carbon content... I'll have to ask more about that later and pass it on. If someone else knows of the difference, please feel free to chime in.

thomsbrain

I used a fresh set of stock pads my first two track days. First day was fine for me. On the second day I found them to be inadequate, and they were pretty much used up by the end of that day. I switched to Carbotech XP10/XP8 and they were great for me on the track, and barely used any lifespan after a day of much harder driving. I'm reluctant to switch pads/rotors for every track day, so I've been driving with them on the street (weekend car), and I haven't had any issues there either. They don't "bite" as hard as the stock pads when they are cold, but they are safe if you don't mind a bit more initial pressure on the pedal. I got pre-bedded pads and there is some noise from time to time, but it's really not too bad.

I'm guessing they would not be well-suited for auto-cross, though. I doubt you could get them hot enough to work properly.

RedlinedITR

XP10s do work fine on the street for a weekend car as well. I rode on XP10s (pure laziness) for a year back in 2009. Then XP12s on the street in 2010 between track days (there was a lot of days between track days.. sometimes 5 months). They work fine in auto x as well.

Voodoo_S2K

The problem with running a racing pad on the street is very accelerated wear due to being so far out of their temp range, which gets expensive quickly as race pads are in magnitudes more expensive than a street pad.

slightly2ned

Ive ran Carbotech XP10 & XP8 combo from the track to the street - didnt remove them & ran them down til they wore out. They didnt last long on the street with regular mountain driving. You will lose initial braking feel/bite compared to OEM & when cold, the Carbotechs would not stop as effective as the stock pads as you would need to get them up to temp first before they really shined.

My Volks didnt fair up too well after the brake dust sat on the wheels & mixed up with moisture/wet conditions. The carbotechs will pit the finish of your wheels depending on its durability especially if you use them on the track. Ive tested this both on the original Volk finish from the factory & professionally powder coated Volk wheels.

My recommendation as others, run separate rotors & pads for the track & street. The investment isnt much & it will be a more effective solution with yielded results IMHO. You dont need to buy baller rotors for the track/street, some simple blanks will suffice. Using the right brake fluid with a proper bleed will help with the fade.

As for the noise, you'll hear some squealing here & there with the Carbos on the street. Stay away from the Hawks; they squeal like a pig bout to get roasted for dinner.

RedlinedITR

Yeah, I'm with Vu here. I should point out that my car barely saw use on the street... or at all in 2010-2011.

AyJay

I have some good friends that used Porterfield R4S for both street and track as beginners. Eventually they outgrew them as laptimes dropped tho.

I started on EBC Yellow Stuff and they were good for the street and my first couple track events. I stopped using them once I was able to fade them and wear thru new pads after 1 day.

Both pads were squeakless but they do dust alot.