Some reading about brakes to keep us occupied until July: Article #2 is most relevant for daily driver / track car drivers such as me.


http://www.essexparts.com/learning-c...ds/post/Bed-in


http://www.essexparts.com/learning-c.../swapping_pads


http://www.essexparts.com/learning-c...ose-brake-pads

 

Called and booked my room today!

 

Now that I'm going to change my brake lines and brake fluid, I was thinking of putting a new set of pads on. I would like to know what you guys suggest for pads. I want to use them for street use as well. I don't plan on doing a lot of track days.

 

Stay with OEM if no regular plans.

 

If you have a decent floor jack and at least one jack stand, it takes about 1-2 hours to to change all 4 pads depending on how fast you are. I would at least get a set of front pads for track days, perhaps the Carbotech XP-8 or XP-6. See http://www.ricks2k.com/products/Carbotech.php I think the Hawk Blues or Blacks are also good track pads. On the MG, I run a Porterfield racing pad.

I did two days at Watkins Glen with stock pads. They were fine and I wasn't driving that aggressively, but the pads got pretty beat up from the heat. They look like craters of the moon and the edges are pretty crumbly. Since then, I've been running a set of Carbotech XP-10s on all corners for track days. A lot of people like XP-10 on the front, XP-8 on the rear. You might be able to get away with just XP-8 or XP-6 on the fronts for track.

You need to make sure you cool your brakes down really well before parking the car, and after parked for a few minutes, move it half a wheel turn. This preserves the life of the rotors.

One thing I will say is that you will have more confidence, and consequently more enjoyment, on track with a proper set of pads, good brake fluid and decent tires.

 

+1 for what Jeff says.
There are some pretty big braking zones at WGI. depending on how aggressive you are/become through the day, you may kill your stock pads.
I know that I ruined mine the very first day I ever went on track and that was at NHMS. They chunked at the edges and whatever material was left could be rubbed away like powder with very little pressure from my fingers. I now run the Carbotech XP10f/XP8r combo and like the feel and stopping power.
The way I see it is if you kill your stock pads at the track you will be swapping them any way so getting some track pads will be worth it.
You can drive to/from the event on them just remember they will feel different and need a little heat to perform at their best. Driving to the event will "clean"off the stock pad material and allow a small transfer layer of the track pad material to be laid dowm on your rotors too. I believe there is some info on this in the links Jeff provided.
I am more than willing to help you swap at the track between sessions if you need assistance

 

Guys keep in mind that Brian is only doing the 1 day event. He expressed interest in a set of pads that would be more aggressive on track and good enough for street use.

For those parameters it is best if he stays with OEM.

Brian if you plan to do two or more track days in a season, then it is best to invest in dedicated track pads. The oems hold up well enough for your first track day. Ask Ellen, she had 40k miles on her silverstone and afaik 4-5 track days all on the OEM pads.

If you are seeking a track compound, the ones suggested above are good. Also Hawk HP Plus is another pad to consider. I ran them on the Si for track days and will start using them this season onwards on the S2. Until last season I stayed with OEM which did well except at the last track day in Oct 2012 when they started fading from the second session. That pushed me over to using track pads from this season.

Hope this helps you decide.

 

I am probably going to go with the hawk hp performance. I was looking at these last night and decided that these are what I am looking for. Thanks for the help. They are also half the price of a dedicated track pad like the carbotechs. If I was going to track all the time then I would get the carbotechs.

 

I would try HP+ in the front and HPS in the rear, I have them on my daily S and they don't make any noise when bedded in properly, but they do dust a lot more than stock pads. They held up just fine at the dragon (although not a track can be very hard on your pads). Track car I will be running carbotech xp10 fronts and XP8 rears, seems like a lot of track guys like this set up, so will see how it goes. Planning on running brake ducts for the fronts as well.

 

I run hawk HP blues all the time, quiet if you put the stuff on them before install