after doing my 1st road event, i want to know what kind of pads you hardcore guys run at the track. I am using 11" rotors and 4 piston calipers, and I was told that Carbotech Panther or Panther plus pads are good for the track. And, i also hear the EBC reds are not up to track use...

any ideas?

I personally like the Axxis metal masters, but supposedly the Axxis ultimates are supposed to be even better. My axxis mm's stop on a dime, and i only replaced the fronts.

Originally posted by Rob
after doing my 1st road event, i want to know what kind of pads you hardcore guys run at the track. I am using 11" rotors and 4 piston calipers, and I was told that Carbotech Panther or Panther plus pads are good for the track. And, i also hear the EBC reds are not up to track use...

any ideas?

EBC yellows should be better then the Reds. Have you looked at your EBC greens since the track day? How are they? It sounds like the brakes worked ok just wore out real fast. Anybody have any ideas on a real rotor friendly pad that works well for the track?

Steve

Originally posted by 98sr20de


EBC yellows should be better then the Reds. Have you looked at your EBC greens since the track day? How are they? It sounds like the brakes worked ok just wore out real fast. Anybody have any ideas on a real rotor friendly pad that works well for the track?

Steve

Looks like a little less than 1/2 are left. can i just throw in some race pads at the track, take them out, and put the street pads back in? dont rotors have to be resurfaced?

Originally posted by Rob


Looks like a little less than 1/2 are left. can i just throw in some race pads at the track, take them out, and put the street pads back in? dont rotors have to be resurfaced?

Rotors don't need to be resurfaced BUT the pads do need to be properly bedded in each time. If you don't, switching back and forth can cause a shimmy(sp?). This is why my previos post have mentioned bedding in the pads so many times. Each pads you use deposits a even amount of itself onto the rotors. If this transfer is not even then the brakes will pulse/shimmy. Most people think they have wrapped the rotor but it is often just a uneven transfer of the braking material.
On the other hand I would say those EBC Green's did pretty good considering the abuse you gave them.

Steve

Originally posted by Rob


Looks like a little less than 1/2 are left. can i just throw in some race pads at the track, take them out, and put the street pads back in? dont rotors have to be resurfaced?

Kieran was raving about the Panther Xp's he was running that day. http://www.carbotecheng.com/prod-ct-compounds.htm

Chris

Originally posted by chriscar


Kieran was raving about the Panther Xp's he was running that day. http://www.carbotecheng.com/prod-ct-compounds.htm

Chris

Those are the ones the guy who i got the brakes told me to get. They are pricy, I got a quote for $106! guess i'll have to suck it up and get them...

BTW Chris, is your clutch done? you going to come to the next event?

Since you have a big brake kit, you don't need to run as hardcore of a pad because you'll get much better heat management.

The brake section on www.se-r.net talks about this a bit. Basically going to a larger setup allows you to run a softer pad and get the same performance.

Quoted from Mike Kojima on SE-R.net:


First of the bigger brakes operate at a much lower temperature which allows you to use a higher coefficient of friction, less aggressive brake pad.

On my big brake setup, I can run a nearly organic, pretty soft, semi-metallic pad in the front and stock pads in the rear. Normally I would have to select a much more aggressive pad to avoid fade. These pads are quite forgiving and easy on the rotors.

BTW, Panther Plus pads are awesome.

Rob
We sorta covered this few weeks ago --->http://www.sr20deforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16762
Its kinda from the other end of the topic, but same issue in general. Nothing new to add myself (haven’t even installed my NX brakes yet). =(

Carbotech's are trash. They are Hawk knock off...use the real thing Hawks.

Axxis MM's are great pads, BUT you'll be replacing them every 6 months, especially if you're doing any autocrossing or lapping.

Originally posted by Storm88000
Axxis MM's are great pads, BUT you'll be replacing them every 6 months, especially if you're doing any autocrossing or lapping.

Interestingly enough, my Axxis Metal Masters still look as good as the day I bought them for my NX a year ago. The car had about 131k on the odometer then. It now has about 142k with about 20+ autox events along the way. With proper bedding of the pads when they're first installed, they can last quite awhile.

However, I strongly recommend against using Axxis MM pads on the track, especially if you're anywhere near aggressive on the brakes. If you want a good street/track pad combo, then the Axxis Ultimates are a good choice as well as the Carbotech Panther Plus pads. MaddMatt speaks wonders about these pads, and I'd trust his insight based on the amount of track time he's had. If you're looking for a track-only pad, there's the Porterfield R4, Hawk Blue, and if you have the NX brakes, Carbotech makes a pad using the Hawk Blue compound.

LogicalRetard: I'm curious as to your reasoning behind your statement that Carbotech's stuff are trash. Please enlighten me.

Originally posted by LogicalRetard
Carbotech's are trash. They are Hawk knock off...use the real thing Hawks.

What?! How do you draw this conclusion?

Carbotechs are good. I run their "hawk blue" compound on my nx brakes for track events (Hawk didn't make a blue compound pad for the nx brakes). Not as good bite as Porterfield R4 pads but no fade and great stopping power. Also, they don't warp the rotors like the R4 pads did.

I have a new set of their XP compound and can't wait to try it out. Why badmouth Carbotech?

Yikes! Don't use Metal Masters on the track! I blew through a *full* set in about 12 laps. Of course, I was using my brakes like an absloute madman (or, more accurately, an autocrosser :D .)

I'd strongly reccommend a higher temp pad. Based on MadMatt's raves, I'm going to try the Panther Plus from Carbotech. It seems to be the highest possible temperature range that you can get without saying that it's hard on rotors.

Plus, judging by the info on their website, they seem to be quite knowledgable in the physics of braking. More than me, that's for sure. That's a stronger argument to me than:

"They're a Hawk knock off, they suck."

I'm pretty sure that Hawk buys their friction material from someone, not manufacture it themselves, much the same way that Carbotech does. Plus, they can provide me with pads for my AD22VFs, which Hawk can't.

YMMV.

Originally posted by Driven97
Based on MadMatt's raves, I'm going to try the Panther Plus from Carbotech. It seems to be the highest possible temperature range that you can get without saying that it's hard on rotors.


This was the pad I used at this year's Convention in Phoenix. It was my first lapping event, but from what more experienced drivers said, this course was very tough on brakes.

But what an awesome pad! I ran 5 full 20-minute sessions on R-compound tires, and I was able to STAND on the brakes all day! Didn't get the slightest hint of fade, nor did they warp my rotors. Not grabby, but had great initial bite. Easy to modulate too. Two others that tried them that day had nothing but good things to say.

When I swapped back my street pads, I inspected the Panther + pads, and they were still in great shape.

Whoa, didn't see all the people giving love to me in this thread...well, my logic for reason...I have just had bad experience with the pads and have seen not great results with them. The company I work for sells Hawk pads exclusively, and I have nothing but good things to say about the real things. The Hawks just seem to hold up better for some odd reason...or maybe it's just the ones I have driven on.

I just did a lapping session with some random assortment of cars (including a F150 Lighting, that was odd) and fastest car out there (a supercharged Miata) was using Hawks, and so was his other friend and they seemed superior. He could brake from 100-30 into a corner and never once did they fade or glaze or anything. He sold me on the Hawks after a ride. He drove the crap out of that car, the Hawks held up.