Thanks,
I was really shocked at how close they were to the OEM pads. If I were to rank initial bite, with the OEM ST "track pads" at a 10 for most aggressive initial bite and a 0 being your typical passenger car pad (like a regular Fiesta or my wife's Escape), I would put the Hawk 5.0 pads at an 8. They are really close to the same bite, but not as aggressive. It really helps being smoother. I noticed the biggest difference at low speed, like a parking lot where the OEM pads would stop the car when you touched the pedal. The Hawk pads allow me to slow into a parking spot rather than an abrupt halt. Coming down from speed on an off-ramp or autocross, the Hawk 5.0 pads felt just as good as the OEM pads. My brother is putting the same pads on his Fiesta SFE, and my dad is going to use these on his cars when they are due.
Hawk 5.0 pad install by Bryan Redeker, on Flickr
