Brake pad choices for HPDE/TT cars?

[awwwww_shift]

Looking into tracking the Fiesta come spring locally, and obviously will need something more robust than the stock pads.
I'll be getting the boomba brake deflectors, for a little bit of help, but has anyone here played with track compounds on their cars?
I'm mostly used to Hawk compounds on previous cars, so I've been looking at the DTC pads and the traditional Blue/Black 9012 offerings.

Anyone have any experience with G-Loc pads? Ferrodo pads? Carbotec?
Looking to run street tires, but my local track is Road America, so braking is a BIG DEAL...
I ran Hawk Blues on my Neon and my Civic SI with good luck and with street tires, it was a good balance once the tires and brakes came up to temp(braking from 120-130 at the 2'ish marker on good street tires, i.e. ad08r, re-11, re-71r)

thanks!

 

[Goingnowherefast]

G-loc is a sister company of Carbotech. I run their R10(XP10)/R8(XP80) pads on my Miata and I love them. Good stopping power, nice pedal feel, good cold bite, low noise etc. I would definiatally recommend G-loc, but if it is an HPDE/TT only car, go with a more aggressive compound. Call them up and see which one's they recommend running as far as brake bias etc.

 

[meFiSTo]

I've had good luck with Carbotech XP8s and XP10s over the years on a couple of FWD cars used for HPDE. The initial bite is somewhat progressive (even when applying threshold braking). For some, that might take a little getting used to if you tend to go to the very last instant before braking by standing on the brake pedal. I've purchased them from KNS and have been happy with their service.

 

[awwwww_shift]

Good advice thus far.
Like I said, I have used Hawk pads so far, so that's what I'm used to.
Blues had an outstanding initial bite to me, and could be modulated close to that threshold. Have driven a few higher HP cars with the DTC stuff, and really liked the feel of those pads as well(dtc60's and 50's).
Not new to the tossing an FWD car around the track, but these cars seem to like a little more front bias for pads than what i've run in the past(from my research, and i could be wrong).

I consider myself an agressive braker, but not a harsh initial application(bad experience going into t12 at road america cured that habit REAL fast.... *pucker*)

A few local HPDE buddies swear by the carbotech stuff, which is what got me looking at the G-loc stuff. Do we have any vendors on here that I could contact about options, opinions?

 

[gronktired]

I just got some carbotech XP8s from oakos on the forums. I haven't tried them out yet and my next day out it will probably be raining too hard to really put them to the test.

I had good luck with EBC yellowstuff at my last HDPE. It wasn't too hot, and they glazed a bit when they cooled between sessions, but once they were warm they were pretty consistent and lasted well. Not bad for the price, not excessive dust, and they didn't destroy my rotors. I've still got them on as my street pads.

The hawk streetrace HB725R.650 pads I tried were garbage. They were fine for about half the day, then started fading and getting inconsistent every time I got heat into them. Enough initial bite to get you confident, then rapidly fading as the gravel pit approaches.

 

[awwwww_shift]

I've had bad experience with EBC stuff in the past. Had a set of yellowstuffs crumble after 2 sessions on track on my neon.

 

[OEFvet11]

I run Carbotech XP08 on my fiesta. Have verified brake temps over 950 degrees and they held up just fine. Although the factory caliper paint did catch fire.. it's all gone so no more worries. I do have CMbuildz brake ducts as well. We also use XP08s on our enduro race cars and they last 9plus hours or more depending on the tracks. You cannot go wrong with XP08s. I also have a set of spare rotors I use just for the pads so they are all bedded to a certain rotors.

 

[Siestarider]

With good brake cooling the OEM pads worked great for me on track. No fade. Good feel. Set of pads lasted 8 track days with DD inbetween. I would still be on them but purchased Chuckable's used WW front kit with XP-10 pads. Mainly to loose unsprung weight. I will probably go to softer pads next, XP-10 provide more heat resistance than I need for track.

I brake late and firmly at threshold. Running either BFG SC-2 or Rivals depending on whether I use 17" or 16" wheels. My PB's are all on the Rivals. Going to WW fronts did not change my PB's at Sebring or PBIR or not enough to credit brakes anyway.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^The Rivals mentioned above are 215/45-16s?

 

[Siestarider]

^^^The Rivals mentioned above are 215/45-16s?

Yes. Only negative with these is they require heat cycling before they develop maximum grip.

 

[FiestaTexas]

Ill be running the Mountune RS-R brake pads next weekend, so Ill give you an update once Ive put them through their paces.

 

[Quasar]

Ill be running the Mountune RS-R brake pads next weekend, so Ill give you an update once Ive put them through their paces.

How did they hold up? I'm looking for a good street/track pad as I would rather not have to swap out sets of pads.

 

[thePete]

In for info. I haven't had an issue with the stocks, but I do plan to track more this year, so I'm interested in some seasoned opinions.

 

[spoon]

Carbotech XP-10 on stock rotors, Stoptech lines.

Track duty, and daily driven as well. Awesome setup. Dusty, can be noisy. Is actually really quiet for me, and I wipe my wheels down every day.

 

[maestromaestro]

I will chime in on the Carbotech XP8s in daily/HPDE. In conjunction with the Wilwood Spec 37 slotted rotors - there is an initial fade, but when at temperature, the feel/performance is consistent lap after lap. The stock brakes were rather awful.
Now, the XP8 WILL squeal in daily driving. One thing I would recommend is that for 20 bucks, Carbotec will de-gas the pads, so you don't have to do the bedding. In my case, it could have saved me about $3K. It's a long story...

 

[M-Sport fan]

Ill be running the Mountune RS-R brake pads next weekend, so Ill give you an update once Ive put them through their paces.

Does anyone know which company makes the pads for Mountune??

 

[Quasar]

Does anyone know which company makes the pads for Mountune??

I'm fairly certain it's Hawk... I think that's on their website.

 

[awwwww_shift]

I'm fairly certain it's Hawk... I think that's on their website.

I'd be 95% sure this is accurate.

And for reference in this thread, if there is a review of pads and/or brake setups, can we quote tracks that we're running on? Some tracks are more brutal on brakes than others... My home tracks Road America and Blackhawk Farms are BRUTAL on brakes, so that's my points of reference. (on a light 1gn neon, I cooked a set of Hawk 9012 Blues over a 25 minute session).

 

[Quasar]

I'd be 95% sure this is accurate.

And for reference in this thread, if there is a review of pads and/or brake setups, can we quote tracks that we're running on? Some tracks are more brutal on brakes than others... My home tracks Road America and Blackhawk Farms are BRUTAL on brakes, so that's my points of reference. (on a light 1gn neon, I cooked a set of Hawk 9012 Blues over a 25 minute session).

Now we can be 100%, taken from Mountune's website:

mountune RS-R High Performance Brake Pads have been developed to offer outstanding performance over a wide range of driving conditions. Engineered to our specifications exclusively by Hawk, the RS-R pad has been optimized with increased friction yet remaining essentially dust free. The Ferro-Carbon formula yields up to 40% greater stopping power without increased noise. This is the perfect pad compound for aggressive driving while remaining gentle on the brake rotors.

 

[Joker328]

I will chime in on the Carbotech XP8s in daily/HPDE. In conjunction with the Wilwood Spec 37 slotted rotors - there is an initial fade, but when at temperature, the feel/performance is consistent lap after lap. The stock brakes were rather awful.
Now, the XP8 WILL squeal in daily driving. One thing I would recommend is that for 20 bucks, Carbotec will de-gas the pads, so you don't have to do the bedding. In my case, it could have saved me about $3K. It's a long story...

I've seen you mention your bedding-in disaster in multiple threads. Now I kinda want to hear the story. Did you write it up somewhere?