mark b

will be getting xp10's for the front of my C5 coupe.. thinking of keeping my stock pads on the rear...I only track the car 2 to 3 times a year the most. do I really need to change the rear pads too? Will the front braking force overwhelm the rears? Just trying to save some money here....and how long do these carbotech pads last? Figure I take her out for some spirited driving about twice a week, and track days twice/3times a year. And how noisey are these pads for the street? any input is welcome.

Miaugi

Usually I use XP-16's on the front and XP-10's on the rear, but I have also run my rear OEM pads while still using the XP-16's in the front without any issues.

To answer your question though, there are several other variables, such as if you run with AH on or off, with it on (in normal or Comp Mode) you will see an increase in pad wear as the car will make "adjustments" using the brakes causing extra wear. Also a lot will depend on how fast you go and how hard you brake.

The Carbotechs work quite well on the street, but they do dust a lot, and they can be very squeaky when used lightly such as coming up to a stop sign or red light under normal street driving use.

So my bottom line advice would be to use regular OEM pads for all driving except the track and then use XP-12 on the fronts and monitor the rear pad useage to insure they do not get too low (worn).

beerkat

I have two days at CMP and 3 days at Roebling Road on my current set of XP12f/XP10r. I have not check them since RR but judging from the level of my brake fluid I probably can get another track weekend out them. I will switch out track pads/rotors to a street pad/rotor for the winter.

mark b

I run with traction control on(it has no AH) I dont brake too hard because it depends on the situation. But I can if it calls for it. I just want more stopping power for the back straights..and no fade. and how noisy and squeeky are they? Are they so loud and squeeky that people turn around and look? Or are they just slightly squeeky where noone will notice...the dust can be cleaned, not worrying about that too much. Right now I have raybestos quiet stops so I will be sacrificing the silent braking.

Scooter70

I have a set of front C5/C6 XP12s that have 2 days at WGI on them as well as a set of Bobcats (Carbotech's street pads) that have a few thousand miles on them if you want to buy used to try them out before spending the big $ on new. If you're interested, I'll take some pictures and measure the remaining pad thicknesses for you. Let me know.

-Matt

Miaugi

People turn around to look loud....at least that is how they are in my car, although I've never checked to be sure but most of it may be from the rears which won't be a problem with the OEM's back there.

mark b

Thats good to know thanks, and how durable are these pads? will they last for the year assuming the way my usage of the car was explained in my post?

V8 Juice

Opinions will vary, but my recommendation is to only run the pads on the track and swap out for other pads more suitable, i.e. less noise, less dust, better cold stopping, much cheaper, possibly less harsh on rotors, etc. for street use. How long the Carbotechs last depends on how and where you drive: not very long at CMP and much longer at Roebling Road due to the numerous sharp turns at CMP versus mostly long sweepers at RR. Best thing is to just see what your experience is and adjust accoprdingly. The cold pad noise resembles a garbage truck at 5 AM, but worse, you might ignore a real problem thinking it is just the noisy Carbotechs. Good luck!!

Cobra4B

I found that Carbotech's wore way too fast for my liking. I ran XP12/XP10s at VIR Grand in June. The 10's out back are fine, but the 12s were used up. I keep them as spares because I "might" be able to get 1 day out of them.

My wilwood H's last 10x as long.

02impactblue

Xp12 on the front and xp10 on the back of an other wise stock c6.

VIR - 2 days and fronts are gone.
Summit Point - 3 days and fronts are gone
Pocono North - 4 days and fronts are gone
Pocono Long - 4 days and fronts are gone
Watkins Glen - 1 day and fronts are to the metal!

Rear pads usually last me 10-12days

Carbotechs stop well but the wear is getting to me. I plan to try pfc01's next.

CHJ In Virginia

I get at most 5 days out of the Carbotech XP 12 on the front and maybe a day more on the rears. Most times they are toast at the end of the 4th day. I'm switching to the Wilwood pads. Several of the Vettes around here are getting good results and life out of them -- IE 50% more than the Carbos.

Z06Fix

Wilwood H's are a very nice setup.

Aardwolf

Are the Wilwood H pads semi-metallic? I surfed their site but it did not tell me much of anything. I like the Carbos as there is not metal bits stuck everywhere.

Miaugi

I have read here that if you use PFC's you can not switch back to another pad, OEM or otherwise. Not sure if this is completely true though....anyone?

JaxVette

Carbotech XP12's on the front and XP 10's on the rear. With front brake cooling & spindle ducts the XP12's last 4 track days and the rears usually last 8 track days. I've run Wilwood H's on the front which also gave me 4 track days. But, the rotors were toast as well by the end of the 4th day, if not before. Without the spindle ducts, I couldn't get 2 full days out of a set of XP12's. If you're running track tires the XP12's and XP10's are a good combo. If you're running street tires, stay away from the XP12's and XP16's. Street tires don't have enough grip for these pads on the track.

Running the XP12's on the street could buy you some trouble when you've got to make an emergency stop. Since you won't have any heat in them driving on the street, it'll take a little more distance to get enough heat in them to stop quick. And then when they're hot, you'll stop REAL quick and get rear-ended by the guy behind you that couldn't stop that quick with his street brakes!

freefall

With all the brake cooling - 12's front and 10's rear on VIR Full Course - 1.5-2 days front, 3-4 days rear. H pads yield about 3x the life but are harder on rotors.

levettegrl

yehp, same as a lotta folks here

I run XP12/10 combo, fronts last me about 4-5 track days, backs about twice as long


yeh they squeek on the street, but I like the stopping power, I rarely drive my vette on the street anyway but to get home from the track.

humm..might just have to try the wilwoods

mark b

thanks for all the responses. keep them coming...Im sure this is helping alot of people. I think Im going to put the xp10's in the front for now, because the xp12's are too strong for street tires. so these pads squeek that loud heh? Are they worth the money? if I do 2 track days a year, you figure they will have to be replaced every 6 months? See Im trying to find that happy medium where you can go to the track with your stock set up, stop fine, no fade, drive home, and drive it on the street with no issues. Dust can be cleaned up, and I like the fact that the carbos are ceramic, easier to clean off wheels, and they are easy on rotors. I dont mind alittle squeeking but loud squeeking is annoying. Do these pads stop squeeking once they are warmed up? And when I take her out it is usually late night early morning when there are less cars on the roads. so I wont be rear ended. But in traffic, yes I remember when I had hppluses on a former car and I almost got rear ended on the highway, but I moved out of the way and the guy did not hit me. But his brakes where locked and tires screeching! So stopping too quick has its advantages and disadvantages......
So do the xp10's wear slower than the xp12's(in the front) or are they about the same?

Z06Fix

I ran the XP12's on my 03 cobra and loved them except I went through a set in 6 30min sessions at CMP. I know that is alot more weight to pull down so I am hoping they would last longer on a vette. I was very impressed with their bite and fade resistance. I was running on V710's and the brakes would tickle the ABS everyonce in a while running it in deep. Thats impressive for a pad in stock calipers. I loved the fact that the dust just wiped right off. I have seen guys with the Hawks have to clay bar a car after an event to get the dust off. I am strongly considering running the XP10's front and XP8's rear for this car on street tires. lol the more I talk about them the more I want to go back with them. I don't think you can go wrong with the wilwoods or carbotechs.

UstaB-GS549

I love my XP12's. Drive them on the street and on track. You can run them down to the rivets if you want. These are few of the fronts from Road America last weekend. They were 2/3 gone with a lot of taper when we started Saturday morning. I mounted them with the fat side trailing and they worked just fine. You probably won't want to cut it this close.

[IMG][/IMG]

They sound like gravel when they go metal to metal and the braking feels a little different. Full metal pads!

Each set of front pads lasted thru two 25 minute track sessions before I removed them. I didn't crack this particular rotor last weekend. It was just laying around.