ltborg

its time to replace the pads and rotors so i am trying to figure out what i should upgrade to. the car is a 2002 z06 that i drive on the street and autocross regularly and will hopefully get back into a few hpdes per year once i get settled in at my new job. i ran some hp+'s on a c4 and really liked them and i didnt mind the dust/noise except for the fact that even with cleaning the wheels every week, i couldnt get all the caked up dust off the wheels and it destroyed the clear coat. i never ran them on a track but have heard some bad things about fade so i am wondering if the carbotech combinations or pfc pads people talk about might be possibilities, but dont know about their streetability or cold bite for autoxing.

basically i am looking for comparable performance to the hp+ (similar noise and amount of dust is ok) but with less abrasive/destructive dust and better fade resistance for track events. again i never ran them at an hpde so maybe hp+'s are ok if you run real brake ducts, etc. cold bite is really important for the autox and street driving so opinions on that would be great. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

RobertEarl

I use the HP+ pads but only put them on for the track. It only takes about another 10 minutes while I am changing the tires. When I get back , I put the PFC's back on.


Reb

ltborg

do you switch rotors too or are those pads compatible on the same rotor?

carnut101

I had serious issues with mine when I swapped just the brake pads. Then again it was my first time doing brakes.

Z06Fix

Carbotech AX6's

Mojave

I ran HP+ on my F Stock Firebird. Worked very well, but dusted a lot.

Be a man and deal with the dust.

jbauch357

the HP+ don't bite when they are cold, and in my experience didn't normally get all the way up to temperature during regular street driving (mainly low speed stop and go in these parts ) but under "spirited" conditions warmed up nicely and performed great.

the one time I ran HP+ during auto-x my car was doing dual driver duty, so they stayed nice and hot and performed great.

the few times I ran HP+ during HPDE's I would get fade after the front straight, but that was the only place...

realistically you may want to do what I am going for and get OE Z06 pads for street and auto-x duty, then have a completely seperate set of pads/rotors for HPDE's - that compund would be something more like the Carbotech XP 10's...

jwt1603

Use the same rotors with the same pads. It gets some of the compound onto the face of the rotor.

Unless it's a track that's easy onbrakes like Roebling you don't really want to use the AX6 on a road course. They'll get too hot too quick.

10's or 12's would be better on a road course as noted above.

Z06Fix

Yup, I'm running the AX6's for autox and daily driving. I plan on using the XP10's/XP8's for track use

VetteDrmr

If you can find them, the PFC Z-rated pads are great dual use street/autox pads. Great cold bite and excellent torque once warmed up, and don't have the dusting problems of the HP pads. They work fine for "having a fun day" DEs, but serious DE work will require a more dedicated pad.

I think there are still some forum sponsors that are selling them for decent prices.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

ltborg

thanks for the responses guys. ive heard of some people running xp10s and xp8s on the street, how well do they work? is it something to run all the time and would it work at autox events or is that just something that is ok to do going to and from events?

Z06Fix

I drove from Knoxville to CMP (SC) on a set of the XP12's and they worked fine on the the street. I still would rather have something that was designed to heat up a bit quicker for the street. From what the guys at Carbotech told me the AX6 works well on the street and awsome for autox. I will swap them out for a set of XP10's when at the track. I like to use the best possible pad I can for the situation at hand. Everything that I have read tells me the AX6 compound is very close to the Hawk HP+.

ltborg

is that the pad the is suppose to have less abrasive dust? like i said, i dont mind the volume, i just mind that it destroys wheels.

on that note, how do people's z06 wheels hold up to the hp+ dust? maybe it was just a c4 wheel thing i was having the issue with.

Z06Fix

Thats exactly why I am running carbotech's over the hawks. The dust on the carbotechs is non corrosive.


Here is the AX6 specs from the carbotech site:

The AX6™ takes the place of the Panther Plus™ compound that was so successful. AX6™ was specifically engineered for Autocross applications. A high torque brake compound delivering reliable and consistent performance over a very wide operating temperature range (150°F to 1250°F +). Advanced compound matrix provides an excellent initial “bite”, high coefficient of friction, and very progressive brake modulation and release characteristics. AX6™ offers high fade resistance, rotor friendliness at all temperatures, excellent cold stopping power, and non corrosive dust. As a result, AX6™ is an excellent choice for Autocross & novice track day drivers and beginner high performance driver education (HPDE) drivers on street driven cars using street tires eliminating the need to change brake pads at the track. AX6™ has gained tremendous popularity with SCCA Prosolo/Solo2 competitors for its fantastic bite, release & modulation. Many drivers use the AX6™ for street driving as well.

ltborg

good info, any idea how the wear is compared to the hawk?

Z06Fix

I have spoken with two people that ran them last year and they both say they are lasting longer than the hawks and are easier on the rotors. Seems like a win win situation.