J Ritt

Hi,
I wanted to post a link to an article I recently wrote about how to choose street and track brake pads. I know this has always been a popular topic on this forum, and one that creates a lot of confusion.

As a representative for some of the top brake manufacturers in the aftermarket for the past 7 years, I’ve had the chance to address this topic in countless conversations with customers online, over the phone, or in person. Until now though, I’ve never had the time to pull my thoughts together and present them in a cohesive manner.

My hope is that this article will prevent some of the repetitive “what are the best brake pads?” questions we’ve all seen a million times. With a fundamental understanding of this topic in hand, we can hopefully elevate future conversations on this topic to a higher, more productive level.

I’d post the article here in its entirety, but it would probably take me 20 posts! Thanks and enjoy.

http://www.essexparts.com/learning-c...ose-brake-pads

Jeff Ritter

MungoZ06

Good post, Jeff ...
Should be referred reading for those seeking advice on pads ...
DennyM

JimbeauZ06

Nice article and thanks for taking the time, but do you really want to take away our god given right to shove our opinions about our favorite pads down the throats of other forum members?


So which pad is better the DTC 60 or DTC 70 and why?

AU N EGL

Great Info Jeff

great quote

J Ritt

LOL...absolutely not! I fully encourage everyone to voice their opinions, even if I don't want to hear them! Seriously, this article was just to get people thinking about all the factors that go into the decision process. A lot of times people just don't think it through...they add 300whp and then wonder what happened when things start melting. I think healthy discussions on pad compounds are great, but there just isn't one magic solution that works for everybody...too many variables in play. Try it, like it, keep it, burn it up. Try it, hate it, sell it, try something else. Rinse, repeat until your Paypal account is a desolate wasteland.

If I had to pick one of those two Hawk pads on a vette for track duty (which I've actually done), I'd take (and did take) the DTC-70 over the DTC-60. I personally like a fairly high coefficient of friction, and a lower amount of leg effort. I'd put the DTC-60's in the back depending on the track, conditions, etc. I tried them on the front of my car and they just didn't float my boat. DTC-70 on both ends of the car could work as well. On our cars though (most of the weight over the nose when braking), the front pads are where you'll notice the greatest difference in terms of feel. You will notice varying amounts of nose dive though depending on what you have out back.

J Ritt

Haha...That was mainly geared towards a good friend of mine in Pittsburgh who used to be big into the show car scene. I busted his nuts relentlessly about it. He started changing his tune after I took him for a pucker-factor 11 ride around BeaveRun about 8 years ago. He now has a drag civic that runs 10's. It's hysterical...weighs under 2000 lbs., and redefines the meaning of torque steer.

I have to say though, some of the show car guys are very creative, and I give them props for the enthusiasm and energy they put into their cars. I'm heavily biased towards performance, but I'm a car guy at heart. If you enjoy and take care of what you can afford, then that's cool with me.

DansBlkonBlkZ06

Excellent information. I am now going to keep my stock pads for the street and a semi-metallic set for the track. I should get lots of life out of both sets of pads. I now know more about pads than I ever wanted to!

Maxx Schlick

good info, Thanks a lot for sharing with us. Now I know why I ruined a set of Hawk HP plus pads after a few laps..it was the wrong pad for the track.