Charley Hoyt

It is time to replace the pads on my '08 Z51. The car is my daily driver.... I autocross one weekend per month (2 days) and plan on doing track days once every two months....or so. What would be a good pad for this application?

Thanks for the help.

Charley

Mark VerMurlen

Once you get serious about track events, you won't find a brake pad that will be good at both street driving and track day events. Everyone eventually realizes that they need 2 different sets of pads and swaps them before and after track events. Street pads won't hold up to the heat generated on the track and track pads will be too noisy, dusty, and abrasive on the street.

- Mark

RedLS1GTO

easy to change pads as part of prep for any sort of event... no need to sacrifice on either street OR track

tim87tr

Check into Carbotech pads. I just ordered some today for my 05 Z51. They can be used on the street also, at least driven to track, but of course would make some noise street driving. I've used them on a heavier 03 Cobra, and they work great at the track, and the dust is easy to clean off and minimal, unlike other track pads.

I plan to use the stock Z51 rotors in the next couple track outings and upgrade to a solid rotor (at least fronts) for next year. What I did buy today from LG motorsports is the front brake duct cooling kit. I used a similar system on my Cobra and it is very effective for rotor and pad life, and of course brake fluid.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

Charley, The Carbotech xp8 if you dont mind dust and some noise.

A high torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range (200°F-1350°F+). Carbotech XP8™ is the first of our racing compounds. Outstanding initial bite at race temperatures, high coefficient of friction, excellent modulation and release characteristics. Extremely high fade resistance, very rotor friendly with 100% non-corrosive dust. Excellent as a front brake pad for lighter ITA, ITB, ITC, SRF, H4, H5, and other cars that weigh less than 2,400lbs. Perfect for novice, intermediate and advanced track day (HPDE) use with any tire, and can still be driven safely to and from the track. There are several vehicles that use XP8™ on the street, autocross, and at track day (HPDE) events. Carbotech does NOT recommended XP8™ as a daily driven street pad due to elevated levels of dust and noise. XP8™ is also a great rear brake pad for almost any race car (Spec Miata-T1/T2/CMC). XP8™ is a great compound on the front & rear of most open wheel and sports racers.

Charley Hoyt

Is it an issue that the Corvettes weigh +3200lbs? Your note seems to indicate that this pad is designed for lighter cars.

Thanks for the help,
Charley

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

Charley, no we have many vettes running this pad

autoxer6

Another consideration is track pad performance for auto x. Basically, track pads don't work well for auto x. They require some (or a lot) of heat in them before they start to bite. If you run something like an XP8 at an autocross, every time you brake will be different because the pad will heat up more and more and bite more and more thorough out the run. Braking consistently becomes very hard.

I run the factory Z06 pads on my C5 for autocross and XP10 front XP8 rear for track days.

XP8 certainly will work for autocross, but not ideal.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

XP8 certainly will work for autocross, but not ideal. i was trying to save him from buying 2 sets of pads. Ideally the ax6 is our auto x pad.

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 (50°F to 1150°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 & 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, even though Carbotech doesn’t recommend street driving with AX6™ due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise. AX6™ is NOT a race compound, and should not be used as such. AX6™ shouldn’t be used by any intermediate or advanced track day drivers, and should not be used with “R” compound tires (racing tires).

haikun

Correct, swapping pads on the vette (EXCLUDING C6 Z06's calipers) is fast & easy. I have been using both Cobalt XR1's as well as PFC 01's and really happy with both on track, for street the standard pad's are probably good enough.

/Hakan