skyavonee

My car is a daily driven C5Z that sees some HPDE's. I'm aware that there's no such thing as a true dual purpose street/track pad, so I'm just looking for the highest performance pad that still has good initial bite and friction when cold, and doesn't squeak crazy loud all the time when driving around the city.

Wilwood's E compound and PFC's Z compound both seem like good options to me. Can anyone offer some insight on how these pads compare to each other, and how they compare with the OEM C5Z pads?

Thanks in advance.

CHJ In Virginia

I can add some input on the Wilwood "E" pads but not the PFC ones. The E pads are a step above the stock Z oem pads. They offer better track performance but still acceptable cold street performance without a lot of noise. They are a good compromise for an infrequently tracked car.

skyavonee

Thanks. Anyone else?

RDnomorecobra

I can add some on the PFC and not the Wilwoods I use PFC Z front and rear on street and track. I've tried a number of pads and honestly hate having to change them out even considering how easy it is on a c5. The Z's are fine on the street, stop well cold, do not dust much and the dust there is does not cake on like a PFC 01 or a DTC pad. They make a little noise but it's not a squeal. You probably feel it more than hear it. On the track they hold up to heat well and I've not experienced any fade except for a day or two when it was over 95 degrees outside. I do not have brake ducts installed. Compared to OEM c5z, the PFC Z's are much better on track. This gets to the point, whether these will hold up for you depends on your level and how much you push it on track. I have ~20 days total, usually run advanced but sometimes intermediate depending on the club and attendance. There are guys on here that I'm sure would cook these in a few laps. But for an all around HPDE pad that can see street use, I don't think there's much competing with these for the same price.

skyavonee

I think I'll probably try the PFC's this time because I'm expecting them to be a little better for the street. If I'm not completely satisfied then next time around I'll upgrade to the Wilwood's, which actually claim to be able to handle "light to medium duty road racing and track day events".

Bill Dearborn

It has been a long time since I tried the PFC Z pads but I didn't like them on my 97. One day at the track and I had ruined a new set of rotors with irregular pad deposits that formed on both sides of the rotor between the fins for the cooling vanes. Couldn't get the stuff off and the rotors vibrated like hell when I applied the brakes. That was when AutoZone was giving a life time warranty on those pads so I took them back and asked for my money back.

The Wilwood Es will take some track abuse, probably more than the Z pads since when I used the Wilwoods I had a lot more years experience and was driving a lot faster. The Es will dust like crazy. I installed Wilwood calipers on my C5Z in 05 and used H pads on the track, E pads for autocrossing and Q pads for the street. The E pads would hold up some on the track but after a few laps of my driving tended to overheat. On an autocross course they were fantastic. If you are still in the intermediate run groups you may be able to get by with them. Here is a chart of Wilwood's brake pad temperature and friction characteristics.

Bill

RDnomorecobra

interesting you say that ... i do notice some discoloration but
there's no vibration, and I even tried to catch a pin on it sliding it
across the rotor and it's like there's nothing there.

skyavonee

What was your main reason(s) for choosing Q over E on the street? Just dust, or other factors too?

That's what I'm banking on for now.

Bill Dearborn

The Qs are more of a street pad rather than a track/autocross pad. They don't squall or create a lot of dust. The Es dust a lot. Another pad to consider is the Hawk HP+. It dusts but is good on the street, autocross and will hold up well on the track until you really start pushing. I used them on my C6Z when I was running street tires and I know another guy who is very quick who uses them with Hoosiers.

Bill

skyavonee

Thanks for all the info. I'll have to do some real world experimenting of my own. Might end up settling on a pure street pad for the rears (like PFC Z or Wilwood Q) and a street/track pad for the fronts (like Wilwood E, Hawk HP+, or EBC Blue).

mAydAy121

Don't believe everything you see on the internet and take those coefficient of friction graphs with a grain of salt. Those values aren't even in the realm of reality versus actual dyno results. There are more variables than merely temperature and coefficient of friction that enter into the equation.


Bill - was that on brand new rotors and what was the bedding procedure?

Running new pads on used rotors (or changing frictions on the same rotor) can lead to problems like you experienced because the different transfer layer being left on the rotor. Along with using a new (or turned) rotor, proper bedding procedure is crucial. Either of these could very easily explain the problems you had.

Also, running cheap Autozone rotors isn't helping anything on track. The alloy of the rotor has a much larger effect on wear and durability than most realize.



A Z-Rated pad certainly won't compete on track with something like PFC 01 or 08, for instance, but will make a solid all-around pad. The Z-Rated pad won't bite as hard but its extremely unlikely you will be able to burn it up on track.

As always, make sure you have good fluid because they will generate quite a bit of heat on track.

Bill Dearborn

Bill

Han Solo

I don't have any experience with either pad you mentioned but thought I would risk hijacking the thread with my own advice.

I feel a mandatory upgrade for track use is cooling ducts. I have personally experienced accelerated pad wear running without front brake cooling versus running with.

skyavonee

Yeah, I was reading up about the DRM ducts for a while, but it seems like too much hacking for my taste. Luckily, I just discovered today that a GM C6 duct can be used with very minor modification, so I'll probably end up going that route.

0Todd TCE

Poly E is a durable pad for that 'light to medium duty' track use as stated. But it's certainly not a race pad. It can be used on the street but its very metallic nature will lead to heavy dusting and noise as was pointed out. They'll hear you coming...

I'd personally stay away from the Q compound for use on this car unless it's really a trailer queen. The Q pads have a history of overheating and smearing which leads to pulsation issues that seem to come and go at random. Apparently they do clean up with a bit of hard use but why deal with it?

In the BP line I'd say 10 is to HPS as 20s are to HP+ if you're looking for a cross reference on possible street pads. Another option is the older Poly D pads which have a very nice cold bite and have proven awesome for AX use and are not bad for the street either. Out performing HPS in my opinion. (hard to find but I know a guy...)