383

I have been looking over my pad options for a while now and I think Ive found what I want but Im looking for opinions before I buy.
Ive decided to stay with 200tw tires for the foreseeable future to get used to driving my new to me Z on them. Id like to do the Optima usci, I also auto-x about a dozen times a year. Now the part that makes my decision so much harder is the 3~4 HPDE's I plan on doing this year.
So I need a pad that works cold AND semi hot(Im not fast on track)
The car is an 07'Z milled heads, mild cam, delrin bushings, MPS zp front and Eagle f1 zp rear. The brakes I decided on are Hawk street race front(old DTC-30) and HPS5.0 rear with Coleman 2pc front and rear rotors.
My question is will I overheat the HPS in the rear on street tires? According to Hawks chart the HPS seems to be a good match to the -30 in cold bite but tops out around 750*. I dont want to run the HP+ in the rear because of its bite when cold cold vs the -30
I decided on the hawks because Carbotech's don't seem to come on till 200* and for auto-x/street thats no good.

383

What are the OUSCI guys running for pads?

Solid1

I don't have first hand experience with track pads on a vette for auto-x, so take this with a grain of salt.
I have done track days with street pads and have done auto-x with race pads with other cars. I would opt for the track pads for your application. You can always drag your brakes while leaving the grid area. It's easy to get brakes up to 200*. I would rather do that than have my brakes fade on track.
I will be running XP10/XP8 this year for HPDE's and time trials and stock pads and rotors for auto-x.

ErnieN85

Hawk has a new pad called street/race which is just what your looking for.
it hold up too 1200* and has good grip when cold.
Give Ken a call at KNS Brakes (forum vendor)

383

Yea i like the looks of that pad but they only make it for the front. Im concerned with the HPS in the rear really.

ErnieN85

I used the Hp+ on the rear but they did have a listing for the rear also.
I just didn't need it on the rear.
So never tried it there.
I'm upgrading to Willwoods and Hawk doesn't make it in that pad shape.
so I'll be using Willwood in the future (so Far as I can Tell)

FAUEE

I run StopTech street pads for my all around pads. Work fine on the track, work fine on the track. I'd think they'd be a good choice for you.

Outside of that... why stray from the stock Ferodo pads? They hold up to HPDEs, street driving, autocross, everything.

tytek

I used HPS pads my first time at the track 2 years ago on my C5Z. I cooked them within a few laps. Had almost no bite whatsoever. This was on street tires.

I would go for something more aggressive without being too race oriented. XP10 in the front and XP8 on the rear is a good compromise in my mind. I ran that way for a few track days earlier last year and while I didn't have as much bite as I should have, since my speeds were increasing and lap times were dropping with more experience, they were sufficient to put down some decent lap times.

After switching to R-comps, I had tried Wilwood H pads front and rear and didn't like that much rear bias. I prefer my car to be neutral under hard braking from higher speeds. While I like the H pad on the front, I went with XP8 on the rear to lessen the amount of stopping power. I am using stock C5Z calipers on the car and finally have the braking behavior that I am comfortable with.

Wilwood H pads worked OK during a few autox I did, but they damaged my DBA rotors too much when cold.

Hopefully, the new Hawk pad mentioned above will offer a compromise that will allow you to 'have your cake and eat it too.'

ipuig

I used the HP+ for several years in autocross and they performed well; they will not hold up under road course conditions. The HAWK STREET/RACE pads used the same compound as the DTC-30 pads. I've used these pads at the last three HPDE events I attended over the last six months and I'm very satisfied with their performance. I'm using OEM style calipers and rotors (C5Z) with no additional cooling.

LateBreak

Raybestos ST43's are where it's at, they've got a wide temp range so you don't lose your bedding layer on the street but they will brake your face off and wear like iron with minimal rotor wear. I'm a fan...

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

The XP8 does not require that much heat to work. On the street they are fine and at Auto X you drag your brakes a little until you get till the line to build some heat and your good to go. Plus now you have a pad that can be used for HPDE.

63Corvette

I would agree. Stoptech Street Performance pads are good to 1300 degrees F. They are good (cold) on the street, and hot for SOME tracks which are NOT hard on brakes (like MSR Cresson). I would NOT use them for hard brake tracks like Road America or Eagles Canyon (use race pads).

383

I didn't know the stock pads were ferodo, what kind of temp can they handle? Could I do ferodo 2500's front and stock rear? How would that balance?

I read they done work well cold, how are they on rotors during auto-x?

I plan on doing Watkins Glenn and that place is hard on brakes from what I hear
Should I be concerned about padlets over 1pc?
I forgot to mention ill be using quantum brake ducts in the front.
i

383

XP8 front and rear or match it with the AX6? Will the AX6 bite more than the 8 when cold/auto-x?
I wish I knew what the OUSCI guys used. They must use an intermediate pad thats capable of doing it all. I net none of them use stock C6 Z06 calipers though

miracle_whip4130

I've ran the ST-43s for HPDE on my C5Z and left them on a week before and a week after the event. For street driving they are pretty noisy and dusty. As far as cold performance, I never had any doubt in their ability to stop the car when cold, they just required a bit more pedal pressure when you first start off. Not something I really noticed until I switched back to my street pads and was backing out of a parking space and lightly tapped the brakes to slow down and check to make sure all was clear and the car nearly came to a dead stop haha. Basically, if you don't mind the noise and brake dust, you will get used to the cold performance of them and it won't be a big deal.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

I would use xp8 front Ax6 rear. Than you have a pad that can be driven on street auto x and track. You can call me if you would like to discuss. I have had customers use this combo before with great results.

LateBreak

I've never done an auto-x personally, but I'm sure they'd be fine. As miracle-whip stated, they do tend to generate a bit of dust and noise when cold Reading your original post again, they're probably a bit too much of a race pad for what you're planning to do.

FAUEE

I want to say the OEM pads are actually Ferodo 2500s. Not entirely sure on that one.

FWIW, I have the Stoptech Street pads in the front and the OEM padlets in the back, and there's no real weird issues or anything. I think you'd need to have a really aggressive pad in one spot or the other and something not very aggressive opposite it to run into a lot of issues. The OEM pads are actually pretty aggressive, the reason I switched away from them was pure and simple cost. The StopTech pads work just as well at like half the cost.

Personally as someone doing HPDE, I really don't want the pads to be super amazing race pads. I'm in it to learn, and there's no trophies for DE. So learning to deal with brake fade, react in a situation where your brakes aren't what you expected at the end of a session, things like that are valuable to me. So I want a pad that's going to keep working and do well, but I also want to learn while I'm out there and not have the car take care of all the mistakes. My criteria for pads was that they work, not fall apart quickly due to excessive heat, be something I can live with on the street, and not be insanely expensive because they're more of a race pad for actual competitive racing where every advantage counts.

Just my opinion of course, and I guess I take a little different view to DE than a lot of people. Seems like a lot of people aim to be the fastest guy on the track in DE. I aim to be the guy who learned the most, had the most fun, and didn't break his car in any way shape or form, lol.

fmcokc

I run the ST43's on several cars on the street and on the track.

They might not have quite the bite went dead cold but almost immediately will as LateBreak says "brake your face off".

They squeal a bit but because racecar.

strano@stranoparts.com

Stock pads are NOT Ferodo's, and they are NOT DS2500's. Brembo cars use Ferodo DS1000's stock, like Camaro, Mustangs, etc.

They are, as best as I can tell PBR Metalmasters. Makes sense right, PBR calipers and well I used to sell a lot of those back in the day, and I'm very familiar with them.

As for what pads. I love DS2500's in a lot of instances including street, autox, some light track use. NOT for pounding on all day on a hard track on brakes, etc. You should at that point have race pads.

DTC30 and "street/race" pads are too aggressive when hot for things like Autocross. DTC30's don't hold up the best under hard track use. They are a dirt track pad originally which is quite different. They are streetable and do some track but not a lot better at the track than 2500's, and not nearly as nice on the street.

I carry Hawk, I carry Raybestos, I carry Ferodo, EBC, etc. I don't carry Carbotech, just never been blown away by them to be honest. I *USE* DS2500's a lot, sometimes EBC Yellows which are okay but the Ferodo's are better pads IMHO and worth the price difference. I have DS2500's on my FRC right now, had them on my 2011 5.0 Mustang, my 2013 FR-S too. I try various things, and in the end details matter. For instance for track work, what holds up find on the C6Z gets taper worn and was done in a hour on the front of the FRC. Situations matter.

If you track the car, brakes are important. Stopping is important. No stopping at minimum can ruin your track time as you cruise around without brakes that work well, or at worst cause some damage (to you or worse the car).