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How do you break in the Powerstop pads if you live in a busy city. Thought I might try and do it late at night but would probably be stopped and ticketed for unsafe driving. Thought about Carbotechs since they don't need a break in but would have to pay the price.
I have no brown stuff with my Z26 pads and DBA 4000 rotors. Everyone blames the pads but could be the rotors!
You rant on quality is all conjecture and opinion.
Originally Posted by JerryU
You missed the point on quality products made in China and pads that I bought for my Grand Sport that after SC tax I paid $118 shipped free to me! Amazon paid something for shipping, covered all their costs and made a profit! PowerStop, the importer covered all their acquisition and shipping costs and made a profit. The ship owner and dock workers (probably in Oakland CA) don't work for nothing! Did not leave much for the factory in China to do much QA! Glad you're happy!
Don't get me wrong I buy Harbor Freight tools that are mostly good for my limited use. It they break I just replace them (even my HF drill press was easier to just buy another!) But brakes on a $60,000 Grand Sport! I Tried them for 900 miles and stopping with warm/hot pads was fine but I have a somewhat unique requirement to make aggressive stops soon after I leave my home, enter a ~65 mph 4 lane highway and turn on another rural road. Don't want the traffic I merged into to have to brake so as not to hit me when I turn (particularly in the summer when folks are going to Myrtle Beach-it's very crowded!) The PowerStops did not match the confident very controlled stops I had for 3 years with the more expensive Carbotech 1521 pads or the GM OEM pads.
I know many folks are happy with them, but I'm not the only one to observe the inferior stops with cold pads. this is quote from another Forum member:
Z06NJCF Senior Member
'Initially you will feel that you have to step harder to make them brake the same as OEM. That's because all you know up to that time are the OEM brakes. However, with time, it becomes like muscle memory. Now I just brake like normal and don't even think about it. But I'll never forget the 1st day I got them installed and I was driving home, I was like "WTF's going on here...I'm gonna end up rear ending somebody"
To each their own and I don't blame Forum Vendor Adam for not responding to some posts! PS: I am not a sponsor or have any affiliation with Carbotech or any car part related company. In fact their pads are about the same higher price as Hawk, another quality brake pad. I just share my expediences!
Although I had only a minor problem with PowerStops in 900 miles with "brown stuff" in my rotor groves before I switched to Carbotech 1521 street pads another Forum Member posted this pic of his rotors after a year of use. After some time PowerStop replaced the pads!
Pic posted by Forum Member "wecker3" Be glad your pads were made on a good day and from better materials!
How do you break in the Powerstop pads if you live in a busy city. Thought I might try and do it late at night but would probably be stopped and ticketed for unsafe driving. Thought abut Carbotechs since they don't need a break in but would have to pay the price.
I have less brown discoloration now after I sanded the rotors down. I originally installed the power stops with no rotor prep. So maybe the browning was a reaction between the new pads and original pad material deposited on the rotors.
QUOTE=dfettero;1597890936]I have no brown stuff with my Z26 pads and DBA 4000 rotors. Everyone blames the pads but could be the rotors!
You rant on quality is all conjecture and opinion.[/QUOTE]
I have no brown stuff with my Z26 pads and DBA 4000 rotors. Everyone blames the pads but could be the rotors!
You rant on quality is all conjecture and opinion.
Glad you're happy. It's not a rant, just reporting my observations and research. Understand others are happy and that is fine. I tried the Chinese pads because they were so cheap! But I'm not the only one who saw the performance difference! Here are some others, quoting their posts:
@village idiot (an avid knowledgeable Tracker) Post: 8/17/2018
I put the Power Stop Z26 pads in and I seriously regret it. Braking power and bite sucks compared to OEM. It was actually kind of dangerous- not because the braking system is inadequate but because I wasn't used to it. It was a big enough change from street to race pads for the track but this is going to make it far more pronounced. Not sure I'd do it again if I had the chance.
Z06NJ CF Senior Member
Initially you will feel that you have to step harder to make them brake the same as OEM. That's because all you know up to that time are the OEM brakes. However, with time, it becomes like muscle memory. Now I just brake like normal and don't even think about it.
But I'll never forget the 1st day I got them installed and I was driving home, I was like "WTF's going on here...I'm gonna end up rear ending somebody" LOL
There are a number of posts re the brown on rotors, perhaps not as bad as pic Wecker3 posted and some say they are OK with it!
Glad you're happy. It's not a rant, just reporting my observations and research. Understand others are happy and that is fine. I tried the Chinese pads because they were so cheap! But I'm not the only one who saw the performance difference! Here are some others, quoting their posts:
@village idiot (an avid knowledgeable Tracker) Post: 8/17/2018
I put the Power Stop Z26 pads in and I seriously regret it. Braking power and bite sucks compared to OEM. It was actually kind of dangerous- not because the braking system is inadequate but because I wasn't used to it. It was a big enough change from street to race pads for the track but this is going to make it far more pronounced. Not sure I'd do it again if I had the chance.
Z06NJ CF Senior Member
Initially you will feel that you have to step harder to make them brake the same as OEM. That's because all you know up to that time are the OEM brakes. However, with time, it becomes like muscle memory. Now I just brake like normal and don't even think about it.
But I'll never forget the 1st day I got them installed and I was driving home, I was like "WTF's going on here...I'm gonna end up rear ending somebody" LOL
There are a number of posts re the brown on rotors, perhaps not as bad as pic Wecker3 posted and some say they are OK with it!
Your Car Your Choice.
I've been using power stops for about 3 months now, no discoloration on rotors and no difference in braking feel with normal driving. I know at least five other people using the pads with the same experience (no rotor discoloration and no braking difference). You and the other posters you quoted either got bad pads or they were installed incorrectly.
If you want to buy competing pads at about 4x the cost, go for it, if not, power stops are an excellent choice to replace the OEM pads.
I've been using power stops for about 3 months now, no discoloration on rotors and no difference in braking feel with normal driving. I know at least five other people using the pads with the same experience (no rotor discoloration and no braking difference). You and the other posters you quoted either got bad pads or they were installed incorrectly.
If you want to buy competing pads at about 4x the cost, go for it, if not, power stops are an excellent choice to replace the OEM pads.
I had them on my 15 Z51 and the rotors were very brown after a short period of time. Bad pads or not, I'm not doing that again. I've been racing cars on and off since I could drive, and my family has been racing since the 60's, so I don't think they were 'installed incorrectly'.
I had them on my 15 Z51 and the rotors were very brown after a short period of time. Bad pads or not, I'm not doing that again. I've been racing cars on and off since I could drive, and my family has been racing since the 60's, so I don't think they were 'installed incorrectly'.
I have also changed many brake shoes and pads in ~60 years. In fact three sets in C7s! FWIW and folks who like their Chinese pads don't have to read or try to understand this post, but from talking to folks who know brake pads, it's probably excess iron causing the browning "from some pads." That was NOT my main reason for tossing the $118 pads but in 900 miles I did had a brown residue in my rotor slots that I had to use a Dermal tool to remove. But it reminded me of the open pit mine I passed on the way to the drag strip in Thompson OH!
I was managing an R&D Lab close to there developing welding fluxes etc. We used mostly ores and natural ceramic type raw materials in those products. We bought sand and other ingredients with what were called low residuals or tramps. Mother Nature does not leave pure deposits in the ground. We bought sand from a company that had an open pit mine near the drag strip. It was huge, many football fields. In some areas you could see pure white sand. It had low iron content. That is what we bought for our products. We purchased with a guaranteed chemical analysis and the plant making the products also checked each new batch chemically. Most of the other parts of open pit mine had normal brown looking sand used for cement etc. The main impurity was iron. It was ~75% less cost. In fact there was a product that company sold to silicon chip companies who further refined it that was even more expensive.
Bauxite was another common material used in fluxes. It is what you start with to make aluminum. I recall we could have purchased Chinese bauxite for less than half the price of the Australian bauxite we specified BECAUSE it had guaranteed lower unwanted elements like iron!
Folks are certainly free to buy what they want from whoever, but $15/pad (which is what I paid for the eight PowerStop pads (delivered free from Amazon at the time) sure didn't leave much for QC, after the Chinese company, Amazon and PowerStop covered their costs plus profit!
I had them on my 15 Z51 and the rotors were very brown after a short period of time. Bad pads or not, I'm not doing that again. I've been racing cars on and off since I could drive, and my family has been racing since the 60's, so I don't think they were 'installed incorrectly'.
Dude, I said they might have been installed incorrectly OR you got bad pads, why so defensive, lol?
I've had zero issues with mine and as I mentioned I have a handful of friends who have the same exact pads with zero problems, so clearly the issues you had are not universal.
[QUOTE=Flame Red;1592213732]Ok, I am fed up with the darn brake dust and am going to get my peeling black painted Z51 wheels powder-coated soon. While the car is sitting up on jacks I was thinking of replacing the expensive CarbonTech 1521 pads with these Power Step Z26 pads to get the dust down to a reasonable level. Yes, the CarbonTechs dust less than the OEM ones but they still dust horribly.
Anyone use these Power Step Z26 Pads? How do they compare performance wise and dust wise? Any squealing issues?
I installed the Powerstop Z26 brake pads on my GS about 2 weeks ago. I've only driven a few hundred miles but the improvement is remarkable. Well beyond my expectations. Well worth the time and money to swap.
Dude, I said they might have been installed incorrectly OR you got bad pads, why so defensive, lol?
I've had zero issues with mine and as I mentioned I have a handful of friends who have the same exact pads with zero problems, so clearly the issues you had are not universal.
not necessarily defensive, LOL
just stating, of the two options you provided, only one is likely the case for me as I know how to install them. So I am guessing I got crappy pads on my Z51 car.
Other than the brown rotors, I did notice that it required slightly more pedal. Got used to it after a while though and was very happy with the reduced dust.
I ordered Carbotech for my GS today. I don't like the price difference, but I figured I would give them a try. Interestingly, my friend ordered Powerstop for his GS today. We will change both cars out in my garage next week. I'll be able to compare side by side my car and his right after the swap.
I've been using power stops for about 3 months now, no discoloration on rotors and no difference in braking feel with normal driving. I know at least five other people using the pads with the same experience (no rotor discoloration and no braking difference). You and the other posters you quoted either got bad pads or they were installed incorrectly.
If you want to buy competing pads at about 4x the cost, go for it, if not, power stops are an excellent choice to replace the OEM pads.
Of course pads than that have the extra Corvette tax must be better! The powerstop pads are great I shut from 150 plus no worries. No dust great feel the rest is hogwash.
Too many members have these pads and agree! I have then on two cars and they are the pad to get for the street.
The Power Stop pads performs just fine for Street Use for me and stop find even going from 140-150. I am one of those that never had a problem with discoloration of my rotors until I placed the Power Stop pads on. I will also add that the Power Stop customer service to me was horrible when I brought this to their attention and they basically gave me the finger.
That said, everyone has different experiences and I am merely telling my mine. So although my rotors have lost their bright shining silver shine, a forum member suggested I try a product that my help with the browning/rusting of the rotors which I did. My post is not to get into a debate but to share "My Experience" and to Share a product to those who had their rotors discolored a product that won't get them back to the original shine but at least remove 75% of the discoloration.
I will note that it has taken about 10 applications of this solution to get them to where they are now as is illustrated in the pictures. I am hopeful that with more applications that they continue to improve. I initially bought the spray bottle and saw that it seemed to help but then wanted to continue to apply so I bought the gallon jug to continue to work on the rotors.
Note: You need to apply outside of your garage because the smell is really bad so you want to be in an open area. I normally spray on at car wash, then wash the car and spray the wheels with the car wash wane after washing the car. I am feeling better about rotors but really miss how they looked prior!
OP, you will not be disappointed. I've used the 1521 and now the Z26. Braking performance is identical to OEM Z51 with both for street use (can't comment about track). Dust with the Z26 is almost non-existent after hundreds of miles between wheel washings. While the 1521 was far better than OEM, the Z26 is 90% less than even the 1521. It's to the point where I truly don't notice, and I have NOT treated my wheels with anything.
I will post an update soon...just got some black Z06 replicas for my Z51 that I need to get mounted. That will be the true test of dusting...
And as others have posted with part #s, the Z26 price is hard to beat!
Another option is the OEM non-Z51 pads. Another CF member with a Z51 has done this and reported essentially no brake dust. Makes sense since non-Z51 folks don't complain about it.
I have a 2019 non-Z51 Stingray and don't have any issues with brake dust.
Just installed a Power Stop K1915-36 Front & Rear Z36 Truck and Tow Brake Kit on my truck about a week ago and I'm happy so far with the performance.
08-30-2018, 02:10 AM
Of course pads than that have the extra Corvette tax must be better! 
The powerstop pads are great I shut from 150 plus no worries. No dust great feel the rest is hogwash.
