JRitt@essex

Hi Guys,

I’ve posted a couple of brake-related articles and videos on this forum over the past year and have received a great response from other members. I recently finished my latest piece that focuses on swapping between street and race brake pads. This is a topic that constantly comes up as a problem area for track day enthusiasts. When done improperly, a whole string of bad things can occur…uneven pad deposits, vibrations, destroyed discs, etc. My purpose with this installment is to teach you how to avoid these issues. I thought this topic would be particularly relevant since track season is now in full swing.

On this particular piece, I’d strongly recommend you read the article before watching the video.

As with my prior efforts, this material is not intended to promote any one brand of brake pad, rotor, or brake system. The objective is to teach enthusiasts how to get the most out of whatever brake system they have on their car. My hope is that you’ll get more enjoyment out of your car, you’ll save money on brake parts, and we’ll all have fewer repetitive topics to wade through on this forum.

A few notes: When you click the link, please be patient and give the video a few seconds to load and buffer before viewing it. Finally, if you find this information useful, please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the video page. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!

Jeff

http://www.essexparts.com/learning-center/swapping_pads

froggy47

Nice article & thanks.

One question, when you use the race pads (b4 the event) on the street to scour the pad transfer layer (of the street pads) off, aren't you getting some of that embedded INTO the race pads? Or is it just falling off onto the rims & street?



BTW I think I recognize that rotor & the garage floor material in the photo,





You are welcome to use it. I'm flattered (I think) to be an example of using the wrong pads at a DE.

BTW those were stock oem C5Z pads after 5 sessions at the North Island (Coronado) temp. vintage track with San Diego PCA. Supposedly they were enough pad for a DE, not really though. I did not get fade, just deposits.

JRitt@essex

Yes, you're likely going to get some of the street pad material embedded. As long as you keep the race pads cold though, it shouldn't be a problem. Most of the transfer layer peels off along with some of your disc face.
I can't tell you how many times I've done this and never had any pad contamination problems. It always works better than just throwing in race pads, getting them hot, and smearing them all over whatever transfer layer was already on the discs. That's when you get the thump, thump, thump steering wheel and pedal vibrations that make you nuts.

A cleaner way to do this is to just keep a spare set of Hawk Blue's in your toolbox for this purpose. You throw those in, scrub the discs, and then put the race pads that you're ultimately switching to in. That adds an extra step to the process, but it is a more sterile/pure approach.

Greywolfe

Great videos! Thanks for posting.

PA Z06

Great information

JRitt@essex

Froggy,
I asked you if I could use that pic a long time ago. I wouldn't have just grabbed a random photo and used it! Thank you.

I'm glad I could make an example out of you.

froggy47

I am sure you did & I forgot about it.

BTW damn good info & we all thank you. There is a LOT of bad info on the inet forums on brakes as I am sure you have seen.

63Corvette

Thanks Jeff. Great article and video
I recognize those K27 wheels too

J Ritt

Thanks! You have the sister set, right? Man I love those wheels. Every time I see them on my car I smile. They're actually off right now though...need to get some new rubber for them.