Brake pads
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,911
Likes: 2
From: gold coast queensland
Brake pads
Blokes i need to know what are the best brake pads out there? ..I dont care if they only last one day cause i'm looking for the absolute 100 % best stopping power money can buy with my stock 81 calipers.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,372
Likes: 4
From: Springfield VA
Define best?
What kind of driving do you do and what do you expect?
Organic = No dust but very low performance in braking. I don’t use these at all.
Ceramic Pads = Less dust than metallic but better braking properties than organic. Good street pad and daily driver but more brake fade with high speed and harder braking. Advance Wearever Gold are ceramic and rockauto.com has other makers in ceramic.
Semi-Metallic = More dust but better braking. If the pad is an EE rating it will have a firm peddle and work great for daily driving and perform better than ceramic. If it’s FF it will do better after warming up (may have a little softer peddle) and offer better higher speed performance. Monroe Dynamic pads are EE rated and have a firm peddle feel and do well in normal street driving. Carbon metallic 0008.20 are FF rated and have a slightly softer peddle but firms up after getting warm and heavy braking.
Also, IMO, skip any pad that uses rivets. When they get low they can come apart and go metal to metal real fast.
What kind of driving do you do and what do you expect?
Organic = No dust but very low performance in braking. I don’t use these at all.
Ceramic Pads = Less dust than metallic but better braking properties than organic. Good street pad and daily driver but more brake fade with high speed and harder braking. Advance Wearever Gold are ceramic and rockauto.com has other makers in ceramic.
Semi-Metallic = More dust but better braking. If the pad is an EE rating it will have a firm peddle and work great for daily driving and perform better than ceramic. If it’s FF it will do better after warming up (may have a little softer peddle) and offer better higher speed performance. Monroe Dynamic pads are EE rated and have a firm peddle feel and do well in normal street driving. Carbon metallic 0008.20 are FF rated and have a slightly softer peddle but firms up after getting warm and heavy braking.
Also, IMO, skip any pad that uses rivets. When they get low they can come apart and go metal to metal real fast.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,911
Likes: 2
From: gold coast queensland
Define best?
What kind of driving do you do and what do you expect?
Organic = No dust but very low performance in braking. I don’t use these at all.
Ceramic Pads = Less dust than metallic but better braking properties than organic. Good street pad and daily driver but more brake fade with high speed and harder braking. Advance Wearever Gold are ceramic and rockauto.com has other makers in ceramic.
Semi-Metallic = More dust but better braking. If the pad is an EE rating it will have a firm peddle and work great for daily driving and perform better than ceramic. If it’s FF it will do better after warming up (may have a little softer peddle) and offer better higher speed performance. Monroe Dynamic pads are EE rated and have a firm peddle feel and do well in normal street driving. Carbon metallic 0008.20 are FF rated and have a slightly softer peddle but firms up after getting warm and heavy braking.
Also, IMO, skip any pad that uses rivets. When they get low they can come apart and go metal to metal real fast.
What kind of driving do you do and what do you expect?
Organic = No dust but very low performance in braking. I don’t use these at all.
Ceramic Pads = Less dust than metallic but better braking properties than organic. Good street pad and daily driver but more brake fade with high speed and harder braking. Advance Wearever Gold are ceramic and rockauto.com has other makers in ceramic.
Semi-Metallic = More dust but better braking. If the pad is an EE rating it will have a firm peddle and work great for daily driving and perform better than ceramic. If it’s FF it will do better after warming up (may have a little softer peddle) and offer better higher speed performance. Monroe Dynamic pads are EE rated and have a firm peddle feel and do well in normal street driving. Carbon metallic 0008.20 are FF rated and have a slightly softer peddle but firms up after getting warm and heavy braking.
Also, IMO, skip any pad that uses rivets. When they get low they can come apart and go metal to metal real fast.
Thought the above statement was a sure giveaway that i wasnt just going down the store for milk, but on a serious note thanks for your advice marlin, That helps me heaps.Im going Autocrossing for a day in a months time so im just starting to prepare myself early.
i guess these will do..
http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1965-1982.html
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,372
Likes: 4
From: Springfield VA
^
Yea those sound like the Performance Friction metallic pads I got for my car.
See here...
http://www.rotorsandpads.com/compare/11940/11941
The 0008.20 is more street while the 0008.10 is more higher temp than that.
I am running the .20 version but the .10 may do better if you plan on tracking with it.
Yea those sound like the Performance Friction metallic pads I got for my car.
See here...
http://www.rotorsandpads.com/compare/11940/11941
The 0008.20 is more street while the 0008.10 is more higher temp than that.
I am running the .20 version but the .10 may do better if you plan on tracking with it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,100
Likes: 12
From: Frederick Maryland
There's so many brake pad compounds now you have to find the ones that best suits your driving needs...not simply the "best" or most expensive.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,372
Likes: 4
From: Springfield VA
Not necessarily so. It takes a better quality lining to take a rivet than to take bonding glue (the same applies to brakes shoes). If riveted, use pads with hollow rivets as they allow dust to fall out the rear rather than build up in the opening like solid rivets will.
There's so many brake pad compounds now you have to find the ones that best suits your driving needs...not simply the "best" or most expensive.
There's so many brake pad compounds now you have to find the ones that best suits your driving needs...not simply the "best" or most expensive.
Most of the time when I was a tech the pads with rivets would start to break apart when they got low. They always cracked near the rivets and then spread out.
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 50,281
Likes: 518
From: Cleveland OH
St. Jude Donor '11,'13
FOR AUTO X this is the BEST pad hands down.
The AX6™ is specifically engineered for Autocross applications. A high torque brake compound delivering reliable and consistent performance over a very wide operating temperature range of 50°F to 1100°F + (10°C to 593°C+). The advanced compound matrix provides an excellent initial bite, high coefficient of friction at lower temperatures along with very progressive brake modulation and release characteristics. AX6™ offers high fade resistance, rotor friendliness at all temperatures and excellent cold stopping power. As a result, AX6™ is an excellent choice for Autocross and has gained tremendous popularity with SCCA Prosolo/Solo2 competitors for its outstanding all around performance. 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 recommended as race compounds in most applications. For application questions please call or email me I will be happy to set you up.
The AX6™ is specifically engineered for Autocross applications. A high torque brake compound delivering reliable and consistent performance over a very wide operating temperature range of 50°F to 1100°F + (10°C to 593°C+). The advanced compound matrix provides an excellent initial bite, high coefficient of friction at lower temperatures along with very progressive brake modulation and release characteristics. AX6™ offers high fade resistance, rotor friendliness at all temperatures and excellent cold stopping power. As a result, AX6™ is an excellent choice for Autocross and has gained tremendous popularity with SCCA Prosolo/Solo2 competitors for its outstanding all around performance. 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 recommended as race compounds in most applications. For application questions please call or email me I will be happy to set you up.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 753
Likes: 0
1-2 times per year i take my car to the racetrack. pads i use are hawk HP+ front , HPS rear . they work fine on the street too. but HP+ make a lot of dust, some noise and require some heat to work well : not that much indeed, just apply the brakes 2-3 times hard and they are ready
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 50,281
Likes: 518
From: Cleveland OH
St. Jude Donor '11,'13
1-2 times per year i take my car to the racetrack. pads i use are hawk HP+ front , HPS rear . they work fine on the street too. but HP+ make a lot of dust, some noise and require some heat to work well : not that much indeed, just apply the brakes 2-3 times hard and they are ready
Carbotech™ XP8™
A high torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range of 200°F-1350°F+ (93°C to 732°C+). Carbotech™ XP8™ is the first of our racing compounds. Good initial bite at race temperatures, high coefficient of friction, excellent modulation and release characteristics. Extremely high fade resistance and very rotor friendly. Excellent as a front brake pad for lighter applications weighing around 2,400lbs or less. Perfect for track day use with any tire and can still be driven safely to and from the track. Carbotech™ does NOT recommended XP8™ as a daily driven street pad due to elevated levels of dust and noise. Carbotech™ XP8™ is a great compound on the front & rear of most open wheel and sports racers.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,911
Likes: 2
From: gold coast queensland
Thanks everyone on your advice . I have found a set of HawkHP plus in my garage still in the box. They will do the trick by the sound of it.
Also found a box of these Wearever brakes for my Camaro but im unsure of the quality for them(Wearever doesnt even have a website)...Im guessing they are not the best?
Also found a box of these Wearever brakes for my Camaro but im unsure of the quality for them(Wearever doesnt even have a website)...Im guessing they are not the best?
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,372
Likes: 4
From: Springfield VA
Thanks everyone on your advice . I have found a set of HawkHP plus in my garage still in the box. They will do the trick by the sound of it.
Also found a box of these Wearever brakes for my Camaro but im unsure of the quality for them(Wearever doesnt even have a website)...Im guessing they are not the best?
Also found a box of these Wearever brakes for my Camaro but im unsure of the quality for them(Wearever doesnt even have a website)...Im guessing they are not the best?
If they are NAD8 then they are organic and would not work well at all for sprited driving, let alone tracking. I took the almost new organic pads off my car and put them in the garbage.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,911
Likes: 2
From: gold coast queensland
the part number is NAD52 so any advive on them would be great Marlin.It says they are semi-metallic and asbestos free.
Last edited by gingerbreadman1977; Apr 20, 2012 at 08:12 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,372
Likes: 4
From: Springfield VA
Opps thought they were for the Corvette. But same rules apply.
NAD = Organic
MKD = Semi-Met
If they are MKD then yea they are basic street pads and will work fine. If they are Organic then I would return and get the wearver gold or some other Semi-Met pad.
If it looks like crushed metal then its Semi-Met. If its like a plastic looking thing with strings in it then its organic. Sometimes they put semi-met in the Organic boxs when packing them.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,911
Likes: 2
From: gold coast queensland
Opps thought they were for the Corvette. But same rules apply.
NAD = Organic
MKD = Semi-Met
If they are MKD then yea they are basic street pads and will work fine. If they are Organic then I would return and get the wearver gold or some other Semi-Met pad.
If it looks like crushed metal then its Semi-Met. If its like a plastic looking thing with strings in it then its organic. Sometimes they put semi-met in the Organic boxs when packing them.
NAD = Organic
MKD = Semi-Met
If they are MKD then yea they are basic street pads and will work fine. If they are Organic then I would return and get the wearver gold or some other Semi-Met pad.
If it looks like crushed metal then its Semi-Met. If its like a plastic looking thing with strings in it then its organic. Sometimes they put semi-met in the Organic boxs when packing them.
In the case of the Wearever pads the part number is definitely NAD yet the box description is semi-metllic and the pad material is definitely semi-metallic so i may just use them for street driving and stock up on a set of Hawk HP plus for the track days.
