OK, need help with this one. Stayed up late last night researching but found no concrete answers. Of the myriad of disc brake pads out there I have no idea which ones to get.

89, only drive occasionally, one mild track day a year at the NCM track and a few curvy road cruises during the year, so basically no tracking. I am first interested in stopping, second in minimum dust.

I am using Centric high carbon premium rotors, what pad do ya'll recommend? Standard, metallic, semi-metallic, ceramic? Also brand preference, keeping it around $100 or less. And yes I did a forum search !

Rick

 

I have had good results with Ceramic pads. With no breaking issues. it is also nice. not having the metallic break dust all over. from iron rotors metallic pad combos.

 

Same here.

 

Hawk HPS or Hawk HPS 5.0 would be great for your application. I have two cars with these and the dust is very gray and not bad at all.

Carbotech makes some nice pads as well. The 1521 or AX6 would likely be fine. It sounds like your track day is very mild and easy paced.

I would NOT be using any ceramic pads if I had ANY intention of anything other than street driving.

 

Is your track day parade laps? I recommend the Carbotech 1521 pad but its not going to be a $100 more like $230 for front and rear. I also don't recommend doing 20 minute track sessions on them either. This pad is a 100% made in the USA low dust and quiet.

Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™ The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non-corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT
recommended for any track use.

As far as rotors the Centrics are fine.

 

I just installed a set of EBC rotors, non-drilled or slotted, and EBC yellows. Work awesome! Sorry, but cannot comment on dust.

 

I generally buy the cheapest pads in stock at the local parts store.

 

 

depends....

 

Yep, my track time will consist of the NCM's Parade laps, they call them "touring" laps this year and the autoX event in the afternoon. I have no interest in pushing my car hard through these events, just want to exercise the suspension a little.

Other than that, 3 days of the Mountain Run and occasional curvy roads cruises locally it's just street driving. So ya'll would NOT recommend ceramic even if it's just that short track time?

Rick

 

For a street driven car, I like the ceramics too.

On a couple C5's (and a Buick winter beater) I went with some PowerStop ceramics with good results.

I also tried the cheapest I could find on one C5. I found FrictionMaster ceramics for about $7 for the fronts and $6 for the rears on a closeout special. I wanted to try them and see what they were like. I did the bedding routine and they work better than the OEM pads for stopping and they have almost no dusting.

I have not tried any of these on the track yet, but from what I read there may be some fade with repeated use. However on the street even with some aggressive driving in the twisty roads these have been fine with no noticeable fade.

I will probably get flamed for trying such cheap pads, but the result is they work great.

Lots to choose from.

Good luck.

 

You would be fine with the 1521 for what you are doing.

 

I love my carbotech. I plan to do as many HPDE as possible this year. Hoping for 12 or more.