Suggestions for brake pads?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,938
Likes: 65
From: Rochester Hills MI
I enjoy going to autocross events, so im pretty much going to stick with semi-metallic pads. all the experiences ive had with ceramic pads include seriously corrosive brake dust and not very good stopping power. The hawk hps's are awesome pads, they just wont stop squeeking. maybe ill try some of the disk brake quiet stuff before i buy a different set of pads.
Last edited by SaberD; Jun 3, 2010 at 11:22 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 6,001
Likes: 0
From: Palm Bay FL
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11
After 3 hard stops I will have brake fade?--that is BS, I can tell you that first hand from experience on my G35. I'll make sure to only do 2 hard brake stops
As far as ceramic pads dusting--you can't tell bro. The dust is a light gray color instead of black. Any dust that does make it onto the wheel is less visible. Ceramics do not have static electricity to stick the dust to the wheels. The dust on my Hawks street ceramic pads on my G35 have minimal "invisible" dust, even after 2 wks driving so you see nothing but sexy forged 19" Rays wheels--NOT BLACK dust. I speak from experience as I have ceramics on my G35 in my profile pic and they perform GREAT. Read some more about dusting down below under "review."
I am NOT worried about brake fade(friction fade, mechanical fade, or fluid fade). If you think ceramic pads are POS, you in my opinion are ignorant. We are NOT talking about track-use either. Normal to spirited driving on the street.
I have stock cooling ducts to help cool the brakes, new brake fluid to prevent brake-fluid boiling that is worsened with moisture in old brake fluid, and from what I have read ceramic pads are less prone to brake fade due to heat. I do NOT have heavy, sustained braking during my drives so I do NOT fear hitting a car in front of me due to my non-existant fantasy brake fade
.
Make no mistake, I do let this Z breathe a couple times each time I drive her (she is a beast
), and I have NEVER needed my stock metallic brakes to "save me" from hitting a car in front of me.
I hit it and quit it long before I reach traffic in front of me.
I WILL be getting ceramics and there is nothing you can do about it
Washing my car will be a walk in the park and my wheels won't look black after 2 driving days
According to some reviews, metallic pads are more prone to brake fade--see red way down below from a review.
review:
Noise Characteristics
1. Metallic pads are noisy. Brake noise can be traced back to a harmonic vibration caused by movement of the pads due to rotor run out, and the amount of play in the brake mounting hardware.
Ceramic pads, while still affected by this vibration, raise the harmonic noise out of the range of the human ear. It's still there, but we just can't hear it anymore. The softness of the pad also helps absorb vibration much like the old organic compounds. Think of the difference in the sound of a quarter spinning on a table and a rubber washer spinning on the table.
Wear Characteristics
2. Metallic pads eat up rotors. The problem here is caused by the fact that metallic pads are harder than the other pad compounds. When the pad comes into contact with the rotor, the rotor will wear down along with the pads.
Ceramic pads are very soft, and only the pads wear. Because they are also more heat tolerant, they will not wear as fast as the metallic pad compounds.
Dusting Characteristics
3. Dust build up on your wheels is caused by the high carbon and metal content of the metallic pad. Because these materials hold static electricity, they are also drawn to the metal in the wheel and brake system, resulting in thick, black buildup.
Ceramic pad compound have no magnetic properties to draw the dust to the wheel, so it is less likely to stick. The dust is also a light gray color instead of black. Any dust that does make it onto the wheel will be less visible.
Heat Characteristics
4. Where the metallic pad shines is in its broad heat range. It functions properly at low temperatures as well as very high temperatures. Metallic pads do tend to hold heat, and brake fade due to fluid boiling still happens.
The ceramic pads' only weakness is low temperature efficiency. They need to be warmed a little during the first few stops. After warm up, they work well. Ceramic pads don't hold heat, so they recover from a hard stop much faster, preventing fluid boiling and brake fade.
As far as ceramic pads dusting--you can't tell bro. The dust is a light gray color instead of black. Any dust that does make it onto the wheel is less visible. Ceramics do not have static electricity to stick the dust to the wheels. The dust on my Hawks street ceramic pads on my G35 have minimal "invisible" dust, even after 2 wks driving so you see nothing but sexy forged 19" Rays wheels--NOT BLACK dust. I speak from experience as I have ceramics on my G35 in my profile pic and they perform GREAT. Read some more about dusting down below under "review."
I am NOT worried about brake fade(friction fade, mechanical fade, or fluid fade). If you think ceramic pads are POS, you in my opinion are ignorant. We are NOT talking about track-use either. Normal to spirited driving on the street.
I have stock cooling ducts to help cool the brakes, new brake fluid to prevent brake-fluid boiling that is worsened with moisture in old brake fluid, and from what I have read ceramic pads are less prone to brake fade due to heat. I do NOT have heavy, sustained braking during my drives so I do NOT fear hitting a car in front of me due to my non-existant fantasy brake fade
. Make no mistake, I do let this Z breathe a couple times each time I drive her (she is a beast
), and I have NEVER needed my stock metallic brakes to "save me" from hitting a car in front of me. I hit it and quit it long before I reach traffic in front of me.
I WILL be getting ceramics and there is nothing you can do about it
Washing my car will be a walk in the park and my wheels won't look black after 2 driving days
According to some reviews, metallic pads are more prone to brake fade--see red way down below from a review.
review:
Noise Characteristics
1. Metallic pads are noisy. Brake noise can be traced back to a harmonic vibration caused by movement of the pads due to rotor run out, and the amount of play in the brake mounting hardware.
Ceramic pads, while still affected by this vibration, raise the harmonic noise out of the range of the human ear. It's still there, but we just can't hear it anymore. The softness of the pad also helps absorb vibration much like the old organic compounds. Think of the difference in the sound of a quarter spinning on a table and a rubber washer spinning on the table.
Wear Characteristics
2. Metallic pads eat up rotors. The problem here is caused by the fact that metallic pads are harder than the other pad compounds. When the pad comes into contact with the rotor, the rotor will wear down along with the pads.
Ceramic pads are very soft, and only the pads wear. Because they are also more heat tolerant, they will not wear as fast as the metallic pad compounds.
Dusting Characteristics
3. Dust build up on your wheels is caused by the high carbon and metal content of the metallic pad. Because these materials hold static electricity, they are also drawn to the metal in the wheel and brake system, resulting in thick, black buildup.
Ceramic pad compound have no magnetic properties to draw the dust to the wheel, so it is less likely to stick. The dust is also a light gray color instead of black. Any dust that does make it onto the wheel will be less visible.
Heat Characteristics
4. Where the metallic pad shines is in its broad heat range. It functions properly at low temperatures as well as very high temperatures. Metallic pads do tend to hold heat, and brake fade due to fluid boiling still happens.
The ceramic pads' only weakness is low temperature efficiency. They need to be warmed a little during the first few stops. After warm up, they work well. Ceramic pads don't hold heat, so they recover from a hard stop much faster, preventing fluid boiling and brake fade.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 755
Likes: 3
From: Houston Texas
All I can Texan1z06 if you think ceramics are great then go for it. Name calling is not necessary. Go to any SCCA event and see what other drivers say about ceramic pads (they suck). And I have proof that they dust like mad, yes it is not black but any dust on a Torch Red Vette does not look good. If I am going to have dust no matter what, then I want do be able to stop EVERY TIME.
Second, I would expect nothing less from those that are autocrossing, rallying or road racing. If I were doing that, I would NOT have ceramics. Fact is, I don't do those events. I street the car only and it is one of 3 vehicles that I hand wash and wax. This is a time saver with, imo, a negligible decrease in performance.
I don't agree with what you are saying on the dust. I have NOT washed my G in 2 weeks and you can't tell a difference when you wipe a spoke on my 19" rays. The dust is light gray and nearly invisible.
My vette was washed 1 week ago and my front wheels are JET BLACK. I don't understand what is so hard to understand about that. This is not conjecture, but first hand knowledge on MY cars.
I still think it is an ignorant comment to say that ceramics "suck." They are an excellent pad for the street and it stops you EVERY time. I guess my Z06 sucks because it can't go over curbs and off road like our SUV can.
Take care as we agree to disagree. Sincerely,
James
Last edited by Texan1Z06; Jun 3, 2010 at 07:32 PM.
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 50,281
Likes: 518
From: Cleveland OH
St. Jude Donor '11,'13
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, and has won multiple SCCA Solo 2 and Prosolo National Championships. 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. Bobcat 1521™ compound has also been found to extend the life of your rotors 2-3 times. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.
