Super brakes basics 101 question
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 11,117
Likes: 671
From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
Super brakes basics 101 question
Back to my new interest, My 2003 Corvette brakes, What kind of slotted and drilled rotors are above good to best, and How do the different brake pads work out ? Like 'Hawk' pads, they make different pads, but I'm looking for great braking power with low dust. Is ceramic pads the best for that purpose, Hawk or some other vendor/company ? Thank you !
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 11,117
Likes: 671
From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
losing ground ?
Doesn't anyone use ceramic brake pads ? How do they work on a everyday Basis ? Is it better to stick with GM or another manufacturer ? Anybody ? 
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,568
Likes: 264
From: Near Charlotte NC
I personally favor slotted rotors and run them on all of my 3 cars.All 3 also run Hawk HPS pads,Goodridge SS lines and Prestone Dot4 fluid.
Awesome stopping power...low dust.
\db2
carolina
Awesome stopping power...low dust.
\db2
carolina
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,754
Likes: 167
From: Youngsville North Carolina
Depending on use - drilled rotors have been known to crack, especially if you plan on tracking the car (like HPDE).
I've run the Hawk HPS Plus pads, put them on for an HPDE, but crazy dust. Recently bought Hawk HPS (not plus), but yet to put them on...understand about half the dust or so of the Plus pads. Another choice thats fairly popular are Carbotech 1521s.
Most will say ceramic and performance don't go together although I have no personal experience. Plenty of threads out there if you haven't tried the search yet. Here's a few:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...at-1521-a.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...eramic-or.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...eramic-or.html
I've run the Hawk HPS Plus pads, put them on for an HPDE, but crazy dust. Recently bought Hawk HPS (not plus), but yet to put them on...understand about half the dust or so of the Plus pads. Another choice thats fairly popular are Carbotech 1521s.
Most will say ceramic and performance don't go together although I have no personal experience. Plenty of threads out there if you haven't tried the search yet. Here's a few:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...at-1521-a.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...eramic-or.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...eramic-or.html
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 11,117
Likes: 671
From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
pads !
Depending on use - drilled rotors have been known to crack, especially if you plan on tracking the car (like HPDE).
I've run the Hawk HPS Plus pads, put them on for an HPDE, but crazy dust. Recently bought Hawk HPS (not plus), but yet to put them on...understand about half the dust or so of the Plus pads. Another choice thats fairly popular are Carbotech 1521s.
Most will say ceramic and performance don't go together although I have no personal experience. Plenty of threads out there if you haven't tried the search yet. Here's a few:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...at-1521-a.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...eramic-or.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...eramic-or.html
I've run the Hawk HPS Plus pads, put them on for an HPDE, but crazy dust. Recently bought Hawk HPS (not plus), but yet to put them on...understand about half the dust or so of the Plus pads. Another choice thats fairly popular are Carbotech 1521s.
Most will say ceramic and performance don't go together although I have no personal experience. Plenty of threads out there if you haven't tried the search yet. Here's a few:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...at-1521-a.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...eramic-or.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...eramic-or.html
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 50,281
Likes: 518
From: Cleveland OH
St. Jude Donor '11,'13
Thank you. I was interested in whether the 'Ceramic' pads altered the stopping power of the brakes ? I want a pad that has a low dust output and wondered if Ceramic was the way to go. I'm looking into "Drilled and Slotted discs, but I want the best out there so as to advoid the rotor cracking you mentioned. Thank you !
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 7,858
Likes: 242
From: Hillsboro OR
Thank you. I was interested in whether the 'Ceramic' pads altered the stopping power of the brakes ? I want a pad that has a low dust output and wondered if Ceramic was the way to go. I'm looking into "Drilled and Slotted discs, but I want the best out there so as to advoid the rotor cracking you mentioned. Thank you !
Drilled and slotted rotors look great! Slotted only won't crack. I went with these frm TPS Motorsports.
Hope that helps,
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 11,032
Likes: 2,587
From: Del Boca Vista FL
Could you possibly have misstated? I'm not speaking of ultra high performance pads, just factory ceramics.
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Brett Foote
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Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Shenandoah Valley Virginia
Ceramic pads and drilled/slotted rotors are not acceptable for any type of track or HPDE usage. Ceramic pads will chunk aand disintegrate with high temperature usage and the D/S rotors quickly crack. Street usage is entirely another story. The GM ceramic pads offer more than adequate stopping power and are very low dust. I ran them for two years on my 2001 coupe. The GM ceramic pads are grey in color and what dust does get on the wheels does not show ( unless you have black wheels) and it washes off with just a hose. For street use any of the name aftermarket outfits - Stoptek, Baer, DBA can supply a D / S rotor that will more than stand up to any type of street use. Some are cadmium plated and are much more rust resistant, and worth the extra cost IMHO.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 593
Likes: 9
From: San Antonio Texas
FWIW. If the rotors are drilled they will eventually crack. The drilling creates a stress riser and at some point the heating and cooling cycle will fatigue the metal and a crack will occur starting at the riser and continue until the component is in pieces. Some may take a long time to fail and others may not take so long. Depends on the iron, the process, the sharpness of the drills or tools but eventually they will fail. The drilled and slotted have a great curb appeal and I like the way they look. But if you want performance I would go with solid or solid slotted. IMHO.
Pro
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 530
Likes: 2
From: Havasu, AZ
