principalpony

Time for new brakes on my '16 Stingray Z51. What do those of you who track (road course) your car a few times each year, but still drive it regularly on the road recommend? I know they use Hawk HPS pads at Spring Mountain, but I'm thinking new rotors as well.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

Are you willing to swap pads for track?

JerryU

Can't speak to track use but can to Carbotech pads, which are better than Hawk on the track as I understand as they have smoother more linear pedal force application. They make a variety of racing pads for many series. Suggest you contact Adam, a Forum Vendor for his recommendation: Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

I put Carbotech 1521 "street only" pads on my 2014 Z51 to get low dust, which they did. I also found they have very linear pedal application and are better than the OEM pads when the pads are cold. That is important to one of the first stops I make everyday after blending into 65 mph traffic on a 4 lane divided highway and making a turn in less than 100 yards onto a rural road! Installed them on my Grand Sport as well.

Carbotech says their racing pads and these 1521 street only pads have compatible compounds and can be swapped without cleaning the rotors. May want to check with Adam on that possibility if aggressive track driving is contemplated.

PS: See Adam was responding while I was typing!

principalpony

I can do that, but I'd rather not. I do flush my brake fluid if it's more that 30-60 days old before a track day. And I do have use my stock summer-only tires as track tires with a set of HP all season tires for everyday use. I will just leave my stock tires on if it's just a couple of weeks until my next track day. My point being is that it's not that much more to swap out pads for the track, but it would be one more thing I'd have to do. I only do 3-4 track days a year.

So what's your advice? If there is a good option for street/track application so I don't need to change them for each event, I'd like that; but if there's a significant advantage for track only pads, I'm listening.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

For a dual duty pad take a look at the Carbotech XP8.

Carbotech™ XP8™


A high torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range of 200°F-1250°F+ (93°C to 676°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. 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.

principalpony

So what would you recommend that's more street friendly, less dust/noise?

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

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.

Jay_Davis

The Ferodo DS2500 works pretty well as a combo pad. No issues at all on the street and is a hair better performance-wise on the track and lasts a bit longer than the OEM pads.

As for rotors, I used the Essex Racing J-Hook 2 piece rotors in the front and DBA 4000 in the rear, If you don't want to splurge for the 2 piece, use the DBS 4000 all-around since they are significantly better than the OEM rotors.

L82Brake

I used Hawk HPS on my C6 and found them no better than the stock C6 pads (awful brake fade when hot). Your best bet is to swap pads back and forth.

For what its worth the stock C7 pads do very well on the track. They just make a mess of your wheels. Several of the members at the track I frequent buy used sets for their track use.

Good Luck!