HPS or Ceramic?
 

I just got my parts in from BSI for my 95 LT1 with the HD brakes, and I strained a couple times 'Ceramic, ceramic, ceramic!'. What do I get? HPS. Well, before I jump the gun and send them back, I will see what you guys think.

I wanted ceramic as it's low heat, and less mess. How much more dust would I expect with the HPS? As well as, would the ceramics be noisier?

:willy:

True.....but that's because ceramic pads are hard as hell on brake rotors; will cause rotor warpage in short order.

Also, ceramics don't work very well when cool. When I say 'cool', I mean at normal street driven temps.

Unless you're on a motorcross or road-racing corse, you won't see the pad tempuratures that ceramics work best at; they aren't a particularly good choice for the street. Been there, done that :( .

I say keep the HPS pads!!!

KW

I will probably keep them then, I just once had a BMW and it had performance brakes that were dirrrrrty! Ever since then, I been sticking with ceramics. Well on my old truck, but it had 35 inch wheels :) , so I know the ceramics were gettin a workout!

Thanks for the input!

Low dust ceramic street pads should not be confused with major $$ carbon ceramic racing pads.

Using ceramic street pads on a track (road race) is asking for trouble.

So how much dust do the HPS throw? I wonder as my fronts currently will be dirty after just one run to work and back in one day. It's reaally annoying!!! I mean I want good brakes, but I don't want brake dust all over the components and parts of which I have cleaned up.

Ceramics being bad is news to me. I was under the impression they where great! Very curious as I might be buying from BSI myself.

I ordered the Hawk ceramic pads from BSI, but won't be installing them for a while yet. I wanted a low-dust street pad - I had good luck with ceramic pads on a Lincoln Mark VIII I had some years back.

I have about 15,000 dust free miles on a set of Bosch ceramic pads with solid OEM rotors. No dust, no rotor problems, stops great, etc.
If you want to road race they are not for you, for the daily driver they are fine. In fact I was dooing laps at high speeds at Atlanta Motor Speedway last October and they performed great. And yes, they stop fast when you need it.

Ceramics are fine for the street. People who think they're at 10/10s by driving aggressively on the street are equivalent to someone driving 5/10s on a road course.

People are confusing low dust ceramic street pads with carbon ceramic racing pads. BIIIIIIIIIIIIIG difference in performance and $$$$.

Yea, I just wanted a low-dust street ceramic. Which is why seeing they gave a choice between Hawks HPS and Hawks Ceramic, I wanted Ceramic. Hopefully they won't make that nasty brake squeal though!

That's why I was asking, to see if anyone else was running them.

Absolutly correct. Most people never drive their cars anywhere near the edge of being to burn the brakes up.

When I converted my 92 to C-5 Z06 front brakes, the GM Dura Stop ceramic pads that came in the kit interested me so I used them, "just to see" how good they were. BAD IDEA!

After 2 weeks of normal driving and one local AutoX competition I completely destroyed the front rotors. Infact I had to pass on my 3rd run that day and go home because the rotors were warped so badly after only 2 attempts.

Ceramic pads are good for show cars or daily drivers that will never be driven hard but thats it.
Will

Wow man. I am confused now. I don't want to do brakes again! OK, what do you suggest then? Hawks Ceramics or Hawks HPS?

I don't want brake squeal, don't want noticeable brake dust covering the wheel, but don't want to have anything that will lead to warped rotors....

Suggestions???

Basically, ceramic is fine if you DO NOT auto-x or road race your car. For a DD, they work perfectly well, and have very low brake dust. However, as you have read, do not try to race with them. They are simply not designed for that.

I just bought a set of HPS pads that I'm going to install this weekend; I have black wheels anyway! :thumbs:

Well I don't race, just run around town. Nothing over 80-90 at the most ever. I have black wheels as well. My current Napa Delco's put dust on EVERY time I drive, and it's annoying as all hell. Why I wanted to switch up...

Normal street ceramic pads like you've mentioned will be 100% ok for your intended use :)

FWIW, it's the heat one worries about with track pads. High temps break down the pad compound and result in fade. After a 2.1 mile cool-down lap, my front rotors are still well in excess of 500*F even with 3.25" brake cooling ducts feeding cool air directly to the center of the rotor. One can imagine how hot the rotors are under full braking from 140+mph to less than 50mph.

I run Hawk Ceramics on both my Z28 and Vette (both have C5 brakes),
and my wife's little Pontiac uses Raybestos Ceramics (economy version,
better than teh premiums). I sell Raybestos ceramics all day long,
probably 30-40 sets/day, and they are by far, teh best pad since asbestos was banned. My cars stop hard, very hard, and last for damn
near ever, quietly and cleanly. Teh ceramic element helps to cool teh
pad quickly, so repeat stop and go is very consistent.

I wouldn't consider them as an autocross pad, but as a daily, they are
tough to beat.:cheers:

I bought rotors from BSI and I wanted ceramic pads, they sent Hawk HPS. I didn't realize this until AFTER I installed pads.

I previously had GM Ceramic pads and my stock rotors were "warped". These Hawk HPS pads produce very little dust, probably the same as GM Ceramics, BUT Ceramics dust is lighter and shows up less on my polished wheels.

BTW, Hawk HPS pads stop MUCH better than GM Ceramics, something I did not admit when I ran GM Ceramic pads.

I changed to ceramic pads in my GRand Cherokee just to see how they were. Results: Better stopping power, no dust, no fade on hard stops. I love them and will use them for now on. You must take a pneumatic rotary scouring pad (or use 180 sandpaper) and scuff the rotors before putting them on.....otherwise, squeal city.

I'm running them on both my Vette and my Z-28, I rage it up and down Mt. Lemmon here in Tucson, and I've yet to have any problems
at all.....:thumbs:

I have Hawk HPS on my 96 LT4 and they stop Great for street use. As good or better than GM. Very low dust on my wheels.:thumbs:
Google Hawk HPS as there are a ton of places selling them.

My Vette has been setting for several months and I drove it hard yesterday and I am still Happy with the hawks.140 MPH to 70 MPH Hard and no brake fade. I thought I was going to have to sell my LT4 after the Dow went into the crapper. But I sold some of my motorcycles so I could keep her......:)