I have a brand new set of Carbotech XP11's and XP10's that I bought last year and I have not yet used. I forgot to bring them with me to the session I just ran last week and have pulled them out for the next time I track the Z.

Now these seem like pretty hardcore track pads. Should I have a set of rotors just for track sessions because of this? My car is both a daily driver and weekend warrior so I don't want to ruin my stock rotors, as I need them to drive around on. However, I was thinking of replacing the rotors anyway because they now have almost 40k miles on them and includes two track sessions and several auto-x's.

Thoughts or comments?

 

I run XP-8's and I just got a 2nd set of rotors from Carbotech. There the plain old Centric rotors and they sell them pretty cheap, plus they will be coming from the same coast.

Just mark which rotor and pad goes where and you wont have to bed in the pads every time like you would if you used your street rotors. Also, you will have spares to take with you.

 

When we ran Cobalts, our rep would warn us not to run the same rotor with two different compounds, as some of their compounds were not compatible with each other, and would have problems running on a transfer layer laid down by another pad. I have no way of knowing if this could happen with your pads, but it's possible.

Having a second set of rotors for track is easy enough.

 

I've run 68 track days in my 2003 Track Z since Fall 2002. After wearing out the stock pads, I moved up to Ferodo DS2500s, then Panther Plus, Cobalt Spec VR, XP-9, XP-10, PFC-01, and I've just gotten, but haven't yet installed, Cobalt's new Spec XR.

The XP-9 and XP-10 were the fastest wearing pads I've ever used: I got four days and three days out of them, respectively. I don't recommend them. On the other hand, I got up to 9 days from the Spec VRs. (Then they suddenly stopped making them!)

In four and a half years of tracking the Z, I've never switched pads (or rotors) for the track. I'm too lazy to bother. I just drive around town with the track pads. I haven't had any problems doing this, although I work from home and have a beater car, so my Z is almost completely a track and fun car.

If you're putting a lot of street miles on your Z, or not doing many track days, maybe switching pads and rotors would be a good idea. Although it's never happened to me, I can see how mixing street and track pad material on one set of rotors might cause uneven deposition and unwanted vibrations. But if the car isn't a heavy daily driver, and you're going to be doing a fair number of track events, just leave the track pads in.

 

Certainly keeping a set of matched pads and rotors for the track is the best solution if you have the time to change them out. Track pads are expensive, highly abrasive and noisy when cold. They are also lousy stoppers when cold and wet. Don't use them for daily driving. I swap out pads only and bed the track pads only. My street pads don't have a problem with the track pad deposits, but I absolutely have to strip off the street pad deposits with a good bedding session on the track pads (N-tech street pads and PFC-01 track pads). Your results may differ with other pad compositions.

On most trips to the "local" track (about 75 miles) I swap pads and wheels and do a bedding session when I get home from work the night before the event. I change them back when I get home from the event, no bedding session. I do about 30K commuting miles and 8-10 track days a year. Hope this helps.

 

I used to swap out rotors and pads for every event because my track pads did not mix will with my street pads. I got lazy this year and stopped doing this. I just put my track pads on a couple of days before the event and let their abrasiveness clean away the street pad material. I don't feel like I stop as well at the track but again; lazyness.

 

That is actually a suggestion Caroll Smith makes.

Since track pads only start to run in adhesive friction at a certain temperature and mechanically below that, driving around with them in the street will generate friction mechanically. Basically grinding your rotors but more importantly, cutting through any transferred pad material and cleaning your rotors.

So, in addition to mounting the pads in advance, keep them a few days after the event before swapping back the street pads. And re-bed as usual.

I’m too lazy/cheap to have two running sets of rotors.

To the OP. Change your rotors if they are cracked or worn beyond the safe thickness only.

 

So what your saying is swap in the track pads a day or two before an event and swap them out a couple days after the event?

 

Yes!

That's what I do (for wahtever that's worth! )