I know the pads themselves have been reviewed and I've read every post in the database, but didn't see alot of feedback on specific pad combination for 07-08 non-brembo cars, and in general the pad selection for 07-08 standard brakes just seems to be really weak. I just did my first track day in the Z at TGPR (Alabama), long story short, the rear pads are down to the metal while the fronts still have 1/4-1/5" left, my guess is the rears are just too small for a car this heavy. I would consider myself an intermediate hpde/track day driver, and I've had positive experiences with dual duty pads (hawk hp+, driven daily and on track, could careless about dust and noise) in a previous car, so I'd like to try the same with the Z before moving onto other options, and due to very limited pad selection, came up with these:

option 1:
Ferodo DS2500 front, Hawk HP+ rear

The DS2500s seem to have great reviews and this set up seems very affordable, anyone running this particular set up?

option 2:
Cobalt friction XR2 front XR3 rear as recommended by Cobalt Friction's site. The reviews are generally positive too, but this set up costs quite a bit more, but I'll have "matched" f/r pads.

Anyone wiht standard 07-08 in the same situation as me feel free to chime in with your setups. TIA!

PS: the stock Z was great, alot of power (not used to it) and not enough brakes and it understeered ALOT I had to trailbrake to get it to rotate (that non staggered wheel/tire set up is starting to look reall good, and will probably be my next mod after brakes)

 

In the same boat as you, been running axxis ultimates in the front and pbr ceramics in the rear, and under heavy braking theres just too much fade, but works great for daily driving. Been looking for a used set of brembo calipers or possibly just change the pads to either ferrodo or carbotech pads.

 

The stock system is underbraked and I found that more agressive pads work better. Even the Street performance pads wear very fast. I would look at pads like the HP HTC10's or the Carbotech XP12/XP10.

The 350Z's pads are very easy to change, take about 15 minutes to do, and you will actually save money having separate pads because you can keep standard street pads for long uses, and only use the track pads rarely.

 

I want to try some dual duty pads and see if they work well first. If not I will try to have a separate track pad/rotor combo.

 

Yea, as I mentioned above if eventually I can't find a satisfactory set up using the standard brakes I might look for factory Brembos. Hopefully I'll be able to to find some pads that fit my requirements, the next track day isnt until February before I can even try out any new set up though ;[

 

The stock system, even with the larger calipers of the 07-80's will end up using a set of street pads in a single weekend once you start braking aggressively. It's just the nature of the system. Unless you get a really good price on a Brembo or Stoptech system, buying track pads is a much cheaper route.

 

I may have to go that route, I found that Carbotech also makes different pads for the 06-08 non-brembos and have gotten good reviews, so I will give them a call tomorrow.

 

I have a set of XR3's front and rear with 4 track days on them for sale if you want to try them.

 

Thanks but I just ordered some Carbotech Xp10/8 from CT directly. The rep was very helpful and explained that the cold bite will be fine and rotor wear shouldn't be that bad so I decided to bite the bullet and give them a try since they're in NC and can have these to me in a coupla days. I'll post a review in the database once I get on track and test em out, thanks guys.

PS: I also called Hawk and they said as of right now they offer the HP+ for the 06-08 non-brembos in the rears only, but they are planning to release the fronts. And Z1auto.com also says that Ferodo DS2500s are available for the 06-08 non-brembos front AND rear, contrary to what I previously thought, so it seems like the 06-08 non-brembo guys have a few more options out there.

 

FYI... Porterfield (http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/) can machine a pad for your calipers from pretty much any brake material they sell. I had them make a set of Hawk DTC70 pads for my non-Brembo 2006 brakes and they were wonderful! They just took an AP caliper pad and machined it to the proper dimension. It didn't have the little anti-rattle springy thing but you don't need that for track pads.

 

The Carbotechs are a great pad. Make sure you remove the dust shields. I melted the backing plates at Blackhawk Farms due to heat with XP9s and the stock brakes. The pad actually wrapped itself around the piston and the piston pressed all the way through the pad.

 

I have them do the same thing for me and Raybestos ST-43 pads for the rear. They last 3-4 events.

 

BTW... its important to get air to the front brakes. There's a thread in here somewhere that discusses it in detail and I have some pics of my setup in my album on this site.

 

Thanks for the responses. As a follow up I got the carbotech xp10/8 installed today. Even when cold the initial bite is better than stock by alot, and it barely makes noise. One thing to note, there's an extensive bedding process, you'll need a clear stretch of road or better yet the track to really bed these. I'll add to the database thread once I track these and see how they hold up and how they wear.

 

Nice! Did you turn your rotors? I know Carbotech recommends turning for optimal performance and matching the pad to the rotor.

I have XP10/XP8's siting in my room right now that I had planned to install for next season. Having second thoughts though cuz my friend has the Carbotech's as well and they squeal like a mother on the street. Can't decide....

 

best to keep the XP's for track only. It's an easy change out, maybe 15 minutes?

 

^ Would that be ok with the different materials? So example using OE pads for street/autox and the carbotech's for track but all on the same rotor?

 

I haven't had any issues switching between my Hawk Street Pads and CarboTech XP8's.

 

wouldn't be the best, but for just track days it would be fine. The XP's would actually last longer. The first lap or so would rebed the pads enough, just be aware that they won't be 100% at first, but still 10X better than street pads. using them for only track use could mean having one set of track pads for the entire year.

 

Yes I did turn the rotors. They don't squeal much at ALL, barely make a sound over driving noise so far. The weather's been really ugly so I wasn't able to bed them in as well as I want. Again, cold bite's better than stockers so that's not an issue.

I had to get rear rotors though because the rears were scored and pitted beyond rescue, luckily a friend sold me a slightly used pair. The rear pads themselves were just down to metal backing plates. The front pads had material left, but they were basically chunked and done... yikes.

I do NOT recommend tracking on stock non-brembo pads AT ALL. I'm not an expert by any means but I know enough to not drag my brakes and still ended up killing them in less than 3 20 min sessions.