So, I've hinted to what I'm about to say in other threads, but I want to ask other people what their experiences were as well.

With the Hawk HPS pads, does anyone else warm up the brakes when you first get in the car? I usually stop the car HARD from 40mph about 3 times to warm up the pads. Then they will be a lot stickier and bite much harder. On the track they were fine, because they got friggin hot on the track.

When the car is cold, the brakes feel like they're not going to stop the car. Cold Hawk HPS on freeway = scary as hell. You just HAVE to warm them up to have reliable braking on the freeway. It's not as big a concern as on the street where you're only going 40-45mph.

I bedded the pads in according to the instructions on the box, but this hasn't helped with the cold pad problem. I did not turn or resurface the rotors, because there was only about 4000 miles on my stock rotors when I switched to Hawk HPS. Would I get better cold braking if I turned the rotors?

I've read comments from other users such as "less initial bite" compared to stock. Well, I definitely say +1 to that, because there is like NO initial bite when cold. When hot, the initial bite is about the same as stock.

Is this the same story as ALL ferro-carbon pads? Is this the same for all Hawk HPS users? Please provide input!

Also, what material are the stock pads made out of?

The best benefit I've gotten out of the Hawk pads was decent track usage and less dust. But normal braking is a hassle...

 

Are you saying the Hawk's are Unsafe when cold? I have to hit the highway first thing in the morning, would these be a bad choice?

 

In my experience, I've turned the rotors everytime when switching out break pads...whether it was my old civic or my Z

I've had my hawks for 15,000 miles. No problems with having to warm breaks at cold temps.

The initial bite as compared to the stock pads is not there.

 

wait until you use the hawks in pouring rain...it's a good time.

 

Can you elaborate without using sarcasm? I'm talking about safety here.

Do you mean "good time" as in "I'm gonna die" ?

I used them in the rain and it was fine, since I warmed them up.

 

In my experience, it definitely doesn't hurt...
makes braking distance much shorter if they're hot.

 

I definitely mean "you're gonna die". There are literally no brakes in the rain.

 

I had Hawks HPS on front and rear. I really did not like them that much. Mainly due to loss of intial bite compare to stock. Basicly, it lost some performance compare to stock. I don't track my car so I don't need a pad that needs to get warmed up before it starts biting/performing. They also warped my Rotora Slotted Rotors. It seems like Hawk HPS are harsh on the rotors.

Thats why I went with Project Mu B-Force pads. They have great intial bite and great performance. The down side of PMU B-Force is that its squeak a little. Also, I know that Jimster716 had an issue with PMU B-Force pads at the track. They burned up so I don't recomend using them for track but they are great street pads.

I recently got Endless Vita Nuova pads. I like them also. Tad less initial bite than PMU B-Force but over all it out performs stock pads. The great thing about Endless Vita Nuova pads are they do not make any noise. Not even a hint.

As for dust, PMU B-Force and Endless Vita Nuova give out very very low dust how ever on PMU B-Force, it give out more and more dust as pads wear out. Its still not as bad as stock.

Here is a link that I gave some updates on PMU B-Force pads. There is a also some summary of other pads I used before.

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-suspension/117664-update-on-project-mu-brake-pads.html

Here is a link that I am currently giving some timely update Endless Vita Nuova Pads.

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-suspension/160706-update-on-endless-nuova-pads-and-ebay-rotors.html

 

Hmm, maybe I'll get these B-force pads...and keep the hawks around for the next track event?

 

They are on a back order. Thats why I decide to give Endless pads a try.

 

how much did those Endless pads set u back?

 

I concur. I've had to clean my seats on more than a few occasions because of this. In the dry cold, they don't bite as well as I would like them to. If its wet and around 40 degrees.... that first pump of the brakes after a quick highway run is the scariest chit in the world.

Less brake dust be damned... I ain't buying hawk HPS again. Definitely not in the north east.

 

HPS are low dust and quiet. If you want more bite, you'll have to deal with more dust, and potentially more noise. We typically recommend the Axxis Ultimate. It's the pad we ship with all of our BBK's.

From our website:
63-223-0653 Ultimate - STREET PERFORMANCE $78.95

 

Just over $200 for all 4 pads.

 

The HPS' are a street pad, not a track pad, nor an intermediate pad. At best, they are equivalent to stock. Personally, I think most Hawk pads are trash (including their race pads) compared to other options on the market.

 

+1

I agree, I am not a fan of Hawk HPS also. There are many people claiming that they have better bite than stock but from my experience, stock pads have better bite than Hawk HPS pads. I used Hawks HPS on 2 different occasion. Once with my old Silver 350Z before Nissan took it back and once with my White Roadster. It looks like HPS needs to get hot/warmed up before it starts to bite. It seems to me like Hawks may have less fading issue than stock on track but when it comes to intial bite, stock out performs Hawks on street.

 

After reading all of this I decided to forgo the Hawk Pads and Try the Satisfied Pro Ceramics out... Hopefully they will be a good pad without breaking the bank..

Thanks all.

 

Hawk HPS lack initial bite...

If you have Brembo or NON-Brembo another pad with little dust but has great initial bite is the NISMO Pad...

 

I tried Satisfied Pro Ceremics also. Less intial bite than Stock. You have to press your brake pedal little firmer/harder with these pads. Very low dust. Mine had a very very minor squeak but thats because I did not turn my rotors. My friend had it on his Z and he had no issues with noise.
Just for FYI.

I don't know when you need to change your pads but you might want to wait few weeks and give Project Mu NS pads a try. I heard good stuff about them. The only thing about PMU B-Force and NS pads are they are in back order.
NS pads are not as pricey as B-Force and they are rated just below B-Force.
Its about $10-$15 more than Hawk HPS per set.

I heard there is a shipment comming in mid or end of January 2006.

ANYONE WANT TO BUY a SET OF FRONT HAWK HPS almost new. It has about 90% remaining. I took the pads out from my OLD Silver 350Z BECAUSE MY CAR WON'T STOP WHEN I WANTED IT TO.

 

Couple of days ago here in SOCAL it was POURING rain. My car was outside while I was at work. After work, I fired up my car, and I barely stopped at the stop sign. It was unbelievable. The pads felt like noodles! It was pretty scary. So I took the car to a small street and did a couple of 40mph to 0 hard stops until i started to feel the braking again. I am definately going back to axis ultimate w/ my stoptechs after these wear out. The no dust is a very nice feature tho..