jeremyfrens

I just started taking my 2004 Touring Z to the track this year, and every time I do, I face the problem of burned up brake pads. I am not just talking about excessive wear on the pads, I am talking about pitting, cracking, and crubling from extreme heat. Normally, I was using OEM stock pads.

Last weekend I used a new set of Hawk HPS pads. I put them on the car a little over a month ago, bedded them in, and did normal street driving on them. At the event, they held up better than the OEM pads, but still did not last the whole 2 days (about 2.5 hours of total track time). By the end of the weekend, I was getting significantly less breaking force out of them and even got Black Flagged on the last session as the corner workers were seeing "a lot of sparks flying on the front brakes" in the twilight, more than the normal glowing rotors they see in late sessions.

I swapped them out last night and found that the rears were riding the wear bar and the front still had about 50% of their thickness left. All were cracked, pitted, and making a lot of noise.

Well, the season is over, and I have some time to figure out what to do next season. I figure my options are:
1) Go all out for a BBK. This would screw up my car classification for the autocrossing I do (move me from B-Stock to B-Street Modified) and make me completely uncompetative for next year.
2) Brake ducts. Same problem with autocrossing class (would be B-Street Prepared).
3) Find some pads that will hold up to the heat.

So, before I blew another $150-200 on pads and another aborted track weekend over this, I figured I would seek out some advice on which pads do hold up to these extreme temparatures.

Will HP-Plus do the job? Should I be looking at race compounds? Do ceramic pads hold up to the temparatures?

Andy@Performance

iTrader: (92)

HPS will not be that most suitable pad for the track. If you're on a budget and looking to do a brake upgrade; I'd look into the STOPTECH Stage 2 kit which consists of slotted or drilled rotors, stainless steel braided brake lines, AXXIS Ultimate brake pads and MOTUL RBF600 brake fluid. This kit will definitely be able to handle the abuse of a track car but obviously going all out with a BBK would be the best.

http://www.mynismo.com/categories/?id=2308

jeremyfrens

Bumps me up to B-Street Prepared.
I have already installed Russell stainless steel braided brake lines.
I will look into them.
Research and discussion with people at the track have led me to Ford High Peformance DOT3 brake fluid. It has a high dry boiling point (500 degrees) and is dirt cheap ($4-5 a bottle). It tends to take on moisture quickly and has a low wet boiling point, but that is not a problem as I tend to flush it frequently over the season.

DMK

iTrader: (6)

If you are serious about the track, I would go with a full out race pad and switch between a street and race on track days. They only take about 10-15 minutes to change per axle. I have heard great things about Performance Friction for the track. Specifically, PFC 01 in the fronts with PFC 97 in the rear. They have a high friction coefficient, low rotor rear and a really high operating temperature.

If you want a dual use track/street pad that you don't have to switch out when you get to the track, I would suggest Ferodo DS2500 all around. Not as high of a bite and operating temperature of a race pad, but its a compromise.

Andy@Performance

iTrader: (92)

THe MOTUL RPBF600 actually has a dry boiling point of 594F degrees. Trust me when I say this, the RBF600 is the way you'd want to go. If you want the stay in the class you're in, like DMK said, you should just get race pads and swap back and forth from the track to the street but I'd buy some replacement rotors anyways as back up as race pads generally are abrasive on rotors. Project Mu has just came out with a carbon-ceramic brake pad that is great for the track and that is not too abrasive on rotors, similar characteristics to the Endless CC-X pads. I think you should seriously look at our pad section as we have a variety of pads with tons of info on each one.

https://www.mynismo.com/categories/?id=2311

jeremyfrens

That might be the way to go for me, stock rotors with street pads for daily driving and autocrossing, and a set of slotted/drilled rotors with race pads for the track weekends.

It means 1-2 hours of work before and after each track event, but gets me the best of both worlds. If I keep track of which rotor and pad goes where, I should not have to worry about re-bedding the brakes each time I switch over.

Beau

iTrader: (4)

I've been using Hawk HP+ at Shenandoah at Summit Point and at VIR and they are about 95% up to the task. If I keep pushing hard lap after lap they will begin to fade, but for the most part they are acceptable. I'm looking into using Carbotech XP10 or 12 for next season though. Unless I upgrade to a BBK by then.

DMK

iTrader: (6)

Which pads are you referring to? Do you have any reviews on the Project Mu Max900 pads for the track?

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

I would not recommend Axxis Ultimates as a trackable pad either. Just as useless on a track car as the HPS IMHO

the HP + would be ok, or, if a Brembo equipped car, a DS2500 would also do ok for a club type event

Andy@Performance

iTrader: (92)

Nope, no reviews on the Level Max 900 as the customers that buy those pads from us never call back so I guess that's a good thing. The new PMU pad is the HC+.

DMK

iTrader: (6)

Ok, thanks. I talked to Kenny over at Performance because I was really interested in the HC+. Unfortunately, they don't stock those pads in the Stoptech ST40 caliper size, so I would have to special order them with a 2 month wait. Do you happen to know if the Level Max 900 is made for the ST40 caliper as well and if they are in stock?

Andy@Performance

iTrader: (92)

Oh, so your Daniel from Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, haha. I got the e-mail from Brian and I was helping Kenny with your inquiry. Unfortunately, this pad is not something that is a stocking part, especially for an ST40 caliper and would have to be considered a special order part.

dkmesa350z

iTrader: (41)

I would recommend a spare set of rotors and a set of carbotech pads if you plan to track your Z often. I went to a track day last month with my HPS, and didn't experience any of the things you are describing but it did eat up most of the remaining life. I replaced them with another set of HPS because they were great on the street and plan to get a set of carbotechs or axxis ultimates before the next track day. Also, I would recommend ATE superblue or gold fluid

DMK

iTrader: (6)

What about the Level Max 900?

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

I would highly doubt Project Mu stocks pads for any aftermarket caliper in the US

Andy@Performance

iTrader: (92)

+1

ZSpectrum

iTrader: (4)

ferodo ds2500s are good pads I run them on my sti, being replaced by the hawk hp+