OC_

I do a lot of aggressive driving and even an occasional track day. I'm trying to decide between a few different pads: EBC yellow stuff, Ferodo DS2500 and OEM pads.

I made the mistake of getting Hawk HPS pads which are probably the worst pads i have ever driven on. They seem to have less than half the friction than the OEM pads and are just all together terrible. Luckily, hawk has a 30 day money back guarantee so im sending them back. They did make me realize how good the OEM pads are.

As far as OEM pads, i never took them out on the track but they worked wonderfully on the street. I have a place where I can do pretty much full-out driving and the pads held up very well, but i never pushed them that hard for extended amounts of time like i would do on a track.

I have been told the EBC Yellows are really good and only get better with heat, but dont work so great when cold. Is the cold performance really that bad?

The ferodo ds2500 sound good too but are a little bit more expensive. I'm leaning more toward the yellow stuff.

In input or other recommendations would be great. I was also looking at the CL RC5+ pads, but it looks like they don't make those for the 07+ caliper.

My car is an 07 with standard brakes.

infinite

I like the oem pads... still have the original pads lol. I've 3 years on them and it looks like they'll last 2 more.

OC_

How much track driving do you do?

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

OEM pads make too must dust. Go get some life-time pads from OReilly, Autozone, etc. They are perfect for the street and will suffice for occasional track days.

And congratulations, you've discovered what people have been learning for years - stay away from Hawk HPS pads. They suck in cold and rain and being from Chicago, there probably isn't a worse set you could have chosen.

infinite

maybe like 5 times a year. i drive aggressive and i use the freeway every day. 42k miles driven on original pads.

dcains

iTrader: (15)

My favorite street pad is the EBC Redstuff. Nice grip cold or hot, not much dust at all, and rotor wear seems very minimal. I've got them on 3 of my 4 cars. I'd stay away from the yellows, as they've got no grip when cold, and at least in my Z, they were occasionally quite noisy (mostly when cold).

thekinn

iTrader: (18)

Hmph.. I didn't use them long (replaced calipers) But I didn't have any issue with HPS for street use. Seemed to get the job done with little dust.. Maybe it's the 'high performance' that I didn't put to the test 'on the street'.

EBC Yellows worked well with my OEM 2 piston calipers on the track, but they barely lasted 1 track day. There was nothing left at the end of the day. I got 2 days of use out of them. 1 day on the street and bed-in. 1 day at the track.

Out of the pads you listed, those were the only ones I used. Now I just swap pads from street to race.

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

Agressive driving and 42K on a set of OEM pads doesn't add up. I guess hard braking doesn't fall under your definition of agressive driving. I probably went through 5 sets of pads in 40K miles.

INTIMAZY

iTrader: (15)

I have been a fan of EBC yellows for street use. They definitely don't last long at the track but for the price they're not bad.
I have a set of Yellows that I used to run on the street. Now I just run Raybestos ST43's and deal with the noise and dust.
DS2500 have great reviews but I believe they are more track oriented than your other two selections.

canucme

project mu ns pads!!! from www.projectnissan.com great service.

OC_

looks like I'm at the 11th hour with the pads. No one stocks any performance pads locally and if i place an order, its going to take a while to get here; the track day is Monday. I'm not so keen on the OReilly or Autozone pads, i would guess they would be pretty hard pads. So I'm going with OEM pads, what should i expect out of them at the track? I'm guessing just fast to fade?

I wish people wouldn't categorize things in such extreme ways. Everything is either the best ever or the worst ever. Nothing is so-so. Like the EBC yellows having 'NO GRIP' when cold. What exactly is no grip? stopping distance increased 300 feet? 10 miles? or just 3 feet? Can you turn the abs on with them when cold? if not can you get close to it?

canucme: all of those project mu pads seems to be only for the older 03-06 calipers... not my 2-piston 07!

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

Generic pads that you find at places like OReilly or Autozone are made by Akebono, Bendix or other reputable manufacturers. Keep in mind that there are only a handfull of manufacturers of brake pads, they are re-branded for sale by OEM and store brands.

They are not much different than OEM as far as initial bite and stopping power. I've been in the same situation as you where I needed pads for a track day and couldn't wait for some to be shipped. They performed fine.

You don't want to take worn down OEM pads onto the track. You want fresh pads, no matter what brand they are. Thin pads have no heat capacity and that's where you'll get into trouble with them overheating and fading.

Besides, if you buy some "lifetime" pads, you can wear them out, bring them back and get another set - no questions asked.

canucme

nope call them my 06 350z is 2 piston brake sir.

infinite

that's what it is... i don't brake hard often.

OC_

I went with the pepboys pro stop. So far, they seem a lot better than the Hawk HPS's, i haven't brought them up to temp yet; but wow, those Hawk pads must be a joke...

OC_

Just got back from the track day; that was good advice Dave, the Pepboys pads held out. I didn't have them fully bedded or broken in when i first went out and they faded away in about 3 turns. But after that, they got better and better until they were pretty consistent and didn't really fade any more. They did look like they were a little rough on the rotors, and they didn't produce the torque of real race pads, but they did a good enough job for this open lapping, untimed event.

infinite

what are they made of?

OC_

The pads i have are branded 'Prostop' and are Ceramic. They also had a semi-metallic, but the ceramic ones were supposed to be better at $49.00 (fronts). The semi-metallic were, i think $39.00.

I was just reading about the differences between Ceramic and semi-metallic pads, and interestingly, Ceramic is also known as 'NAO' or non-asbestos organic. I think this is shortened down a lot to just 'organic'.

Fo350z

Doing a quick search on pepboys site for pro stop pads, I get the results:

Part # PD960M for 'F PROSTOP BRK PADS' (18" WHEELS PLATFORM SPECIFIC FRICTION FORMULATION w/SINGLE LAYER SHIM)

and

Part # PD905M for 'R PROSTOP BRK PADS' (EXC BREMBO BRK PLATFORM SPECIFIC FRICTION FORMULATION w/SINGLE LAYER SHIM)

Looks like prices listed for those are $20.99 and $17.99, respectively. Would these fit an '06 touring?