Liberation

Okay, here is the scenario: My 04 6spd Touring has just over 5,000 miles and I decided to upgrade to cross drilled/slotted rotors and Hawk pads. Now, prior to the change, my brakes were great, I just wanted a better look and less brake dust. However, with the new setup, I don't have that stop on 'a dime' braking that I had prior. I mean, my stock brakes were very SENSITIVE and as soon as I touched that pedal the car was stopping and stopping quickly. Now I have to push my pedal A LOT harder to get the same response that I had previously. In addition, it also doesn't STOP when I press the pedal all the way to the floor from about 30mph on up. It's really frustrating and I'm curious if anyone else has had this type of problem. Any advice would be appreciated!


One...Jas

speedform

Did you loose any brake fluid when you installed the new pads? Sometimes when changing the pads from a worn pad to new, after compressing the the brake pistons the brake fluid may overflow it's reservoir and you'll loose some fluid. You may want to top it off and bleed them.
I have the same problem on my car after switching to Carbotech pads and Motul RBF600 fluid. The pedal travels much further then it did on worn pads and stock fluid. I rebled the lines to no avail. I'm thinking of now swapping in SS lines for better pedal pressure.

zillinois

iTrader: (6)

Hawks do not have as hard of an initial bite as the factory pads. They are a low dust and noise pad, so they will not bite as hard.

Liberation

That's the thing...I didn't loose brake fluid and that checked out fine. This is frustrating because I feel like I wasted my money on those rotors and pads!

Liberation

I hear that, but the thing is, if someone in front of me slams on their brakes and I'm kinda close behind...I'm rear-ending them because my car doesn't have that "stop on a dime" braking anymore. If I'm doing 50 and I slam on my brakes it doesn't have that stopping force it used to have.

The brakes just aren't right!



One....Jas

zillinois

iTrader: (6)

1. Which hawk model do you have? If you have a race pad it will not start to brake until it gets hot! Very dangerous on the street.

2. Does the brake start to engage very soon after you press on it, or does the brake pedal go quite a ways down before it engages?

Vlad

Yes, I'd say, I have that feeling of less braking power from Hawks HPS too. Can anybody suggest another not-racing pads that really bite and with less than stock dust?

JCat

iTrader: (4)

I just installed theses pads on my touring. I kept the stock rotors though. I swear that my braking has improved. Could it be your new rotors?

manofsteele2003

iTrader: (7)

How many miles have you guys put on your car after installing these pads/rotors. Because typically new pads have a break in period, before they really start biting. I went through the same thing with my old car, powerstop rotors and axis pads. No matter how hard I stomped on them I couldn't get it to lock up, until they broke in. After that it stopped on a dime. I'd say give it little time before you decide to get rid of them, and in the meantime drive carefully.

rednezz

iTrader: (1)

Did you bed the pads and rotors? Also as zillinios stated it could be a racing pad. I have the Nismo pads and I think they are made by Hawk. I know driving them on the street they don't get hot enough to stop on a dime. I can slam on the brakes and the car just keeps rolling for awhile until they get hot and start to bite. You also may have air in your brake lines. I get air in the lines after a track event.

J Ritt

iTrader: (4)

First, I would recommend bedding the brakes in if you haven't done so already.

For a typical brake set-up using street performance pads and stock size rotors, a series of 6 to 8 stops from 60 down to 5-10 mph will work well as a standard bed-in cycle. There is no cool down between individual stops, and each stop should be at 80-90% of the pedal effort to lock up the brakes or engage ABS. Allow the system to cool after the first bed-in cycle (drive around for 5 minutes without using the brakes) before repeating an additional cycle of 6 to 8 stops at the same speeds. The idea is to heat the pads into their optimal operating temperature. When this is accomplished, the pads will actually transfer a layer of material on to the face of the rotor. The objective is to get a nice uniform layer of pad all the way around the rotor. DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP AT ANY POINT DURING THIS PROCESS! When you are done, the pads will be in contact with a layer of pad on the rotor face, not the rotor face itself. This like material friction relationship between the pad and pad that has been transferred to the rotor is what allows your brakes to have bite, work most effectively, not squeak, etc. If your brakes are not properly bedded in, you will have a stiff pedal, but you won't have much bite. This feeling is similar to when your pads fade on the track. Also, anyone that has driven race pads cold on the street will know exactly the feeling I'm talking about. It feels like you have blocks of wood in your calipers.

If you have a soft pedal, then you are fighting a different issue...air in your system. A mushy pedal indicates that you have some how introduced air into the system...whether through improper bleeding or boiling your fluid. The only way to fix this is to bleed the brakes.

Hawk HPS is a good choice for street pads. If you want something with a little more bite, I'd go with the Axxis Ultimate. We sell them for $80.95. They are the pads we ship with all of our big brake kits. If you want something that has less dust, but also less bite, the Axxis Deluxe Plus is a good choice ($47.95).

When choosing pads, keep this in mind:

Pad Choice
Many of our customers ask us, "Which brake pads are best for my vehicle?" Unfortunately, there is no single clear-cut answer. Different driving conditions require different types of friction, as there is no single pad that works optimally under all conditions. There will always be a compromise in at least one area of operation. You need to ask yourself which of the following issues are most important to your particular driving style.

1. COLD STOPPING PERFORMANCE. How well does the pad grip on the first stop when the system is at ambient temperature?
2. HOT STOPPING PERFORMANCE. How does the pad react at higher temperatures, such as on a road course? Rotor and pad temperatures typically exceed 1000 F on road course
3. PAD LIFE. How long will the pads last in a given driving environment?
4. ROTOR LIFE. How aggressive is the pad on the rotor, and will it groove the surface?
5. NOISE. Does the pad squeal? High performance pads will always have some noise.
6. DUST. How much dust does the pad generate, and how easy is it to clean?
7. COST. Is the pad affordable compared to how it performs?

StopTech has addressed all of the above issues and has selected various pads that offer a good compromise depending on the application. For our Stage I and II, StopTech's default pad of choice is the Axxis Ultimate. The Ultimate features Kevlar and ceramic construction, and is a non-asbestos, low metal content pad. The Ultimate offers the best price/performance ratio available on the street-performance market, and is also the standard pad that ships with our big brake kits. The Ultimate is an excellent choice for street, autoX, drag, and drift use on the front and rear of most vehicles. However, exceeding the 932 F MOT (Maximum Operating Temp.) with the Ultimate (or any street pad) can cause uneven pad deposition, which is often misinterpreted as a warped rotor. Medium dust, low noise, and excellent rotor and pad life characterize the Ultimate. For vehicles that do not have the Axxis Ultimate as an option, StopTech substitutes the Hawk HPS or the Centric Posiquiet. The HPS does not have quite the initial bite of the Axxis Ultimate, but it is a comparable low dust, low noise, low rotor wear, high performance street pad. HPS has an MOT of 825 F. Posiquiet is the ideal choice for light trucks.

Street Pads vs. Race Pads
If you must run one pad on both the street and road course, you will have to compromise performance in one way or another on all of the variables in the list above. Road course and street use place different demands on the friction material of any brake system, and you should choose accordingly. A pad that is designated as a "street pad" is typically composed of materials designed to work cold, and inherent in this pad composition is a limited temperature range. Due to the less aggressive composition, a street pad does not wear a rotor as quickly, makes less noise, and tends to cost less than a race pad. On the other hand, a "race" or "track" pad may never reach its optimal temperature range during street use, which may compromise cold stopping distances. The typically high metal content in a race pad wears rotors more quickly, generates noise and dust, and usually costs more than a street pad. Therefore, StopTech recommends swapping street pads in favor of race pads before each road course event. The system will need to be bed-in after a race pad is swapped in, and again when the street pads are re-installed. Please check our website at www.StopTech.com for bedding instructions, availability, and pricing on various street and race pad compounds for your vehicle. Click here for more details, pricing, and availability of the various race compound pads for your vehicle

wrendon

Awesome review.

Liberation

I have the street pads. I bought them from tirerack and that is what they recommended.

As far as pedal feedback, with my factory set up after barely touching the brake pedal, the car was STOPPING right away. Now, I have to press the pedal down further to get the car to stop. It is definetly not what I expected.

Liberation

I don't see why it would be the rotors! I hope not!


One...Jas