Anyone tried EBC blue or alternatives

Jhill

So I’ve been using carbotech 1521 on street and xp10/8 for track and I’ve been very happy with them but the only issue is even though supposedly their compounds are cross compatible it seems every time I swap back and forth shortly after I get brake vibration and shimmy. I know it should just be deposits on rotor but even after hard braking trying to clean and re seat them it won’t go away so I have to resurface the rotors again. Swapping pads back and forth wouldn’t be such a big deal if not for having to resurface the rotors every time. I even switched to two piece rotors hoping it was maybe just heat but it doesn’t seem so, I can do the rack event and continue to use the xp10/8 and have no issues until I swap back and re bed the 1521 then it’s an issue. So looking for an alternative that I can use 99% street and the 1-3 track days a year. It’s not my daily driver anymore either so I’m tempted to just leav the xp10/8 full time but they’re are quiet aggressive for street use and realistically even a bit much for my tires on track but I’d rather have brakes than have them overheat and disappear on me at track events. So I’m seeing the EBC blue are a track rated pad but also not so aggressive they can’t be used on street (maybe). There’s two compounds as well so maybe the blue ndx front and blue medium in rear or just ndx front and rear if they’re not as aggressive as carbotech.

Anyway has anyone found a better one pad do it all solution out there? I don’t mind the power and feel of the 1521 I just don’t know if they’d handle the heat for track sessions.

filip00

I used EBC Bluestuff (NDX) and they are neither too aggressive nor too weak for the street. They bite well, you can be gentle on the brakes and they work well.
After a good bedding procedure they will not fade, they work extremely well on the track.

However...they could let you get carried away. I track my car and I have these pads and they don't fade....and if you heat them up a lot, they will wear down very quickly. This weekend we were doing a lot of mountain driving and I managed to grind my pads down to the end, although they had less than 10.000 miles. This of course, scratched the rotors, so now for new pads, I'm not sure I want them on these rotors. So I went to order a full set now.

This time I ordered a full on race setup - EBC RP-X pads front and back, as well as DBA 5000 T3 rotors. The coefficient of friction when cold is the same as the EBC bluestuff, meaning they will perform well on the street, but they should be flawless on the track, so let's see.

It says they're not street legal - well, not gonna go into that discussion.

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Rusty

I use the 10/8 combo on the street. They're a bit noisy and a little dusty. Other than that. I have no issues using them on the street.

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Jhill

Yea they work but they’re a touch more grabby and aggressive than I’d desire in stop and go traffic. And with street tires on track they’re probably more than I probably need (although they are awesome). Just wondering if there’s a compromise out there between the 1521 and xp10/8 setup, maybe a touch less bite like the 1521 but won’t fade out on track.

Spooler

Just use your XP10/8 combo and be done with it. With my Essex AP Racing brake kit, I have to switch out pads. No bite at all when they are cold or in the rain, etc.

Z is 4 ZEBRA!

I use the RP-X as well and have been happy with them; however, you may trigger ice mode. I found that moving to RP-1 in the rear solved this issue for me. They on the car 100% of the time and work quite well on the street without any excessive noise although they dust quite a bit. Solid track pad as well. They last me about 5 hours of track time for front pads, about double that for the rears.

Another option for OP would be the Powerstop Track Day (spec) pads. Great dual duty pad and apparently they have specific compounds for each application. I did not run into any issues using the Spec compound front and rear.

filip00

Please explain what do you mean by ice mode?
Also, I ordered RPX for front and back.

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Jhill

Ok well I’m getting the rotors surfaced Monday and then tracking the 22nd I’ll see if I leave the xp10/8 on after or look into alternatives that don’t make a ton of noise on street but can still track.

Rjk370z

I use the Hawk DTC-60. They are great, for my skill level, on track. I haven't experienced any fade and they are fine on the street. Squealing is minimum.

I will probably try the Carbo 10/8 combo next time around. But, Hawks have been great.

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Jhill

Ok so some interesting information maybe already known. Spoke to carbotech and z1. Apparently z1 says they recommend xp12/10 as the combo for the 370z. Don’t know when they changed that recommendation because they originally recommended me xp10/8. Anyway talking to carbotech got me more information, rep there was very knowledgeable and suspects they didn’t bed properly which admittedly I don’t think I did right either. Apparently they need to get hot to the point of fade and then let cool off. I did a bunch of hard stops on street etc but I wouldn’t say I ever got to fade point. So he suspects either they didn’t bed properly and then once they got to true temp they left deposits in the rotors or option b they overheated and left deposits in the rotors, also says Laguna is one of the hardest tracks on brakes so it’s possible I need a higher heat. But he’s confident the pads can be swapped without issue so says after turning the rotors now the pads have been bedded he doesn’t suspect I’ll have issues and also to monitor the temps at the track day and if I go out of range then I’ll want to jump up to xp12. Also said he’d recommend buying the pre bedded pad option in the future so I don’t have to deal with worrying about bedding them properly. Will be bringing my 2900deg no contact thermometer to see what I’m actually hitting.

I also found this list pretty interesting. The blue ndx do sound like a viable option if these don’t work for me, unless I’m hitting too high heat as my issue then I’ll need xp12.

https://www.wunderladenracing.com/bl...rake-pad-guide

filip00

Bedding in procedure is critical for some pads, and I believe half of negative reviews on the internet for various pads are from owners who didn't properly do the procedure...so I take everything with that regard with a grain of salt.
Also, make sure to actually go through the documentation and check cold bite, temperatures that the pads can sustain, as well as if the rotors require some cooling or not. All of these will influence what rotors and pads may be best for you.

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trangalang

I'm currently using EBC Blue Stuff NDX as a dual-duty pad. They don't have a strong initial bite but they also didn't fade for my 20min sessions at Laguna Seca. They dust a decent amount, but don't make any noise when driving normally on the street.

I'll probably go for Carbotech 10/8 for my next set once the Blue Stuff NDX are done and possibly switch back to Red Stuff as a street pad.

Can't speak on longevity yet as I've only purchased the Blue Stuff NDX earlier this year and only have two track days on them.

HapaZ

I've tracked EBC Blue's at Thunderhill West and Sonoma on base brakes and haven't gotten them to fade. I'm stepping up to the sport brakes this winter and I'm also debating between getting the Bluestuff and the xp12/10 setup. From what I can tell, the EBC pads are a little more street biased with better cold bite, but the Carbotech pads will deal with long sessions a bit better.

ZoomZ

Do you find that if you have been diving for a while, say on the highway, without applying brakes, these pads will require a higher pedal application and or tend to fade at this point? because they are cold?

Worried about the need for a sudden stoppage due to traffic at a dead halt ahead.

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Averying

I also run XP10/8 on the street. Rarely do I ever have the issue of increased pedal pressure required. Once in a while I will notice this, but it’s mostly at low-speed braking after cruising for a bit without applying brakes. But it isn’t anything to be worried about… it’s a relatively minor increase in required pedal pressure.


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