Brake Pad Reviews

Endgame

after reading through this thread, I still cannot get a good grasp of the pads I should eventually change mine to. i intend my driving to be aggresive street driving with very light track duty. i also plan to pick up the RA 2 piece rotors.

do i need anything other than the stock pads?

XwChriswX

I like those RA 2 piecers myself, but $1700 is steep and I prolly wont get enough track use to justify them...

As for the pads, I've seen Proj. Mu getting props...

Has anyone used StopTech Green / Yellow / Red / Blue - Stuffs??

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gpa7pk

I'm running the RA 2 floating rotors for both street and track; however, I do not use the same pads for both. The OEM or the Hawk HPS for street are good (I really believe the OEM pad is better). Carbotech XP10/XP8 are great for light to medium track but are not advisable for street (dust, noise and performance). The RA rotors perform as well as Scott Bush says they will and are usable on the the daily driver if you don't mind the sound of tin cans being pulled behind you car. My son said the brakes (rotor/pad) on the track are awsome and not to screw with them. He suggested a couple of suspension tweaks. He is an instructor as well as SCCA and NASA certified. The question of the price of the RA floating rotors becomes a question of what you want. The RA's allow you to use your Akebono calipers without issues in my opinon, and they perform very well. I cannot address the situation of "racing" like RCZ, Mike, Spearfish and others as I will not be going there.

djpathfinder

Is that noise coming from both front and rear sets, or just the rear?

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2012 GT-R Black Edition Jet Black
2010 370Z 40th Anniversary // SOLD

markymark

regarding carbotech bobcats I can confirm they squeal quite significantly - they were ok when I first got them but after a couple of track days they're extremely noisy especially at slower speeds. You can also get them to fade with consecutive hot laps

Will be swapping to endless Mx72's next month

gpa7pk

The front and rear rotors are of the same design, so they all make noise.
I would think all two piece floating rotors will rattle. I got use to this and now it's just background noise.

AP - Chris_B

For dedicated racing brakes, yes, they will rattle. For 2-piece rotors that also get used on the street, there are several techniques that could (and should) be used to eliminate 90-100% of the rattle. There is no reason to put up with clanking rotors for street driving, even if you like to enjoy the occasional track day.

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www.stillen.com

christian370z

I'm surprised at how little EBC pads are spoken of here since they are very well regarded. Has anyone run the Redstuff/Yellowstuff pads on a Z? I had Redstuff pads on my last car and along with some high temp fluid, those brakes would not give up and just got better the harder you used them.

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JB1

Just some random information on the stock pads: Motor Fan Illustrated, a very nice Japanese car magazine, had an indepth article comparing the Z33 and Z34. One of the items discussed where the brakes. According to the magazine the stock pads on the Z34 in Europe are of a more aggressive compound then those used in Japan and here in the US. So we get the less dusty, cruising oriented pads, Europe gets the dusty but more
Racy pads. I might have to buy a set of pads in Europe next time I go there to try this out...

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Jordo!

Interesting -- do you have a part number? Don't see why we couldn't order the Euro pads in the US if we wanted to.

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djpathfinder

Chris, I couldn't find a set of two piece bolted discs for the 370Z on the Stillen website, unless you have specific parts numbers for front and rear that's not on the website?

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2010 370Z 40th Anniversary // SOLD

AP - Chris_B

Still in the works, so nothing is on the site yet. I'm use the marketing crew will make some noise when these are nearly ready to go.

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Chris Bernal
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Endgame

RA also has two piece non floating setups available.

Chris B - What type of weight savings would AP's kit offer? Would slotted/drilled be options? Would the kit utlize the stock Akebono's?

I realize you may not be able to share these details, but I wanted to get the questions out.

AP - Chris_B

This is being looked at. We don't consider the Akebono calipers up to the task of serious track duty, so full-floating rotors are not a good match to the OE units in our opinion. For a true track system, a caliper upgrade is required. Look for an even larger capacity system from AP Racing in the first quarter of 2011. I would expect that the J-hook option would be offered alongside slotted only. For other than full track use, cross-drilled/slotted also works great (if done properly!). Of course, there will be a large range of pad options for these calipers, including the Mintex F3R -- arguably the best all-out track pad available today.

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djpathfinder

I certainly would be interested in a 2-piece bolted rotor replacement for front and back. Don't think I could live with the clanging of a floating system. Are the weight savings of a 2-piece bolted rotor close to a 2-piece floating one?

__________________
2012 GT-R Black Edition Jet Black
2010 370Z 40th Anniversary // SOLD