Road and Track brake pads

SeattleLion

I have read hundreds of posts supposedly about brake pads. Most of the discussions center around some pads being too aggressive for road use - too much noise and dust, ect.

My question is fairly simple. I am running factory pads and completed my first track day. When I pulled in the paddock you could smell my brakes a hundred feet away from the car. I can only imagine what will happen as I learn to go faster and brake harder.

I have already replaced the brake lines with teflon/stainless and the fluid with AP Racing DOT 5.1, so the risk of boiling has been reduced.

In all my reading, the only recommendation I saw for pads that are good for both highway and track use came from a sponser selling that particular pad.

It would be great to get some info from member who actually use the same pads on the street and track as to what is a good choice. Another question I haven't found answered is what mileage can be expected with the pads for both road and track use? I realize no one can really predict it, but some sense would be great.

I have also seen thrreads about grease to use between shims and pads and calipers. Nissan in the service manual specifies copper grease. I read that some use a ceramic extra-high temperature grease. Some guidance there would be very helpful.

RCZ

Im going to save you a lot of time and effort. There is no magic pad, no pad is good great at both. There are some that are mediocre at both like the Hawk HP+

The best thing you can do is swap them before and after track days. Get some Carbotech XP10 front, XP8 rear to avoid as much icemode as possible. Keep your stock pads, which are great for the street.

cossie1600

i wouldnt touch the 10, too aggressive for all season tires.

Mike

I ran XP12/XP10 combo last time on AD-08s. They were fine on the street, dusty and some occassional noise, but overall mostly quiet. They do have a high initial bite you need to get used to though. I got three weekends and about 2500 street miles on them, 1800 of that on a round trip to Road America and back to Atlanta.

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

Red__Zed

Buying a separate set for the track just makes more sense. They're a quick swap, and it makes your car perform better on the track, and keeps it more livable on the street.

Mike

true, unless you are like me and don't drive the car other than to and from events.

__________________
NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

cossie1600

I rarely drive my car, I still couldn't take it.

YouTube - Carbotech XP10 brakes

Red__Zed

Right on, although it sounds like the OP drives his car pretty regularly on the street.

SPOHN

I'm running Hawks HP+ for street now. My car is not a DD. But they would be fine for DD IMO. I plan to track on these also. I want to see what they'll do for me and my skill set. Then I'm going to try the Carbotech. This way I can see first hand the difference in pads. Then I'll be moving on to some better rotors.

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DJ-of-E

This is very much true. The only thing you could do is to cope with the track bite. Unfortunately, it's not as easy with the sport package brake kit has it has more surface area, piston count, and clamp force than "let's say a civic."

I mean, you're driving a pretty heavy car, so more braking power the better. I drive a Celica and its 2500 weight can do with 1 piston brake system.

sig11

I have absolutely no problem with my XP10/XP8 combo on the street. I do get made fun of at times for the noise and dust is HEAVY but it doesn't really bother me. Seem to work fine with my AD08s or the RE-11s I ran before.

Mine have lasted several thousand miles and several track days. I'm a bit surprised by the amount of pad I have left honestly. I wonder if the relatively mild ambient temperatures up here have helped their life?

Mike

just curious, since I think you are the only one to run both RE-11s and AD-08s, what are your thoughts on the two?

__________________
NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

sig11

Well, my last track day on RE-11s was back in September but I was very pleased by the AD08s at GingerMan yesterday. They AD08s feel pretty much the same as I remember the RE-11s. Both tires stick like glue and clearly tell you when you're at their limits.

I think the AD08s will make way better street tires though. They're way quieter and seem more stable in heavy rain.

MD-370z

What sizes of ad08 do you recommend for stock sport rims? im thinking of running a square set up to get rid of some of the understeer, do you have any input sig11?

sig11

I'm actually on 9.5" and 10.5" TE37s right now... 275/35R19 and 295/30R19. Compared to the 265/35 + 305/30 RE-11s it's great. It pretty much eliminated understeer. I would bet you can run them on the stock sport rays too.

It was interesting on the damp track in the morning because it varied a lot corner to corner on whether I would get understeer or oversteer. I never experienced that with the other tires... but usually last year I ran with VDC in the wet.