Brake Pad Recommendation Non-Sport
 

So I was driving 36 the other day and my brakes got all mushy and I had to back off to let 'em cool down; it wasn't very brake intensive. Since then I've flushed the brake fluid out. I don't have money for a BBK but as the brake system wears I'll be upgrading it + brake ducts.

I'm looking for a street pad that will handle HIGH temps, has a long life, at least stock bite, is easy on rotors; dust and noise is less of a concern. I'm not going to buy anything outrageously expensive but give me all the options. :tiphat:

Just no hawks hps or hp plus

Well for HIGH temps i use Carbotech... great pad construction and temp abilities. If you are REALLY flogging the brakes (track day) they will only last a couple of days. But that's to be expected on the track.

Street driving i'm sure you won't get them hot enough to wear them that quick.

And +1 on the Hawks... they'll eat your rotors alive. :tiphat:

Just installed the Carbotech XP8s and Motul RBF600 this weekend. No noise out of them yet. After bedding them, it looks like they may make a lot of dust. Need to clean the wheels and see how they do under normal driving.

BTW, these brakes are awesome. I'm sure the stock brakes would of failed about half way through the way I bedded them. They grab more than stock so you'll need a lighter foot on them.

Now I can go hot into turns without fear of brake fade.

^ nice. Let us now how they do under normal driving.

XP8 - Week of daily driving and another drive in the mountain. Not a squeek out of them yet, even coming to a stop gently. Not sure if they're going to glaze over after a couple of weeks of communting and then start making noise but so far so good. :tup:

Highly recommend using the brake quiet grease when installing them. I used the little pack for O'Reilly's. I just asked them for the gue you put on the back of brake pads. 1 small pack per axel. Between every shim, on the sides where it touches the calliper and on the tangs that touch the pads on that sheetmetal piece that keeps them tensioned on the 2 pins.

I'll keep you guys posted if it starts making any noise. Tons of dust though. Need to wash them and then watch them for normal daily driving.

Forgot to mention... These pads are amazing! Really pushed it on the downhill side. Some early braking on the curves with a cliff you could go over but held up solid on a 1hr 45minute session of very spirited driving. :driving:

This is wonderful news. I just did the same and can feel more braking.

I'm hoping for the same. Thanks

1 weeks worth of dust :driving:

Includes bedding and Friday's spirited drive.

Maybe you and I will get darker wheels. :icon17:

As long as the rest of the car looks clean, I'll be fine.

How are the cold stops with the XP8? I'm thinking of going with the AX6 + motul600. I don't want to spend the money to upgrade to stainless steel lines unless I have to. I like to romp on Hwy36 and its a curvy road. I don't have the cash to upgrade to Akebono's. Is there anything I should be concerned about since I have non-sport brakes? I mean can the calipers fail under excessive heat?

Also gonna upgrade to the XP8's in about a month or so. I've got my wheels plasti dipped a dark gunmetal color so hopefully all the brake dust shouldn't be an issue. I'll be using it for mostly DD and will start with some light tracking.

I dig everything about the XP-8's myself, except the cost. Keep in mind I am very new to all this stuff, but was wondering why some other less expensive choices are not being tried out. For example I think EBC yellow stuff temp wise is only 150 degrees less than XP-8 (950 versus 1100) and I figure the cooling kit from Stillen is supposedly worth 140 degree (or 25%) difference from what I have read ... so they seem a viable option for half the cost. Or am I way off base ?

From what I've read the EBC uses a thin pad that wear out fast. And carbotech's use a different compound than anyone else, that is super rotor-friendly and the pads last for a long time. Just repeating heresy, could be worng.

Carbotech XP8™ (1108™)
A high torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range (200°F-1350°F+)

They are even better!

RE: Or am I way off base ? I hope not, I've done the same things for the same reason.



Carbotech Performance Brakes: Frequently Asked Questions

I can say from experience that the XP8's will squeal under normal driving conditions. that's what the 200F--> Minimum temperature is all about.

Some people might have methods to make them not squeal but between that and the brake dust... i'll stick with something else for street use.

.:tiphat:

Performance Friction Carbon Metalics is one more good option, they just don't make them for the sport brakes yet. They also don't advertise a temp range.

Dust is funny, after bedding the brakes the wheels changed color, thought I overheated the paint first and was WTF! Then I noticied it was just dust buildup. Kinda like the darker shade.

Cold friction for me feels about like stock to me. No issues here. Still not a single squeek out of the pads yet. I guess results vary. I've seen complaints about it on the forum and am still worried that it will start any moment.

^You are doing better than I. I now have a slight squeel. Very slight, and lots of dust. Cold braking is excellent.

Getting wheels to match dust color would be easier than cleaning them. The chances of me doing this are low.

the only thing turning me off the Carbotech AX6 is you either have to replace rotors or resurface them. I'd like a pad I can just swap in after cleaning the rotors. I can't find the PFC pads for the 370.

For aggressive street driving I would recommend the Mintex Extreme (sold by Stillen's Brake Pros devision). They wear well, handle 1100F (and even higher in my experience). They do dust quite badly when pushed to the limit but the dust isn't abrasive. Only downside is they are moderately expensive.

PFC has good street compounds but don't think they have this size yet.

XP8 is pretty aggressive for the street, I would use extreme caution if you attempt to drive this in the rain.

CL Brakes is good as a track day pad since it is swap friendly. Extended driving on the street is not recommended since the self lubricating properties only work at temperature. A day of 2 of street driving after the event can be used to scrub the rotor of the race compound so that you can swap street pads back in though.

Just about all the pads are going to require cleansing and rebedding. A thorough scrubbing with heavy steel wool is usually enough.

Supposedly, EBC Blue NDX do not require any of this. Supposedly.

Had 9700 miles on the rotors on stock pads. I just sanded the rotors and bedded the pads. Didn't even take the calipers off. Stuck me finger in there :eek: with a piece of sand paper on the tip and went in and out as I rotated the rotor slowly.

And yeah, week of normal driving looks like I haven't cleaned the wheels for a month or two. 5-10x the dust. This makes me think I'll be going through them quite a bit faster than the stock ones.

For the squeeling, I'd try getting them hot and see if it goes away after that. Have no idea if it'll work but that's what I would try. Any chance you got rust dust from wet rotors in them. Washed the car and let it sit before driving/drying?

I like XP8's, had them in my Alcons in my Audi. They seemed to make lots of brake dust though. That's what I plan to get when I need new pads. They did chatter and squeal some when cold though, and they really need to be warmed up before they really work well. If you pull out of the garage and need to do a panic stop before they get warmed up...well they won't grip too well.