Article: How to Choose the Best Street and Track Brake Pads
 

Hi Guys,
I wanted to post a link to an article I recently wrote about how to choose street and track brake pads. I know this has always been a popular topic on the forums, and one that creates a lot of confusion.

As a representative for some of the top brake manufacturers in the aftermarket for the past 7 years, I’ve had the chance to address this topic in countless conversations with customers online, over the phone, or in person. Many of those conversations took place on this site over the years. Until now though, I’ve never had the time to pull my thoughts together and present them in a cohesive manner.

My hope is that this article will prevent some of the repetitive “what are the best brake pads?” questions we’ve all seen a million times. With a fundamental understanding of this topic in hand, we can hopefully elevate future conversations on this topic to a higher, more productive level.

I’d post the article here in its entirety, but it would probably take me 20 posts! Thanks and enjoy.:tiphat:

How to Choose the Best Street and Track Brake Pads

Jeff Ritter

Jeff,
When are you guys going to list a 370Z application? Or would we just get the G37 ones?

Thanks
Mike

Awesome post + article. +1 Rep and thank you for joining the forums.

Thoughts on good HPDE pads for the stock calipers on the 370z? I was leaning towards XP10 front and XP8 rears...

Mike,
G37 and 370Z are the same. I'll get the 370Z listings up on the site (I swore they were up there). Much thanks for the catch!:hello:

RCZ,
If you're talking about the Sport Akebono brakes, the Ferodo DS3000 on the front and the DS2500 on the rear would be an excellent setup.

I don't think they're up on our site yet, but one of my guys will be adding them shortly. Below are part#'s and retail pricing. You can buy these from any Ferodo reseller (preferably a forum sponsor). They are in stock, and we supply all of the resellers in the USA.

Front:
FCP4172R
$323.22

Rear:
FCP4173H
$182.41

Also, much thanks for the kind words about the article. :)

OK, I gotta ask;

wut's teh b3st breaks for mah Zee?

lol...


I'm happy with the stock pads/rotors w/ sport package. The only thing I'd do in that area is getting lighter, slotted rotors, which along with that would be pads and, though I'm doubtful, maybe calipers. But, it's pretty far down the wish list...

I tried the 2500's on my 06 STI and wasn't really happy with the results. Maybe the 3000's will do the trick. Also, I know the Carbotechs are noisy and dusty, but they are great and cheaper.

Thanks for the part numbers :)

For everyone too lazy to read the article I'll summarize:
 

YOU WILL NEED TWO SETS OF PADS. ONE FOR THE TRACK AND ONE FOR THE STREET.

What about high performance street pads? HEY. DON'T EVEN GO THERE!

He used caps so you know he's right. Err...wrong. Its more about compromise... you "can" run race pads on the street if you are willing to put up with the noise and dust and crappy cold bite :)

wow...that hurts...:ugh:

all i was trying to say is that when i had my porterfield R4's teenage girls would laugh at me as i screeched up to stoplights...

and the dust would dirty my pretty G35...:mad:

i'll never use caps again. not even to begin a sentence.

Psh.. Cheap excuse to not have to use the Shift key.:rolleyes:

haha, don't get hurt. Let them laugh, what do they know anyway! what does anyone know! leave me alone...I swear...they are racing pads...sigh. Don't judge me...

lol @ "not even to begin a sentence"

Relax, not personal and more of a joke. Its just the way I roll.

Too funny! Play nice boys.

If you can dance like this little guy, teenage girls won't care at all if you have screechy brakes! :ughdance:

Seriously though, it just depends on the person. Some people would rather deal with noise, dust, and rotor wear on the street, just so they don't have to spend their Friday night before the track day swapping out pads. I'm one of those people. I used to swap pads constantly, but after 10 years of it...it got old. I don't put many street miles on my track car though, so it's not a big deal. If I had a long commute with it every day, I'd probably still be changing out my pads a lot more frequently. To each his own...just depends on your situation.:tup:

I'm over it:cool:

You know...there's one positive to having squeaky brakes... its like a squeak-nod for those other track goers out there that recognize immediately why your brakes squeak. It always seems to spark up a conversation when another enthusiast comes up to you and says "track pads eh?" I've met a few people that way.