I have made it a habit to check my front brake pads prior to track days with the (previously reliable) assumption that they would wear out first. I just finished my 3rd HPDE with my 8 (all stock) and the right rear pads are gone. One managed to get down to the backing plate without warning since the wear indicator is only located on the right front.

From now on, I will be looking at every brake pad, which I should have been doing anyway.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with this car?

 

if the backs wear out 1st it usually means that traction control is being used more.\
olddragger

 

'05 base 6mt = no TCS/DSC.

I do have electronic brakeforce distribution, so driving style may result in more rear use, but I have never heard of anyone going through rear pads faster. Mazda obviously didn't expect it . . . there are no wear indicators on the rear!

There was also quite a differential (1.5-2.0mm) left to right on the rear. When I change the fronts I'll see whether there is much of a difference.

Right now, I had to put some NAPA pads on the back just to be able to drive. Hawk HPS have been ordered and I'll cange them all in a couple weeks.

 

HPS is not a track pad. HP Plus is trackable.

 

^ Yep, and personally I disagree with the HP+ being a trackable pad too. I have had issues where I started getting buildup on my rotors from those pads. Just not a huge fan, Carbotech on the other hand

 

Yea, I will be going to track only XP-10s when I have to replace pads now.

 

Right now, I just need something streetable that will survive the track, on street tires. The OEMs were actually working well for me, they just didn't last very long.

I will eventually switch out to HP+ for track days and reserving the HPS for the street. My hope is that they are similar enough to not require rebedding when swapped.

Blue, did you get buildup on the track, or in daily use?

 

He got buildup on track use.

HP+'s are STREET pads that can take LIGHT tracking. Nothing more. If you are tracking do not waste your time on HPS's.

http://dpeweb.com/ProductDetails.asp...8&vehicleID=58

 

+1 on the carbotechs. As a novice, I ran XP8's at Gingerman and they were great.

 

Try a rear bias setup like VW or Z, they eat up rears like mad

 

As stated above, I bought pads that will be comparable to OEM in performance at a lower price. I only have 3 HPDE's left this season (in cold weather ; last weekend of October) and am not interested in buying 2 sets now or in using "track" pads all winter.

So back to the original question, has anyone gone through rears this fast in an RX8? I have read a LOT of brake threads on this forum, and the consensus seems to be roughly two sets of fronts to every set of rears, and some people even use a more aggressive compound on the front. Should I be looking for a problem?

 

No. I went through a set of rears this summer in 10k miles with 400 track miles. LOTS of tread left of the fronts. Rears are down to the rivots. Got the car in may with 10k miles on it and pad wear appeared even at that time.

 

that is really odd to me, I have used HP+, and I have had very even pad wear front to rear, and side to side. I take measurements with a tread depth gauge before and after each event. my front pads wore out a little faster, and were not usable, but there is still usable pad left in my rears. but my side to side wear was almost perfectly even.

I am planning on changing over to the XP-8's for next season though, I have read so much good stuff about them, and witnessed their stopping power on a similarly equipped 8 on track, and I am impressed.

 

Well, thanks for the info. I will definitely be keeping a closer eye on things out back. I am starting to be a little more aggressive with braking, so I should start using a true track pad, but that will have to wait until next year. Budget issues.

 

Well I believe this was a product of different compound pads. I was using stock (or whatever pads were on the car when I purchased it @ 10k miles) in the rear and I had XP-8s in the front on track days.

 

I've had issues with HP Plus not being up to par on other cars (Stage II WRX) while tracking. Yet, on the RX-8, the HP Plus has been extremely up to the task thus far, from my experience over the course of 6 track days.

 

I have had no trouble with the HP+ pads, in fact, I am quite surprised at how consistent they are, fade free and dependable lap after lap.

 

Personally I prefer the grip that the XP'8s provide.

 

Well dammit, you guys are costing me money with all this talk!

I just sucked it up, pulled out the credit card, and bought a set of HP+ for front and rear. I'll put them on 1 week or so before the event and bed them in, and then change over to the HPS when my winter tires go on.

I also pulled the right rear rotor and will need to replace it. It didn't look too bad in the wheel well (its the inner face that had the pad worn to the backing plate, so the light was poor) but once I saw it in sunlight, my mind was made up. It has 2mm of thickness left above minimum, so I will probably get it machined and hold onto it as a backup.

I have done 3 days at NHIS in this car. Both of the turns that I use trail-braking in (turn 1 in the south chicane, and turn 6 aka the bowl) are left-handers. If the EBD is doing what it should, that explains why my right side has more wear. All of my other braking zones are in a straight line.

I will gauge all of my rotors before and after the track event. Everyone complains about the HP+ eating rotors, but I don't see any hard numbers anywhere.

 

track pads, and track...are hard on rotors, it is just one of the costs. but man is it fun to close a huge gap on a high HP car in the braking zone after a long straight.

 

I also have not seen anyone complain about the HP+ eating rotors, I just don't like the pads.

 

i remember you saying somewhere that you were getting bad pad material transfer onto your rotors. correct me if I am wrong.

what rotors were you using, and did that happen with more than one set of pads, and does it not happen with the XP-8's.

 

From my experience, the HP Plus run fine at the track, then during the following couple weeks of street driving after a track day, there will be some compound deposit on the rotor (along with more noise), which then goes away after a couple weeks of street driving again (then they become quiet again) and the rotors clean up again.

 

i don't leave my HP+ pads on after the track weekend is over. I try to have them off the next day. they make too much noise, too much dust, and don't like low street driving.

 

The very reason why I use the pads is to avoid having to swap out pads before/after track days.. They last about 3-4 track days and 6 months of street driving from the wear rate I've been experiencing. If I were swapping out pads before and after track days, I'd be using a race specific compound for track days.

Cheers.