Went to my first track event @ Putnam Park a week ago and it was awesome, but my stock pads are dead probably about 10%ish left. btw I use ATF Superblue fluid

About to head out to Mid Ohio in the next month. Any recommendations of race pads, that are relatively cheap? I get 10% discount for carbotechs but their close to $300 for front/rear.

Looking for pads under $200, the hawk blues look good are everyone I've talked to have really positive reviews about it, except that it corrodes the wheels. Don't think I wanna deal with cleaning the wheels nonstop.

One of my friends said he can get me Axxis Ultimates for $100ish for both front/rear, and thats what he uses on the street, I've no clue how they will hold up on the track, and how they'll deal with fade. Anyone have expereince with the ultimates? He's never track, but has been to more than a dozen autox events with the axxis.

I'll probably head out to 2 more track days in the remainder of the year.

Any recommendations?


Thanks

 

I use Carbotech bobcats in the rear. These can handle any track day and daily driving, I've done 4 on them so far with no issues. They don't dust much and don't squeel. For the front I use stock pads during daily driving then switch to Carbotech XP8's the day before an event. They work great highly recomend them.

 

There's a lot of Hawk HP Plus haters on this board, but I really like the ability to run the same pad on track without needing to swap after your track day is over.
No fade at all, good bite and modulation. Drawback is the dust associated with the trackable compound during street driving as well as the accelerated rotor wear compared to stock pads. Rotors are holding up just fine after 4 track days and 8 months of street driving- no sign of major rotor wear. I'm on my 2nd set of pads. They took Sebring in stride.

 

Its all about how much heat you are generating....some aren't as hard on brakes and can use lower temp pads without turning them into melting smear...others, can't. So, you have to look at how you drive and where you run, to answer the question. Also, if you want to see those pad$ last, and have consistent braking, providing additional cooling (spindle ducts and tubing) is very important.

I think the advice above, about having a set of Carbotechs for track use and swapping before weekends, makes sense. Taking it further, when I ran open track, I always had a dedicated set of rotors and pads bedded in and ready to go, that I would swap to before running. In any case, always bring an extra set of brakes, if you are driving your track car to and from events...don't ask me why I believe this is important

 

I have Hawk Blues for the front for track days. The one time I used them they were great and after 5 sesions still look new. You can get away with a HP+ rear or even leave the stock rear pads on, they rears don't do much work.

 

I'm thinking as of now for hp+ front, hps rears. or go carbotech xp8's but their a bit pricy.

Anyone heard anything about the axxis? because I can get a real good deal on them


Thanks

 

I don't know that Axxis makes a higher temp pad, I think they are low dust, low noise, cold bite type pads. Autocross puts next to no stress on the brake pads, so that's not an indicator of what will work on track...I would bet they'd overheat and wear out very quickly.

I reread your first post and you say you are only running two more events this year, but at Mid Ohio. It also sounds like having a dedicated set of track pads isn't in your plans. So, you might want to go with a good high performance street pad with a really wide temperature range. If that's the case, you might check into Carbotech Bobcats or Porterfield R4-S. I like some of the Hawk race pads very much, but the street/track pads aren't my favorites, because of that corrosive dust (which will turn to some kind of mess with moisture) and noise in combination with not that great of performance or wear. I do have friends who love 'em, though so YMMV

 

You can always go with carbon Kevlar pads from Porterfield

Many professional racers use them.

 

I just ran Mid-Ohio last week, in something a little faster than an RX-8 , there are a number of heavy braking zones and stock pads will not last long there.

You could get away with stock if you only run 2-3 hot laps then take it easy for a lap, then go hard for a few etc.

btw that track kicks @ss. If you have not been there before you will have fun.

 

I can't recommend Axxis ULT for track use. I started to see uneven transfer layer on my rotor after four laps of Buttonwillow on my E36 325is with street tires. Similar power and weight to an RX-8, though smaller brakes. You'll typically get a pulsing pedal, or judder, due to uneven transfer layer if you overheat the ULT.

For track use, it's best to have dedicated track pads, as described above. Alternatives are a dual-purpose pad; the ones I'm familiar with are Ferodo DS2500 or Pagid Orange. With the 8's modest power, generously-sized front rotors on the Sport package, and good ability to do work with the rear axle (remember its short stopping distance people here like to talk about? - that happens by being able to get work done with all four tires), you should be able to work with that, even with R-compound tires. We're not as challenged as the 60-40 guys with the engine and trans ahead of the front axle.

 

Axxis=BAD

 

That's the point I was making... that even though it is only two days, Mid Ohio is pretty darn rough on brakes. The pads I mentioned have a pretty high temp range and on a stock car with a driver new to running on a track, should hold up ok.

Jason, time to clue us in on what you were doing at Mid Ohio

 

if you think $300 for pads is expensive, how much is it going to cost if you crash because your cheap pads weren't up to the task?

 

I used EBC YelloStuff 'R' front and GreenStuff rear on my Mini Cooper S with good results.

ATE blue is not any better than oem (at least not for bmw/mini oem fluid). Its just dyed with blue rather than yellow. BTW, since DOT fluid needs to be clear or yellow, ATE blue is not a DOT approved fluid.

Try Motul 600. Better.

 

I would love to... There is an embargo on part of the event until Aug 15th, it is fing killing me. I have some great pics and video but can not share it until after that date. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing those guys are still cleaning dirt out of one of the cars I drove. Note to self, next time let Wheldon by, it is only a matter of time before he owns you.

I can only talk about one of the four cars I drove that day, the Mugen Civic Si. Some pics of it are in here: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/bstockrx...60762405008208 I am not a Honda fan but this is a neat car. Very fast, handles great for a fwd and I think it looks pretty good for a ricer car. They did a very nice job the whole package.

 

That's not really fair. ULT are great pads for street and autocross, but not for track use. As far as all-around good driveability and performance, my opinion is that they're really hard to beat, especially for the price. The only reason I'd pick something else for street would be because I'm a total slacker when it comes to cleaning cars, and I could use a lower-dust pad.

 

I think I'll just get a set of XP8's and a set of rotors dedicated for track use. I didn't want to spend that money because, I just wanted something for Mid Ohio and was going to change my pads later on (before the next event), since I'm going to VIR and Putnam in a couple months down the line and didnt want to spend xxx amount of money at this very point, but I'll need them anyways.

 

I though it was just the HAWK blues that had corrosive dust, do other pads like the HP+'s also have corrosive dust?


and thanks a lot guys for the help

 

ATE Blue and ATE Yellow are the same thing

I've used both Motul RBF600 and ATE at the track and both perform equally in my experience. ATE is not DOT approved, yet it will outperform regular fluid.

 

The HP Plus do corrode the finish somewhat (pock marks are showing up on the finish of my wheels). Since I track about every 6 weeks, I just keep 'em on (lazy), as I simply bleed fluid, check fluids, torque lug nuts and check tire pressure as the extent of doing track prep (the simplicity of the matter is a huge reason why I bought this car to begin with).
If I were tracking less frequently, I'd use street pads fo the street (stock or Hawk Performance Ceramic) and a set of race compound for track days.

 

When you say "s set" do you mean front and rear or just front? I don't think it's necessary to get dedicated rotors. I run track events at least one weekend a month, and I have yet to see any reason to get dedicated rotors. Yes they dissipate the heat better and look cool but the extra money don't out way the benefits, at least at my level. If your tracking every weekend then that's a different story. Just to let you know if you do decide to get dedicated rotors just get the front, the rears don't do much, there is great brake bias b/w the front and rear. I have used my xp8's for about 5 track days and they are halfway gone. I have had the rear bobcats on for about 6 months and they have more then 75% pad left. Regardless you'll love the carbotechs.

 

Bringing an extra front and rear rotor makes sense, as one may fail/crack at the track and having an extra on hand to continue lapping and/or go home would be ideal.

 

I basically want to bed them on to a seperate set of rotors, and that rotor will be dedicated to the pad. My friend messed up his stock s2000 rotors because he kept transferring pads on the same rotor and both pads left their mark.

 

Yep. You may have two sets of pads on the same rotor without issues of pad transfer buildup...or not.

What can happen is that you get a build up of pad transfer that the new pad you've installed is incapable of scraping off or cleaning off before transferring it's own material (which is what bedding in pads is basically all about) and you end up with squealing, vibration, shudders and other fun stuff. Some try to blame this on "warped" rotors, but there really is no such thing...it's uneven pad transfer on the face of the rotor. Some pads are more likely to cause problems than others, based on their composition.

 

You may have solved a recent problem. I just did a track event last week, switched back to street pads and they squeal. Not while braking but while wheels are turning with no brake pressure. Maybe the XP8's deposited some material that the stock pads can't scrape off thus causing the squealing. Do you think I can try some aggressive stops to see if that alleviates the issue?