XP10's fading at stock power?.....

[Xevuhtess7]

I have Carbotech XP10 on the front and XP8 on rear on my car currently. It's an entirely stock car on 245 RS3's. After a couple laps from ambient, they get some heat in them and bite very strong and smoothly. Nice. But that only lasts a lap or two. They start to fall off after that. They still stop the car pretty quick, but I have to put quite a bit more force on the pedal to do it, and the modulation is poor. It stays like this for the rest of the session (and day, aside from the first lap of the rest of the sessions).

My one point of reference: I've experienced fade with Hawk HPS on my old e36, and it was much more dramatic than what I'm getting now so I did not immediately jump to the conclusion that I'm fading the XP10's. I also had PFC 06 on the e36 which exhibited similar (but less pronounced) behavior to what I'm seeing with the XP10's on the 86.

I'm reasonably quick (~20 events under my belt) but I would think that XP10 and PFC 06 should stand up to stock power levels.... So the silly question is: am I actually fading these pads and not realizing it? Or is this just how track pads are?

[zdr93523]

What fluid are you running?

[cjd]

It's far less about power, more about how you're using the brakes (and that's not saying you're doing it wrong, a new driver won't carry as much speed as deep, etc. and will be easier on brakes).

It's very possible you would benefit from cooling. If you're consistently pushing that hard though, you'll find a good bbk to help budget as well as heat capacity (lots of analysis on AP Sprint consumables costs, and just how fast hard driving wears the stock brakes)
I've seen others have even more pad recommended, so I'm pretty sure it's possible, but I can't answer whether your experience suggests you need more pad.

C

[redlined600]

Why staggered pads? It's quite possible you're underworking the rear brakes thus overworking the fronts. I'd start with the same pads f/r.

[Xevuhtess7]

I'm using RBF600.

I'll probably try cooling ducts next. It's something I'll want to have later anyways regardless of what pads I end up with.

The carbotech person on the phone recommended staggered pads

Thanks for the tips! I'll report back

[CSG Mike]

Totally reasonable; you're fading the pads. Step up to XP12 or XP16.

Don't use staggered pads with this platform. CT's default recommendation is to stagger for safety, but it's a very generic recommendation that does not apply to this platform at a novice-intermediate level.

You may not realize it, but you're probably faster than you think. I'd be willing to bet you'd fade the brakes on a GT3 too.

[Xevuhtess7]

Well, a couple months ago I got a pair of XP10's for the rear to match the front, and still was fading. I definitely was able to trail brake a lot easier though.

I now have Velox ducts and it is better, but I was still fading towards the last 5-10 min of a session in 85 degree weather on Saturday at Thunderhill West. However the onset of fade is much slower now, and at its worst is not as bad as before. Sunday was 80 degrees and windy, and I drove the East track and barely hinted at fade at the end of the session, almost none at all. So next step will be to try XP12.

That whole slippery slope thing.....