Track Prep - Brake pads for my turbo 2017 PP BRZ Brembo's?
 

Good day all.

prepping for my first FATT at Summit Point this weekend. my brother advised i look at a set of fresh pads particularly the Porterfield R4's but i'm seeing a number variations.

quick facts:
2017PP BRZ with a Ptuning turbo kit with a GTX2867, low boost-330WHP on E85.

this will be my first track day with this new setup, and more of a shake down than anything.

looking for good bite-in with little to no fade, streetable pad, but not afraid of some dust or a bit of noise.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thank you.

CSG pads are fantastic, but bring $$$... GREAT bite and very consistent, cold/hot. IMO very streetable. Some noise and dust, but not nearly as bad as most. And they last a LONG time. I get 1.5x to 2x the track life out of them vs. others (Carbotech, ProjectMu, Winmax, etc). Recommend contacting them to get a specific compound recommendation for your wants/needs.

Is there anything twins related that CSG doesn't sell?!? :happyanim:

Endless MX72-Plus are another awesome choice for a streetable track pad. I'm using them right now on my BRZ without Brembos. Quiet and waaay less dusty than the Porterfield R4-S street pads I was running previously. Feel really really good on the street and they're very capable on track.

- Andrew

CSG pads were the first ones i looked into. And from what i was reading, they may have a compound that truly is optimal for the type of results and feel I'm looking for.. in the long run i'll probably get a set.. but you are 100% accurate, dat cost doe! looking at their charts and seeing what i would most likely go with.. well lets just say, 1500 bones is a bit hard to chew on (for a consumable component) when i'm just starting my journey of relearning my car and getting a feel of what i need for my evolving track/street/race use. i still have a bit of development that needs to be done on the car before im able to move into a CSG pad. (moving over to some DBA rotors? Brake ducts and coolers?, Aero?)

Thank you for the reply!

I had to place an order fast, so i went with a set of Porterfield R4's (non-S) this was based primarily off my brother's experience with a set he just did a track day with 3 weeks ago. that was on K24A2 swapped, race prepped NB Miata fitted with 4pot stop-techs. At right around $500 shipped for all 4 corners for the Porterfield's i figured i could see how they work for me VS my brother's track performance through next year's season. the plan is to pull the pads when not tracking, and have a good OEM Brembo replacement pad for the street. thank you for the suggestion of the Endless MX72-Plus's, sounds like it may be what im looking for in a street pad.

Well we have them in stock, and aren't located too far from you so it would be quick shipping. Just FYI.

- Andrew

Brakes are an area that many people overlook. A confidence inspiring brake pedal that optimizes braking performance without fade can yield lap time gain while increasing safety overhead.

A lot of race teams that transition to a CSG setup are often shocked that they're suddenly either going faster and/or having longer service intervals for what they thought was "just a consumable component".

An analagy could be made that fuel is "just a consumable" as well, and you already know the difference between running regular and premium fuel; the extra cost for premium is WELL worth it.

MX72+ is also in stock if that's what you want, but I wouldn't recommend that as a "one size fits all" for your type of setup. They'll be fine on the street but a little bit noisy for a street pad on PP Brembos.

Two things:

First and foremost, make sure that when you show up to your first track day and/or you're doing maintenance ahead of time, don't be changing things like brake fluid and pads the night before or morning of the event. Give it a day or two so you can go drive the car around and make sure everything is good. I had a buddy show up and forget to put his master cylinder cap back on tight. Either came out during his first session or on the way to the track. He borrowed mine to do complete the day.

Second, some feed back "bite" and feel. I used to really like pads that had crazy initial bite. I ranked pads based on that feeling when you first engaged them and that was about it. Now I like more progressive pads. I don't love pads that bite like crazy at first and change their feel as you press harder. I'd rather have a pad that engages more linearly based on you input.

I actually currently work in the greater DC area now, an our office is in Crofton MD, so not too far from ya. once i get to recover from this weekend and look at compiling the winter list of things to do to prep for next season, i'll have to stop by and see about those daily pads. thank you!

point 1. i have seen similar claims and posts... and would deam your pads as something i need to graduate to. as mentioned, my car is pretty much all new, to me, and will still be going through a bit more changes before its where i intend to stop modding it. its hard to see lap time improvement when i don't have a basis or frame of reference to compare to. also, it will be easier to see how long they last and fair in results too.

point 2. the fact is i just don't have as much funds as i would need to finish this project as when i started.. , and high dollar consumables that a newb like me would not see the efficacious results, especially when not competing, makes it hard to say that its a smart move at the moment... but sounds like its definatly the way to go when i improve the driver mod!


point 3. since I'm planning on next season being my first actual racing season, i was intending on swapping pads as part of my pre-event prep, and having a set of daily street pads.. thank you for the feedback on the noise.

LOL, exactly what im doing right now! lol.. but yeah i'll be driving the car to the track and have a support van close behind me with all of my tools incase i need to do any emergency repairs. but thank you for the advice and good points!

To your second point, i 100% agree. bite-in is but only one variable that i need to consider when looking at how the brakes behave during a track session. but being aware of, and experiencing it for real are two different things unfortunately, and i definitely need to get slot of seat time over the next season to figure out exactly what i want/need.

thank you for the advice!