Hawk HP+ all around on stock rotors?

[TmP]

Anyone running this setup?
How's the feel / NVH / dust?

[celica73]

I've got them on the front, feel is great (IMHO), really good bite, easy to engage ABS if you step on them, but easy to modulate at the limit too.

Lots of dust, but it seems easy to wash off. Lots of noise. Quiet after bedding, and heavy use, but increasing noise if they never get hot (mine don't get hot most of the time).

I've got HPS on the rear, and honestly, never could tell much difference than stock - except they HPS seem to be worse for rotor wear. At least they are quiet and don'd dust much.

[wparsons]

Do they even sell HP+ for the rear? They didn't have them at this time last year when I was looking.

What conditions are you going to run them in? There's probably a better pad for your usage.

[TmP]

Dedicated drift car / mountain / track toy.

[mx555]

I've got HP+ on both the front and the rear with stock rotors. Lots of noise on the street after track days, and lots of dust.
You're going to want to run some ducts if you're going to go balls out for the whole session.
I feel they're fine for low to medium speed tracks, but once you start hitting 100+mph they start to lose their ability to bleed speed quickly.
At ORP they had great bite and response, but started fading rather quickly.
At PIR they didn't inspire the most confidence at the end of the straights. Probably the combination of inertia and lack of vaccuum.

I've got brake ducts ready to go for the next track day so hopefully they'll be able to push until the tires get way too greasy but my next set will probably be DTC 30s.

My 2c



Edit: after PIR, the front pads were smeared but the rears looked great

[TmP]

Sounds good so far.
228 USD for the set sound about right?

[wparsons]

By the sounds of it, HP+ aren't enough pad for what you want. They're barely an upgrade over stock from what I've seen.

If it's mostly a track toy, then I'd look at the Project Mu Club Racers, Hawk DTC60's, Carbotech XP8's or XP10's, or whatever is comparable in the Winmax line.

The HP+ aren't a bad pad, but they're really still a street pad.

[Carolina Dyno]

My experiences-(no brake ducting)

The HP+ pad is a good pad for the naturally aspirated weekend warrior. Mediocre dusting along with "good" initial bite and wont fade to much if on the track.

HPs pads are good street use pads. They need less heat to perform at their peak, but fade when using them for anything more than street (track days).

Carbotech XP10, Heavy initial bite and hold, heavy dusting(pitting and staining of wheels). My choice for track only cars and high powered, fast race cars.

Biggest factor over stock braking system is the Castrol SRF brake fluid. Really allows the pad to work instead of the fluid boiling.

[ZDan]

HP+ have worked great for me tracking the S2000 hard for ~15 minute sessions on street tires. Won numerous TT's with them (not that the competition was particularly fierce).

I actually preferred them over XP8s. More initial bite (which not everyone likes) and I never had any issues on street tires.

HPS, on the other hand, were the suckiest suck pads I've ever experienced. Way way WAY worse than OEM S2000 pads. Felt soft and unresponsive on the street, and literally couldn't make it around the track for a single warm-up lap before starting to fade BAD. I'm easy on brakes but I literally could not keep these pads functioning even at a modest pace at the track on street tires. I would have to downshift early to try to help slow the car.

HP+? May be OK, even for some track work. *MAY* be OK... Depends heavily on individual drivers (even fast drivers vs. equally fast drivers can be very different on brakes). They do generate a lot of black dust (in my experience the dust is WORSE than CarboTech XP8 or XP10) and can squeal like mad on the street (more so than any other track pad I've streeted on).

HPS? Stay far away...

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by Carolina Dyno

Biggest factor over stock braking system is the Castrol SRF brake fluid. Really allows the pad to work instead of the fluid boiling.

You'll get pad fade with the stock pads long before the fluid is anywhere near boiling, but if you're swapping out pads then IMO you NEED better fluid at the same time.

I personally wouldn't run Castrol SRF (can't justify the cost vs other alternatives), but it's definitely good stuff.

[TmP]

Alright, thanks for the input guys.
What I am looking for are brake pads that reduce required pedal force first and foremost.
I hate the unresponsive stock pads. I want them to bite.
As for track use - in the forseeable future I will most likely only run Kart tracks (think fast autox type stuff).

[celica73]

Originally Posted by TmP

Alright, thanks for the input guys.
What I am looking for are brake pads that reduce required pedal force first and foremost.
I hate the unresponsive stock pads. I want them to bite.

My sentiments exactly, I just think there might be a better pad for the job, but I agree the stock pads are pretty horrible. I think I'll try Stoptech's next.

[TmP]

What do you recon is better than HP+ then?

My perfect pad would have high initial bite, low pedal force, low dust and low NVH. LOL
Anyone make those? haha

[wparsons]

Anything with high bite and low dust will be really harsh on rotors. I'd rather deal with lots of dust than eat up rotors.

As for Stoptech, those really aren't track pads either.

If you don't need a serious track pad, but need better heat capacity, more bite and minimal noise (mine are almost silent) try the Ferodo DS2500's or Project Mu HC800+. I have the DS2500's and haven't had any issues at all. They do dust quite a bit, but the dust comes off easily with a brush and water. Mine only squeal at light braking applications sometimes, and only when it's cold out and the pads are cold. If you properly bed them and don't overheat them they should be virtually silent. Mine almost never made noise until after the last track day, but I'm pretty sure I overheated them a bit that day.