which brake pads?

[phm14]

I'll be running the same Carbotech XP10/XP8 combo I used on my S2K and NC Miata for track. Great bite, good wear and the dust isn't corrosive. I put 15K miles on the NC, including 15 track days @ TWS and H2R, all on the same set of CT pads. Factors of vehicle weight, driving style and track layout will all affect pad wear. Don't forget to upgrade you brake fluid for track duty.

[Darksword0]

I'll probably run Hawk HP+ with some Brembo slotted rotors. No need for a BBK with this car unless you start making +450hp. Better pads and rotors>BBK all day!

[ubersoph]

Anyone selling the HP+ pads for this car yet? I can't seem to find a PN for this car yet.

[JRitt]

I wrote an article on choosing pads that may be helpful to some people. It discusses the various types of brake pad materials, what to look for, and what may suit you depending on how you plan to use your car. This particular article isn't brand specific. It is more geared towards figuring out your brake pad needs and how to meet them. You can read it here.

[JRitt]

As for specific pads for the FR-S/BRZ, I believe the compounds below are very well suited to these cars.

Street/AutoX/Drift/Canyon Carving

Ferodo DS2500: These are extremely popular in the WRX/STI/Evo world. They're a great high performance pad that can be used for street or autoX. They have solid bite, reasonable dust, low noise, and are fairly easy on discs. Very good value for the price.
Part#FCP1639H

CL Brakes RC5+: Sintered pads. Good match on the BRZ/FR-S if you plan to AutoX your daily driver. High bite, low dust, hard pedal feel since they aren't very compressible.
Part#4166 17.0 RC5+


HPDE/TT/Race

Ferodo DS1.11: Endurance pad that will last a very long time on the FR-S/BRZ. Extremely consistent performance, flat torque curve, great wear rates, and no vibrations or judder with discs. Expensive, but the extremely good wear rates make them a good value. I had a customer tell me he had 50% better wear rate with these vs. the Carbo XP10.
Part#FCP1639W

CL Brakes RC6: Sintered race pad. High mu, low compression, useable in wide range of track conditions. Many customers have told me they find these similar to the PFC01 compound.
Part#4166 17.0 RC6

CL Brakes RC6E: Sintered endurance compound. Slightly lower mu than the RC6, and share other characteristics with the RC6. They are very expensive, but have fantastic wear rates. When you do the math on track hours vs. price, they actually aren't any more expensive than other choices.
Part#4166 17.0 RC6E

As Dave mentioned above, I generally don't advise people to run their street pads on the track. If you decide to do so, it is a compromise. In the long run, most find that it is cheaper and more effective to swap pads out for track days, time trials, etc.

That said, the DS2500 and RC5+ are probably the two pads on the market that are closest to a dual-purpose street/track pad for the BRZ/FR-S. Again though, you'd be better off just swapping before events if you want optimum performance in both areas.

You can search NASIOC, EvoM, Lotustalk, etc. for reviews on the pad compounds above...lots of feedback in those places. The fronts are available immediately. Rears are in process, but it would be absolutely fine to run any of these with the OEM rears on the BRZ/FR-S. Feel free to PM or email me if you're interested in any of these. I'm actually looking to get some of these on the BRZ/FR-S asap so I can tailor my recommendations to other customers in the future. I'm happy to recommend something based on your intended goals/needs. Hopefully that is helpful to some of you!

Anyone selling the HP+ pads for this car yet? I can't seem to find a PN for this car yet.

Hawk front= HB432 (These are available in the full range of Hawk compounds)
Hawk rear= HB671 (Currently only available in HPS and Perf. Ceramic).

I can get these for you if you need them. We have been a Hawk reseller for a very long time. Thanks.

[spiller]

I have used hawk HP+ on one of my supras and they were terrible on the street. no bite when cold...at all. Excellent for the track though.

[ZDan]

Honestly never got the fascination with "staggered" brake pads. Rear brakes can get as hot as or hotter than fronts, and factory bias is usually OK.

Everybody in S2ki uses some form of staggering (like XP10/XP8). I've always used the same compound front and rear, even with no ABS no problemo. Never saw the point in going with less capable pads in back...

For a stock FR-S/BRZ car, I'd probably see how it went with HP+ front and rear for typical track days. Probably sufficient.

[spiller]

^^^ I couldnt agree more. Some people like to use a pad that starts to "go away" in the rear with front engined cars but ive never seen the point. Much better retaining an even playing field and then using a pressure control valve if you want to adjust bias.

I think the HP+ would easily be enough for this car. I know the brakes arent huge but its a light vehicle. As I said, I used HP+ on my heavy Supra at a race track which is perhaps the hardest on brakes in Australia - 3 very heavy stops in succession on a 2 mile lap length.

[ubersoph]

Originally Posted by JRitt

Hawk front= HB432 (These are available in the full range of Hawk compounds)
Hawk rear= HB671 (Currently only available in HPS and Perf. Ceramic).

I can get these for you if you need them. We have been a Hawk reseller for a very long time. Thanks.

Damn. Thanks JRitt - I'd actually make an order right now if I could get HP+ on both front and rear. Otherwise I know my driving style bakes HPS pads on track...

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Honestly never got the fascination with "staggered" brake pads. Rear brakes can get as hot as or hotter than fronts, and factory bias is usually OK.

Everybody in S2ki uses some form of staggering (like XP10/XP8). I've always used the same compound front and rear, even with no ABS no problemo. Never saw the point in going with less capable pads in back...

For a stock FR-S/BRZ car, I'd probably see how it went with HP+ front and rear for typical track days. Probably sufficient.

I tried equal pads on the S2K, rear ABS activates before the front so if I want to threshold brake I can't use all of the front brake available.

Same problem with the other cars I've owned, especially ones without ABS or ABS removed.

So front pads are WRX and rear are 2010+ LGT for sure. Good news!

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by ubersoph

Damn. Thanks JRitt - I'd actually make an order right now if I could get HP+ on both front and rear. Otherwise I know my driving style bakes HPS pads on track...

I bake HPS pads before I'm out of my driveway.





I don't actually have a driveway, but I really dislike HPS pads for any use including DD. Hawk's track pads are fine though.

Equal pad types usually works well on Subarus, but they're usually pretty front biased.


- drew

[JRitt]

I bake HPS pads before I'm out of my driveway.

Hahahaa...I'm with you Drew! I would never even consider them for track use on my 2100 lb., 116hp Miata.

As for HP+, you'd be far better off with the DS2500 or RC5+...higher temp. range, less noise, superior feel, etc. Being in the brake business since 2003, I've run probably 40-50 different pad compounds over the years on my various cars (Integra Type R, 350Z, Miata, C5Z06, Legacy GT, Acura TL, RSX). I've tried production compounds, as well as many prototype compounds that never made it to market. Hawk has some nice compounds, but the HP+ just never did anything for me.

[ubersoph]

Hmm, the thing is I'm going to do like 2 track days this year - the rest of the time I'm doing autocross. I'm not sure it's worth me getting a really dedicated set of track only pads for how I'm going to be using the car.

Any other recommendations for a mostly street/autocross car that occasionally sees track time?

[Racecomp Engineering]

The Ferodo 2500s Jeff recommended would suit you well. Great pads. I've never tried the RC5+ but they sound intriguing.

I agree with Jeff on HP+ as well. I think you could get similar performance or better with less noise from another pad.

- Andrew