Track Brake Pad Discussion Thread

[Teseo]

@CSG Mike

When winmax w2 will come on stock?

[Whooosah]

Brake Pad Manufacturer (F/R): Winmax W5/Winmax W5
Caliper (F/R): stock
Rotor Size (F/R - IE OEM or specify): Centric Premium/stock
Compound (F/R): W5/W5
Tires: Stock 215/45/17

Feedback:
I used these pads all around on my second track day at Portland Intl' Raceway. Being a newbie these held up perfectly. I upgraded from stock pads after smearing them on my first day. Being my first track pad these feel completely different from the stock compound. I rode around on them on the street for a week before the event to get a feel for it. Drive-ability on the street is not ideal and I didn't get a good chance to bed them in where I am. (Was hoping the first session would somewhat bed them) Lots of noise as expected and moderate amounts of dust. Modulation for regular street driving is quite difficult as they bite quite hard very quickly for daily driving. I was happy to put the stock pads for daily use back on as I don't drive aggressive at all on the streets.

Now for the track use which is what I bought them for, they worked great. I don't have anything to compare it to but I have no complaints. They were very consistent in threshold braking in the 2 heavy braking zones at the end of straights. They very easily overpower the stock tires and get into abs on the track so I had to get used to that and find the right amount of pressure to get max braking without engaging abs. Modulation on the track is much better and I was able to trail brake without any issues (w/pedal dance). New sticky tires will come when I can afford them and with this brake pad the car desperately needs them. I didn't take measurements of the wear after 3 15-20 min sessions but looking at them they barely wore. I was only able to get 1 or 2 fast laps without slow or fast traffic on track per session.

These pads are definitely a bit overkill for my setup and skill but I got them knowing I could grow into them as I got stickier tires and quicker on the track. So far they are doing everything as expected. No fade on relatively short sessions in the heavy braking zones. I was able to run the full sessions which was about 8-9 laps at speed and they worked consistently.

Looking forward to update with sticky tires so I can really put these to use and get the full potential out of them.

Scores:
Dusting (1=high-10=low): 6
Cold bite (1=low-10=high): 6
Hot bite (1=low-10=high): 8
Modulation (1=low-10=high): 7
Noise (1=extremely loud-10=quiet): 8 (not fully bedded)
Pad Lifespan (1=short-10=long): 7 (for a beginner-intermediate)
Does the brake dust with this combination damage the wheels/paint if not cleaned immediately? Doesn't look like it...Left my wheels dirty for a few weeks and cleaned up fine.
Brake ducts: (Y/N) No

[benzz280]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Your shop has no idea what they're doing if they let you set foot on track in this state, without some words of warning.
Your pads looks like they are smeared (cannot tell 100% without better pictures), and your fluid is boiled.

If you're going to the track, use race pads at the track, and upgrade to a better grade DOT4 fluid. We have several options.

@CSG Mike, are his rotors reusable assuming if it is still within specs? Im asking cos same thing just happened to me and Im hoping to reuse my rotors and just replace my toasted pads in the meantime with plans for a bbk in the near future.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by benzz280

@CSG Mike, are his rotors reusable assuming if it is still within specs? Im asking cos same thing just happened to me and Im hoping to reuse my rotors and just replace my toasted pads in the meantime with plans for a bbk in the near future.

Not ideal, but yes.

[benzz280]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Not ideal, but yes.

@CSG Mike, thanks for your advise, I will just use this opportunity to upgrade and resurface the stock ones and keep them as spare at the track.

[Colin86]

Looking for brake pad suggestions...

I drive HPDE's in the intermediate group and want a pad that'll not only hold up to the heat but be as reasonable on the street as possible. I had Hawk HP+ pads on my previous track car (00 celica gts) and they resisted fade well but the initial bite was more than I preferred. I like a pad with less bite allowing for more modulation and greater ease for heel-toeing. Also note my local track isn't too tough on brakes, but if I had to guess I'm putting down 240whp so there's that.

Thanks!

[OND]

What would you consider the next step up from Project Mu HC+? Carbotech XP10 maybe?

I am currently using the PMUs (thanks CSG) and I'm totally OK with the squeal and the dust. It is also pretty good on track, but I had to back off in braking zones a little after starting to smell brake pads on my first couple of sessions. In addition, I feel like my braking distances are slowly increasing during each session.

I am looking for a dual duty daily/track pad that will take the heat better and hopefully last longer, while not destroying brake discs. I am OK with dust and noise. I live in TX, so winters are very mild.

My impressions about the HC+ so far:

Brake Pad Manufacturer (F/R): Project Mu
Caliper (F/R): Stock
Rotor Size (F/R - IE OEM or specify): Stock
Compound (F/R): HC+
Tires: Primacy HP

Scores:
Dusting (1=high-10=low): 4
Cold bite (1=low-10=high): 8
Hot bite (1=low-10=high): 6
Modulation (1=low-10=high): 8
Noise (1=extremely loud-10=quiet):4
Pad Lifespan (1=short-10=long): 5??
Does the brake dust with this combination damage the wheels/paint if not cleaned immediately? (Y/N) N
Brake ducts: (Y/N) N

[ottoyu34]

Originally Posted by OND

What would you consider the next step up from Project Mu HC+? Carbotech XP10 maybe?

I am currently using the PMUs (thanks CSG) and I'm totally OK with the squeal and the dust. It is also pretty good on track, but I had to back off in braking zones a little after starting to smell brake pads on my first couple of sessions. In addition, I feel like my braking distances are slowly increasing during each session.

I am looking for a dual duty daily/track pad that will take the heat better and hopefully last longer, while not destroying brake discs. I am OK with dust and noise. I live in TX, so winters are very mild.

My impressions about the HC+ so far:

Brake Pad Manufacturer (F/R): Project Mu
Caliper (F/R): Stock
Rotor Size (F/R - IE OEM or specify): Stock
Compound (F/R): HC+
Tires: Primacy HP

Scores:
Dusting (1=high-10=low): 4
Cold bite (1=low-10=high): 8
Hot bite (1=low-10=high): 6
Modulation (1=low-10=high): 8
Noise (1=extremely loud-10=quiet):4
Pad Lifespan (1=short-10=long): 5??
Does the brake dust with this combination damage the wheels/paint if not cleaned immediately? (Y/N) N
Brake ducts: (Y/N) N

I had my second set of hc+800 mated with dba 4000 rotors. I felt there's much better stopping force and more consistent braking performance due to better cooling. For pads, check out endless mx72. They are a rated a notch higher than pmu hc in the hybrid pads range.

Sent from OnePlus 3

[EAGLE5]

PFC 08 last forever.

[OND]

Originally Posted by ottoyu34

I had my second set of hc+800 mated with dba 4000 rotors. I felt there's much better stopping force and more consistent braking performance due to better cooling. For pads, check out endless mx72. They are a rated a notch higher than pmu hc in the hybrid pads range.

Sent from OnePlus 3

Thanks, yeah I saw endless when doing my initial search, it was just too expensive for me.

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

PFC 08 last forever.

Didn't even know they had pads for BRZ. I'll check them out, thanks.

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by OND

Didn't even know they had pads for BRZ. I'll check them out, thanks.

Expensive though.

[slava]

I am looking to upgrade pads on my BRZ for the first time. I did two track days on the oem ones that had about 16000 miles on them and they feel like crap now. I'm looking for something well balanced for street/track. I've read a few pages on here and it sounds like people are pretty happy with the PMU HC+800's, Ferodo DS2500's, and Carbotech XP10's. Out of those three it seems like the Ferodo's may be a good choice for street/track. Tbh I didn't really have a problem with the stock pads other than them not lasting very long. The setup on the car is mild, coilovers, headers, 245/40/17 Direzza ZII's, etc. Mainly looking to upgrade fronts but open to changing rears too. What do you guys think?

[Pat]

I think you should buy my very lightly used DTC-60s.
Or you could go with a compromise pad. As long as you go into that with your eyes wide open recognizing the downsides, the DS2500 is a good option.

[slava]

Originally Posted by Pat

I think you should buy my very lightly used DTC-60s.
Or you could go with a compromise pad. As long as you go into that with your eyes wide open recognizing the downsides, the DS2500 is a good option.

Why would I be compromising with the others? Why are you selling? What are the downsides to the DS2500?