I need help narrowing down DD brake pads

[aznchris]

Okay. So I've been reading a lot of posts about what pads people use for DD, autox, and track, but I need help narrowing it down to my own personal use. I honestly don't know much about brake pad numbers. I only know of 'this and that has better or worse brake fade or squeal or wear than that or this'. I also use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ too if that helps. Here's the list I've come up with.

Use:
- Daily driving
- Spirited driving
- Canyon running

What I'm looking for:
- Preferably below $100 (I noticed the DS2500 is like $150, but if it's that good then )
- OEM or better fade resistance (I used the posi quiets on my old integra and I had fade from LA to SD in traffic. Kinda sucked. Never again.)
- Quiet (The only time I've heard brakes squeal is when they are low wearing on the metal indicator. I hate that sound. Other than that idk what to expect from a normal squealing brake pad)
- Dust? (eh, I don't care too much as long as it's not producing a pile of saw dust)
- Noticeably better bite than OEM
- Decent wear (if comparing to tire wear kinda, where Touring tires last forever, HP A/S are usually around 400 and wear ok, and Summers are pretty quick with their 200 wear. I'd want the HP A/S or better)

What I've come up with:
- OEM
- TRD (my initial choice since I felt like you couldn't go wrong with OEM+ pads, but if there's better bang for buck outside then )
- Stoptech Street Performance
- DS2500
- Hawk HPS 5.0
- Winmax W2-W4 (tbh, I don't know the difference between them besides what they are categorized as)

Fade resistance is probably the most important thing though because that means brakes basically just don't work after that. But I'm not even tracking or autox or anything. Canyon run at most and stopping behind people who drive 60 in the zoom zoom lane on the freeway.

Thaaaaanks!

[Nuts & Bolts Performance]

Never been a fan of the StopTech street performance pads.....they tend to leave pad deposits on the rotor.

The newer Hawk HPS 5.0 is a good "performance street" pad that I think would accomplish most of what you're looking for.

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[strat61caster]

Ds2500 are overkill for your needs and they're squeaky.

[aznchris]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Ds2500 are overkill for your needs and they're squeaky.

Sounds like everything in my life lol. I'm either buying top of the line or cheapest of cheap. When in doubt, I buy hella expensive. When I'm too confident, I buy hella cheap.

What would you recommend?

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by Nuts & Bolts Performance

Never been a fan of the StopTech street performance pads.....they tend to leave pad deposits on the rotor.

Not the first time I heard this about the street performance pads, Any idea if the sport pads are better?

[Nuts & Bolts Performance]

Originally Posted by Yoshoobaroo

Not the first time I heard this about the street performance pads, Any idea if the sport pads are better?

I have no personal experience with the sports pad. I kind of gave up on StopTech pads after having too many customers with issues.

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[strat61caster]

I wouldn't call Ferodo top of the line, they're an awkward in between of too aggressive for Street, not aggressive enough for track (great for autox imho). Everything else on your list I have no experience with but should fit the bill, I'd try TRD if you can get a good price (<$80/axle). There's another recent thread exactly like yours, read that one.

[Thefalls]

DS2500 are good pads if you can handle the dust and squeaks. I can't. lol!

I hear good things about the Hawks HPS 5.0 and Winmax. I haven't tried either yet.

I have driven a car with the TRDs and i didn't like them. They don't give you the right confidence level, as in the initial bite is confusing. They are not very "communicative".

You are always trying to find where it bites, if you get what I'm saying.
During spirited and canyon driving you need pads that respond well to your left foot or right one,

[HaXx]

did you rule out carbotech xp10 for street? theyre typically seen as a tried and true trackday pad, theres better, theres worse, but the xp10 is a pad that is a staple in the community, and many think its quite a treat using for dd too

[steverife]

I bought the DS2500 for autocross. They are actually a bit too much for my tastes for autocross, but they are really nice for my Tail of the Dragon trips. I think the squeal and dusting are pretty mild for an aggressive pad.

I haven't used the HPS 5.0, but I put the original HPS on a few cars before realizing that I hate them. I put Hawk LTS on my truck and they dust like crazy and have the same feel that I hate. Going forward, I'll only use Hawks that I can get for free.

[Muskoka800]

My understanding is that the StopTech Sport is just renamed Street Performance.
I installed Sport's before a HPDE day and bedded them in very well beforehand.
They were good for multiple 6-8 lap sessions at TMP. I'm no expert but they didn't fade.
Sadly they offer much less initial bite than the OEM pads. Okay on track but not pleasant for DD in stop and go traffic. The first serious braking event during my Monday commute was just plain scary.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by HaXx

did you rule out carbotech xp10 for street? theyre typically seen as a tried and true trackday pad, theres better, theres worse, but the xp10 is a pad that is a staple in the community, and many think its quite a treat using for dd too

I couldn't keep my XP10s bedded and they squealed like stuck pigs once the transfer layer wore off, I'd put AX6/Gloc R6 in a similar category of too loud for Street (louder than DS2500 I'm my experience). ymmv with enough hard use they stay bedded and quiet but my car is >90% street use and OP isn't doing any closed course driving. Great if tracking every other weekend or the car isn't a DD.

Carbotech 1521 and Gloc GS1 might be a good fit for that Street+ application.

[HaXx]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

I couldn't keep my XP10s bedded and they squealed like stuck pigs once the transfer layer wore off, I'd put AX6/Gloc R6 in a similar category of too loud for Street (louder than DS2500 I'm my experience). ymmv with enough hard use they stay bedded and quiet but my car is >90% street use and OP isn't doing any closed course driving. Great if tracking every other weekend or the car isn't a DD.

Carbotech 1521 and Gloc GS1 might be a good fit for that Street+ application.

i agree

i pad slap the front wheels with track pads for trackdays, but pad slap the oems back on after, for street again.

i have endless circuit compounds (jdm af) that are squeaky and dusty, but zero fade.

not that you are making this mistake OP, but a common misconception is that track pads bite harder, and stop quicker than oem. while they may slightly, the real purpose of track pads is their resistance to loosing stopping power when they get really hot from continuous lapping. oem pads literally perform than performance pads when you are on the street. squeaky brakes drove me crazy, and i have enkeis that i like to keep clean from dust.

[Subsonic]

I'm struggling to see your motivation for pads other than the OEM. Your list of Uses and "What I'm looking for" below indicates that the stock pads would be perfect for you application.

I doubt my experience is any different to other users on here, but when I tracked my car with standard road pads, I was able to get them to fade within about 5 minutes from cold. By "fade" I mean the pad material would overheat and lose their ability to create enough friction to stop adequately on the track when pushing the brakes hard. I actually can't imagine braking that much on a public road. Driving like that (for me) is on the limit and I would never drive like that unless on a closed road where I know each curve and braking marker very well - ie a racetrack.

Have you actually found that you need a higher temp pad for the street? I'm trying not to assume anything about you, but from the way you wrote your question you seem to have little experience with this car. It is not a Honda Integra, so applying the lessons learned from that braking system may not apply here, and certainly doesn't fit with my experience.

Also, why do you want more "bite"? Do you want more friction front or rear or both? Do you feel you would like to not have to push as hard for maximum braking? Do you know that increasing the pad material friction wont (materially) improve your braking performance?

Please help us out to understand exactly what you're trying to achieve with a different pad material.