what kind of brake pads do you use???

[Pedal]

just curious what kind people are using.

i just bought slotted and cross drilled rotors for my rx7 and am looking for same good pads. i was going to get the HAWK HP pads but, i was reading about them and it says that they cause cracks in the rotors (now i know this is a common occurance, to an extant but i what to prolong the rotor life as long as possiable.

[Spyder]

hawk pads are racing pads and are VERY agressive, the only hope you have in protecting the rotors against complete distruction is cryo treating. you can get some green stuff's they arent to bad on rotors. there are also the axxis ultimates. to be honest unless you often do performance driving or tracking, you dont need anything as agressive as hawks, i had them on my 240 and they stop really well once they are warm.

[B16a2 Civic]

the ones at autozone

[Pedal]

yeah spider that is what i was worried about, i am not getting them. i was researching the greenstuff pads b/c i herd that they were good. i will look at the axis pads

[yudalicious]

First of all, brake pads don't make rotors crack, "cross drilled slotted" rotors crack because they've been weakened structurally. Chances are, you bought rotors that were cast as solid/blank rotors and then were drilled and slotted, which significantly reduces strength (and I don't want to beat a dead horse, but do some more reading on slotted/drilled rotors).

what kind of Hawk pads?
HPS-good street pad, dusts a bit, not very noisy, ok auto X pad, not at all rough on rotors
HP+ - better autoX/occasional lap day pad, dusts alot, but still works as a street pad to get your daily driver to the track, more aggressive on rotors than HPS.
Hawk race pads, blue/black - full race pads, not streetable, very aggressive on rotors

[Pedal]

i said it was the HP+ and the rotors really have nothing to do with the cracks i am talking about

this is a quote straight off hawks webpage

Use of these or any high-coefficient/high temperature pads will, over a period of use, create -heat checks- or small cracks in the rotor surface. These generally will occur only on the front rotors. These cracks should be monitored on a regular basis as they will eventually widen and/or extend toward the rotors outer edge. Cars without brake ducting (i.e., showroom stock) may see this process occur even faster. With continued use, heat checked rotors could shatter. Heat checked rotors should be replaced before cracks reach approximately 1-inch from rotor edge (or if cracks grow excessively).



i have done research and the sloted and crossdrilled rotters. the comment about rotors was just an FYI as to why i was looking at getting pads

[yudalicious]

of course, using any sort of brake pad "weakens" the rotor (no matter what brand, compound), hence the rotor is more prone to cracking. Using more aggressive pads speeds up this process. The use of brake pads do not directly CAUSE the rotors to crack, but eats away the rotors (and take into account high heat and firction) which weakens the rotors (and that is why I said in my last post how aggressive pads are). I should have clarified what I said in the above post when I said pads don't exactly "cause" rotors to crack.

Which is why it is very important to buy rotors that are not ALREADY weakened by drilling/slotting. Of course, if you're using street pads then I think they will be ok, but if you want to use more aggressive compounds and want to track your car, then I would venture to say those rotors will crack pretty fast.

[Spyder]

there are 2 different trains of thought on the whole thing,

1)Use more aggressive brake pads and QUALITY oem style (solid) rotors. effectively increasing the drag co effiecent or...

2)Use more aggressive rotors and QUALITY pads, again.. effectively increasing the drag co effiecent

both options have pros and cons.

2)

[yudalicious]

there are 2 different trains of thought on the whole thing,

1)Use more aggressive brake pads and QUALITY oem style (solid) rotors. effectively increasing the drag co effiecent or...

2)Use more aggressive rotors and QUALITY pads, again.. effectively increasing the drag co effiecent

both options have pros and cons.

2)

since in today's world pads do not outgas anymore, the only real function drilled holes serve is to reduce unsprung weight... the slots effectively "shaves" a layer of pad material off, keeping the pad fresh, perhaps that's what you meant by increasing drag coefficient (or rather, friction).
for 2) i would like to add that people who are using this "train of thought" are probably using bigger brakes and the longer lever arm by the bigger calipers farther away from the center of the rotor to generate more brake torque (which is what stops the car) to compensate for the comparatively less aggressive (lower friction force) brake pads. Again it is important to use quality rotors.

edit: i am using hawk HPS (hardly an aggressive compound) and brembo blanks, and they have served me well for a street car, dusts quite a bit though, tht's my biggest complain with them. I am going to run hP+ next time.

[Spyder]

since in today's world pads do not outgas anymore, the only real function drilled holes serve is to reduce unsprung weight... the slots effectively "shaves" a layer of pad material off, keeping the pad fresh, perhaps that's what you meant by increasing drag coefficient (or rather, friction).
for 2) i would like to add that people who are using this "train of thought" are probably using bigger brakes and the longer lever arm by the bigger calipers farther away from the center of the rotor to generate more brake torque (which is what stops the car) to compensate for the comparatively less aggressive (lower friction force) brake pads. Again it is important to use quality rotors.

edit: i am using hawk HPS (hardly an aggressive compound) and brembo blanks, and they have served me well for a street car, dusts quite a bit though, tht's my biggest complain with them. I am going to run hP+ next time.

explaining it in person and explaining it in text is sometimes difficult, you got what i meant

[Pedal]

yes i believe wew are all on the same page....anyway tahnks

[green91]

I run cobalt friction gt sport pads and love them. They are nearly impossible to fade out, even on stock diameter rotors and very rough driving in the mountains. they dust ALOT though.. and are very rough on rotors. i have no complaints though.

[DrivenMind]

I run Hawk HPS Plus pads on Brembo OEM blank rotors, with Motoul RBF 600 DOT 4 Racing brake fluid. A similar setup worked really well on my old Maxima, so I got the same set up for the Corolla. Unfortunately we had a problem installing the new brake master cylinder, so now there is more pressure in the rear calipers than the front under braking, meaning they lock up first (a tad scary). Also the pedal is really really mushy, and I don't have the money to have a professional look at the car at the moment (or for the past 3 months for that matter).

[green91]

thats your proportioning valve

[neontuner95]

Im gonna be looking into getting cross drill slotted rotors and are considering the axxis brake pads.

[b18hb]

hawk hp+ on brembo blanks with the ate superblue fluid.

there is a LOT of noise, and a LOT of dust, but the brakeing performance is PHENOMINOMAL. plus, no heat issues to worry about. the trade off is definitely worth it.

[Trey]

I've been using Hawk Pads for years and recommend nothing else. You will not have any problems with cracked rotors with Hawk HPS or HP+ pads. The blues are the ones to watch out for but that is a track only pad. I just put a set of HP+ pads and PowerSlot rotors on my STi yesterday for an upcomoing track day and it's stops like a totally different car.

DO NOT waste your money on any of the EBC pads, green or red, they both suck and fall apart.

Also, stay away from cross drilled rotors. Just get the slotted ones if you must. X-drilled will crack more easily as someone has already mentioned.

[DrivenMind]

thats your proportioning valve

any recommendations as to how to adjust it?
it's adjusted by the small screw sticking out of the brake MS right?

[BTEC]

I USE "PIT WORK" FROM JAPAN.

[latoilette]

autozone duralast..comes with lifetime warranty and they are cheap.

[static]

I went with some Axis pads for my slotted/cross-drilled rotors. They are ceramic and grinded a little at the start but other then that they work great now. Stop on a dime.

[wantboost]

endless

[David88vert]

I've had multiple RX7's (all bodies), and have run Hawk and EBC pads on both the track and street.

For your RX7, get the HPS if you are not aggressive, do not go to the track, and are afraid of brake dust.
Get the HP+ if you want better braking and don't mind cleaning your wheels.
Do not get Blacks or Blues. I've run Blacks on the street.

If you have OEM rotors, the heat from the pads will not cause them to crack. Even on track use. I've used Blacks on stock rotors on the track, and they didn't even come close to cracking. PM me if you want a lot of RX7 braking information.

[Jtultra]

I currently have cross drilled and slotter rotors with Axxis ultimates for over a year now. I feel that my brakeing has greatly decreased due to wear and I've ordered stoptech slotted rotors for the front, stoptech stainless steel brake lines, Hawk HPS pads, and Motul DOT 5.1. The thing I hated about Axxis ultimates the most is that they dust like a mother fucker. I'm lazy and I hate cleaning my wheels, so I have some brake dust stains. I really freaking hope the hawks pads have less dust

[Batman]

I ordered the GREEN STUFF i'll post my opinion on them as soon as i put them on!

[The Ren]

Im using Matrix metal pads in the rear and hawk pads in the front..I have stillen slotted rotors in the rear and powerslot slotted rotors in the front..

[3.5altman]

yea i heard ebc pad and rotors are the shit

[bigfred706]

AEM are good brake pads

[down_shift]

I'm running KVR Carbon Kevlar brake pads on solid rotors. They have been really good on the street but I am going to replace them with a set of Hawk HP+'s in a couple months.