brake pads

[wepsbee]

Anyone with an opinion on types of brake pads to use. Have 95 Escort GT and have been using Hawk Blues and Blacks. Are these really neccessary in ITA or am I wasting money.

[ITA_honda]

Having a good set of brake pads is a good idea.

I recommend switching to Carbotech's. Just my opinion. They cost a little more than the Hawk's...but the difference is night and day!

no pedal fade, you can modulate them very well, they are very easy on rotors, and the life of the pads themselfs are amazing.

[erlrich]

Anyone with an opinion on types of brake pads to use. Have 95 Escort GT and have been using Hawk Blues and Blacks. Are these really neccessary in ITA or am I wasting money.

Hawk blues are pretty much the standard in IT. You sure don't want anything less, at least not on the front. There are no doubt better (big debate there), but I think most will agree those are the starting point for w2w racing.

[wepsbee]

OK, now I have Blues which have about 10 events, races and PDX's, on them. Tons of pad thickness left but surface looks a little abused. Is this normal due to the heat and is there still life in them as long as the thickness is there?

[ITA_honda]

OK, now I have Blues which have about 10 events, races and PDX's, on them. Tons of pad thickness left but surface looks a little abused. Is this normal due to the heat and is there still life in them as long as the thickness is there?

you're dealing with a car that is fairly light. it wont burn up brake pads fast. My civic in ITA goes through one set a season. (for me thats 12-14 races) there usually is about 50% life still left on them after the season. So I could pretty much do two years on a set of fronts (but that would be pushing the limit big time!

[wepsbee]

you're dealing with a car that is fairly light. it wont burn up brake pads fast. My civic in ITA goes through one set a season. (for me thats 12-14 races) there usually is about 50% life still left on them after the season. So I could pretty much do two years on a set of fronts (but that would be pushing the limit big time!

Thank you for the good info!!

[Chip42]

the Hawk blue, while well known and very good, is old. newer comppunds from Carbotech, Hawk, and others provide a lot more modulation. where blues give a lot quickly and give little more as you get deeper into the pedal, hawk DTCs and many carbotech compounds will have less initial bite but a lot more to offer when you ask for it. the Hawk MT-40 (I think) was also very good in this regard but is largely obsolete.

I suggest contacting hawk and discussing the DTCs, most likely the DTC-40 will fill your needs well on the front, while black or HPS pads should be adequate in the rear. ditto Carbotech but I don't know their compound names.

[joeg]

Dan--It doesn't matter how your pads look; I run Hawk Blues and they can looked all heat checked, etc. but if they still have material whereit is supposed to be and still stop the car, don't worry much.

Stock pads or shoes on the back of a FWD car are acceptable, but front race pads are very important.

They are consummables...budget accordingly, but my Blues last a long time (but sure create a lot of sticky dirt on the wheels!).

I am going with Carbotech Panthers next only because my Blues were a custom pad.

[rsx858]

I use blues all around and love them... I dont consider them to be a beginner pad as they are infamous (or at least being blamed) for flat spotting. They have a strong bite and are considered to some to be "On/off" Carbotechs by reputation are easier to modulate however require more force be applied to the peddle in general to reach threshhold.. Try different pads and use what matches your style.

My next set will likely be some of the newer hawk compounds that I have been told are lightyears better than the blues... anyone have experience with those???

[rhygin]

I have been using blues for the last three years (2 years of track days, last year racing) and I have had three pretty amazinfg lockups. What I found is that the brakes would warm up and have a strong initial bite before the tires were appropriately warmed up... resulting in loooooong ski marks. I was pretty aware of the need to really release the brakes when locked up... but I guess I did not do it enough.

I like em cuz i got them at a very fair price from planet miata. Though I would like to try a set of the Carbotechs if anyone has a spare set laying around.