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???

[erlrich]

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???

Interesting - I've only ever used blues, and I haven't had any problem with locking up; in fact, the only lock up I ever get is on the rear and I run HP+ pads back there. But then, I'm in a pretty heavy car...

And I just recently learned that Hawk doesn't make (or no longer makes) any of the new, better pads for my car. That really sucks...guess it's time to get a newer car

[Greg Gauper]

Porterfield will custom make a set of pads in the new Hawk material.
I just had him make me a set in the DTC60 compound to try on my H-prod Civic.

They also make my custom pads in the Raybestoes ST41 compound which has worked well for me. Bear in mind the brake loading on the Prod car is much higher than it was in IT trim.

FWIW - I could not get Carbotechs to work on really hard 'brake killer' tracks like Blackhawk or Road America. They worked well at easier tracks like Mid-Ohio, ORP, and Gratten. Biggest problem I fought was the higher pedal effort in the crappy OEM caliper design (lots of flex) coupled with bending of the backing plates after just a few laps.

But on tracks where they had plenty of time to cool, or were not worked very hard, I did like the modulation characteristics of the Carbotechs.

The custom pads are pricey, but considering they last much longer than the Hawk Blues I previously ran, they wind up being cost effective.

[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.

[shwah]

I would not recommend using the Hawk Blacks for road racing. The Blues are a common choice, and meet minimum standards to be a useful race pad.

As others mentioned, there are some newer pads that perform differently, but availability can be an issue since our econoboxes are not 'real' race cars and many of the modern compounds are not made in our pad shapes.

[DogDoc]

Anyone out there ever try EBC Yellow Pads?

[frosty]

erlrich, Cobalt Friction has pads for the 240

And I just recently learned that Hawk doesn't make (or no longer makes) any of the new, better pads for my car. That really sucks...guess it's time to get a newer car [/quote]

[boywonder]

+1 for the Carbotechs, I'm very impressed with them on my CRX.
But I also run Hawks on my street GTI and they've performed well during track days, though the longevity leaves a bit to be desired.

[shwah]

And I just recently learned that Hawk doesn't make (or no longer makes) any of the new, better pads for my car. That really sucks...guess it's time to get a newer car

Make them. Buy a pad that has the right size/shape to cut your pad out of them.

[ITA_honda]

+1 for the Carbotechs, I'm very impressed with them on my CRX.
But I also run Hawks on my street GTI and they've performed well during track days, though the longevity leaves a bit to be desired.

well...no kidding, you were the only one at the drivers school that went 5-8 car lenghts farther in to turn 12 before braking!! go carbotech!:026:

[Xian]

I ran Blues on my ITA CRX for several seasons... overall I liked their feel/bite and, despite other people's experience to the contrary, their modulation. The downside was that they did have a tendency to fade toward the end of a race I've picked up a set of the Raybestos ST pads and will be trying them next as several ITA Integra drivers I know swear by them. They're a bit more expensive but should last much longer than the Blues as well as have a better operating temp range.

Christian