Brake pad recommendations?

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

robharvey wrote:

On my M3, I use the Hawk HPS pads for street and autox and they are wonderful. I decide for HPDE events to have a dedicated set of rotors and pads primarily because of concerns I read about from using different brake pads (i.e. different compounds) on the same rotors. Not sure how valid it is. Mike Whitney would know much better about that (given his materials background).

Well unless it has to do with High Temperature Superplasticity of Zirconia Ceramic Composites I wouldn't know anything about it. Yes that was my master's thesis title. I have spare copies, anyone want to buy a copy?

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Thu Dec 08, 2005 9:24 am

Since Mike didn't "really" answer Rob's question:

A "non technical" hopefully not too far off the mark response based on my reading over the years:

Many of today's brake pads "interact" with the surface of the rotor material so that the braking is to some extent (maybe a large extent) "adhesive" rather than "abrasive". To do so the pad material needs to create a surface "coating" (not really a coating but I don't know the real term) on the rotors during initial use/bedding.

Since different pad materials create different rotor "coatings", having a track set means the rotors don't need to be "bedded" for each type of pad.

Another reason is that track use on many cars is very abusive to rotors and makes them "not very desireable" for street and autocross use even though they may still have some track life in them. Therefore, having a steet/autocross set of rotors that stays in "primo" condition for a long time is desireable (been there, done that).

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Thu Dec 08, 2005 9:27 am

Here is a technical explanation from Stoptech:

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedintheory.shtml

Lots of other good tech on that site.

robharvey · **Posted:** Fri Dec 09, 2005 12:26 am

SWEET!! Thanks for the explanation!

Thank God I didn't have to read Mike's thesis.... :sleep2:

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

One thing I've noticed from others comments is that if you stay "in family" you can get away with just swapping pads and not rotors. What I mean by "in family" is say, Carbotech. Use Bobcat/Panther for the street then just swap in the XP8-11 for track. Same vendor and lot of the same base materials. Hawk HPS for street and Blues for track. Not the best solution but swapping pads only is easier than also doing rotors.

On my C4 swapping from PFC to Hawk and back was a big mistake for me. That boundary layer built up on the rotor by the Hawk HP+ from street/autox. Once the season was done I went back to the PFC pads. Couldn't get them to bed in for crap. Have to resurface rotors. Some pad brand/compounds do not mix well at all with each other.

But if you're a novice at track events then you're forced to run street tires. So there isn't much point in getting really aggressive track pads. Just run something that you can leave on all the time.

The StopTech site has some good info as Dick pointed out. And if you have lots of money they have some nice brake parts...

DanDurusky · **Joined:** Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:31 pm **Posts:** 686

i've heard that you if you scrub the rotors a bit w/ steel wool to remove the bedded layer you can swap pads with no ill effects.

i've done this a few times including last weekend and it seems to be fine. dunno though.

of course this doesnt help if your swapping rotors to 'save' your daily rotors from track abuse

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Brake pad recommendations?

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