dang, how come the search function doesn't work? I usually get all my answers from there without having to wait........... anyways, what are the best brake pads for daily driving? I'm mating them with normal brembo rotors...... TIA

 

Hawk street pads

 

I was very happy w/ my Hawk HPS pads and Brembo Blank/solid rotors

 

Andie from Carbotech recommends Axxis Ultimates.

I'm using Porterfield R4S and have no real complaints, but I'd give the Ultimates a try next time for the $30 I'd save/set.

 

Whats the website for them, or any place that stocks good priced pads?

 

http://www.carbotecheng.com/

 

Daily driving? Hawk HPS. They also have the rears available.


[Modified by Dozed, 1:18 PM 4/2/2002]

 

Are the Axxis metal masters the same as the Ultimates?
I've had this combination of the metal masters with the OE Brembo rotors for the past year. Real happy with the set-up but I've been hearing squeaking recently whenever I break. It's been around 10K miles or so with moderate braking and no track time. Is it time to turn the pads? I don't see any visible warping or rusting of the rotor yet.

 

No, MMs aren't the same as Ultimates.

Going by what Andie (and most people in the competition forum) say, MMs are a street + pad, whereas Porterfield, Hawk and Ultimates can handle some track duty.

Andie gave me the following opinion about the three main types of pads mentioned here, for street use:

Ultimate > Porterfield > Hawk.

Porterfields perform slightly better cold, but squeak more. Don't remember what deficiencies he mentioned for Hawk HPS.

 

so the Porterfields squeek a little, and there's basically no downside to Hawk HPS pads? That sounds good to me. Do the Hawk HPS pads perform better than the OEM Nissin pads? Do they release a lot of brake dust or about the same amount of dust as stock OEM pads?

 

The order is 1st - Ultimates 2nd - Porterfield R4S 3rd - Hawk HPS

Hawks should be noisier than either Ultimates or Porterfield, from what I re-read in my e-mail.

Porterfield and Hawk should have similar abilities, w/ Porterfield still being slightly better.

More a question of do you want to pay $100 for front pads and $70 for rears from Porterfield, or go w/ $63 Ultimates up front and R4S in the rear.


Anyhow, I'm just trusting Andie. I only have experience w/ OEM, EBC (SUCK), and Porterfield.

 

I've gone through stock pads. Currently using r4s's, and have some hawk hps's on deck.

I'm excited to see how the hawk's perform, as I love the r4s'. The r4s is noisy sometimes, squeaky sometimes, but grabs good all the time.

Tom

 

Right now, I have Hawk HPS front, AEM rear and Brembo blanks on four corners. The reason I didn't get Hawk HPS rear was that they didn't have it back when I change my pads. Anyways, the combination works find for me, but not great. When cold, the Hawk HPS can be a bit noisy and doesn't have good breaking feel. However, they do heat up to operating temperature quickly. Oh, by the way, I have a 17" wheels and they do require more breaking force than stock. Anyways, what I am trying to say is, they work fine for me for my daily driving.

 

Exactly.. I recommend this setup 100%

I now have Hawk HP+ pads, but don't recommend them for daily driving, as they are a little harsh on the rotors, but excellent cold/hot braking power.. I have AEMs in the rear (made by Nissin), at the time Hawk didn't have any for the rear..

 

I just recently installed my Porterfield R4-S pads, ($140 shipped brand new) and there is no squeaking what so ever. I just applied some anti-squeak compound, but the bite is great. It seems like the initial "cold" bite isn't great, but after you get on the pedal things definitely start slowing down. I'm also running Castrol LMA GT fluid, and SS Lines. It's somewhat expensive, speaking of the pads, but the feel is extremely nice!

 

My setup is:

Brembo blanks
r4s
goodrich stainless lines
motul 600

this is the best braking set up for the $$, imho.

wax,
give the pads some time, they will squeak and grind some.

Tom

 

Motul is NOT recomended for street use....

You must change it at least every 6 months... it absorbs water real quick.

And same for the SS lines.. make sure you look them over every 6 months.. they are more prone to developing problems.

They are not "put it in and forget about it" items, thats for sure... but work real well as long as you take care of them, and keep on them.

 

Here's what I am running:

ITR 5-lug conversion
Brembo OEs
Hawk HPS, front and rear
Earl's SS lines
Motul 5.1 fluid

No complaints here.

Frosty

 

do the hawks dust much?