Just wondering. Since all the aftermarket front pads are the same for both cars, the stock pads ought to be interchangeable as well. The NSX stock front pads (45022-SL0-030) aren't cheap - $200 list, $150-160 with a typical discount, vs $57L/$42D for the ITR stock pads - but I'm wondering whether they might be superior in terms of performance and/or longevity, especially for track use. Has anyone tried them? Otherwise, I might be the guinea pig...

 

Guinea pig...

 

Ken, I am suprised you haven't tried that out yet.

 

Well, I've been using aftermarket pads on both cars for quite a while - which is easy to do, since they fit either car. So I've been going through lots of different ones - Hawk HP+ (my current favorite, although they don't last quite as long as some), the original Cobalt GT Sport (my all-time favorite, no longer available), the revised Cobalt GT Sport (lasted a long time, but brake dust could cake onto the wheel permanently if you don't wash it off quickly - also true of the Cobalt replacement for them), Endless CC-X (squealed too loud for street use for me), Carbotech Panther Plus (also squealed too loud for street use for me), etc. My original stock ITR pads worked fine on the track, but just didn't last as long as the HP+. It's been many years since I used stock NSX pads, but they were okay on the NSX when I was using them; I have no idea how they'd compare with the others on the ITR. I guess I'll have to try them to find out!

 

Well, they definitely fit, since they're on my ITR now. If the weather cooperates next weekend - which it won't, based on the current forecast - I'll get in lots of track time on them and be able to tell how they do in terms of performance and longevity. If not, I may not know until spring.

 

Really?! When i ran these on my EK hatch with 5 bolt, they didn't sqeal at all! On or off track. And they were great, didn't fade at all. I will be hitting up the track on the 13th after a 5 year layoff and this time, i will be using some old Endless MA11s i have left lying around and a set of A032R-S, should be fun.

 

Where are you going next weekend? I'll be Autobahn Full 9/12-13.

 

How old are the tires?

 

Well, I'm back from a weekend at Grattan with the NSX stock front pads on my ITR. All in all, I wasn't impressed. Here's how they compare:

Performance - The NSX pads worked okay on the track, with braking performance about as good as the Hawk HP+, my normal choice in pads. However, they didn't have the "bite" to the pedal feel, so I had to give it a bit more pedal pressure than I'm accustomed to. There were a couple of times that they felt like they might be fading slightly, so I backed off a bit on the braking when I encountered that.

Longevity - The HP+ front pads consistently last me 500 track miles. I used up about the same percentage of the pad in 250 track miles on the NSX pad as I did a few weeks ago in 340 track miles on the HP+. So I'm guessing the NSX pads will last about 400 track miles.

Price - As noted above, the NSX pads are $150-160 discounted, vs around $100-110 for the HP+ and $40-45 for the stock pads.

Dust - This is the one area in which the NSX pads were awesome. I wash my track wheels after each event, and they're normally full of brake dust. After this event, my wheels were virtually dust-free (although they still had lots of chunks of rubber on the insides of the wheels). I figured the NSX pads might have less dust, but not this much less.

I'll be going back to the Hawk HP+ next time. Unless someone wants to recommend some other kind of pad for me to try, one that performs well on the track, doesn't squeal big-time, doesn't have the cleanup problems of the GT Sport or Hawk Blue, and lasts at least as long as the HP+ (preferably longer).

 

Tires are actually this years, just the pads are old. But it turns out i couldn't locate the MA11s so i used Hawk HT10s instead, which performed fairly good. But pedal feel was somewhat lacking. Tires, to my surprise, were quite comparable to the RA1s and the tire wear wasn't all that bad.

 

Interesting. Here in the States, the A032R hasn't been sold for about five years, having been replaced completely by the A048.

 

Interesting, i see you can still get it on a canadian site. Do you know how to read the date code of them?

 

Thanks for the write up on your impressions of the NSX pad. always good to have info on different options

i've used the Project Mu stuff in my Spoon calipers for the past 2 years now.

for street use, i'm using the B-Force pads. Very minimal dust if at all and much better bite compared to the OEM ITR pads.

for track use, i'm using the Max500 pads and i'm extremely impressed with their bite and resistance to fading. mind you, i'm a noob so i won't be able to push the car as hard as you probably are. Dusting is there, but it's not too bad and doesn't seem to crust onto the wheel too badly. there is some squealing, but it's not as bad as other race-pads out there. it took me a little bit to get used to cuz they bite really hard, but still modulate well on track. (i was also using Motul RBF600 fluid incase you're wondering).

try them out if you don't mind some dust and a little squeal

 

See: Determining the Age of a Tire

 

Thanks! I checked my tires out and the serial number is 0805, meaning the 8th week of 2005. Not bad i suppose....they were quite sticky when i tracked them last week. Though 4 years on R-compounds is getting quite old.

 

This past spring I bought some new R compounds that I noticed were four years old at the time I picked them up. I asked the dealer about them, they called Nitto customer service, and were told that the warehouse runs FIFO so they had some old tires around. They told me I would probably use them up within a year or so (true) and I was getting a special deal on them, so I didn't argue any further.

 

i can't think of any other street/track pad i like more than the hp+, maybe the axxis ultimate which has a slightly harder cold bite but they dust and squeal. cheaper than the hp+, have you tried a set before?

 

ive seen this question asked a bunch of times
do a little search before you ask useless questions

 

going for the ******* of the year award?

 

Not sure if he can qualify for this year's award with that Sept. join date and 20 posts

 

the month?

 

You are talking about the that you bought nittos....right? Yeah, i have been stalking some of your posts....haha. Like i said, i felt the tires were quite comparable to the RA1 compound so no problems. However, i do not hit the track often, maybe once or twice a year and based on the tire wear from my last outing, it will last quite a while. Let's hope they stay fresh for at least a couple more years.

 

Yes, I'm referring to the Nitto NT-01. FWIW, so far it looks like the Nitto NT-01 won't last me anywhere near as long as the RA-1. With the RA-1, I would consistently get 2000 track miles out of them, starting with them unshaved and using all the tricks like rotating them front and rear, flipping them on the rim partway through, using one on the right rear when belts start appearing on the outer edge of the tread, etc. I haven't used up any of the NT-01 yet but I'm getting close; it looks like I will get maybe 1200 track miles out of them when they're done.

 

How do you like the NT-01 compared to the RA1 and A032R in terms of traction? Also, i ran into pad deposit problems causing vibrations during braking last weekend. Should i try rebedding or should i resurface the rotors? What would you recommend?

 

I thought they were similar. (There was no rain; I can only guess that the RA-1 would be superior in rain, at least if they still have enough tread depth that the diagonal tread grooves are still there.)

I would try rebedding the pads, since that's free and easy. (See the white papers on the Stoptech website for detailed procedures.) Besides, if you resurface the rotors, you'll need to bed the pads anyway.