The last two days have had great surf at the beach. The only way (in my opinion) to go to Malibu is down my favorite canyon pass.

I've got this road dialed in perfectly, and I run my car pretty hard on this road.

The past 2 runs, I've overheated my brake pads to the point of fading and hearing a scratching noise. Once the pads cooled down, the brakes worked fine.

I autocross just about every month, and am looking on replacing my OEM pads/SS Braided lines/ Brake fluid.

Any recommendations would be appreciated, as well as where to get good prices (Already used the search function)

TIA!

 

For street/auto-x, I put my Honda/Acura customers in the Axxis Ultimate. They are available for your GS-R. Do a search for "Axxis"...

-Andie

 

I just got Hawk HP Plus pads and they are great once you warm them up. A little squeaky at times when you aren't fully applying them, but they really bite down hard and I have a feeling you would be hard-pressed to overheat them.

They do make a lot of dust, though. Also, for street driving, they are a little akward (sp?). You have to get them warmed up to work well and at low speeds they really slow you down fast. If you try and apply them lightly, they tend to squeal and I find that a bit embarrasing...


Ohlias

 

imo i would not recomed the axxis pads, ive tried them and they suck, the hawk hp+ on the other hand work very good, but like it was said above they do make a little noise, I am also getting ready to try ebc greenstuff pads which i heard were good, i'll let you know after i get them on how they are too

 

i don't know about the metal masters, but the axxis ultimates are awesome. they bite really well

 

maybe that was my problem, i think i had the metal masters

 

If your brakes are overheating, it's probably your rotors, not just brake pads, that need to be replaced. Make sure you have enough clearance with your wheels though. BTW, there's a great brake article in the current C&D. You should read it. In it, they tested a WRX and confirmed that larger rotors help reduce fade, while stickier brake pads help shorten braking distances (but don't do much for fade).

 

You have apparently tried the Axxis METAL MASTER and NOT the Axxis ULTIMATE. Please be sure to confirm which product you are talking about before making a statement like that.

Edit: I saw your other post above...yes, probably the MM's. I don't/won't sell the MM, because I don't think it is a very good product. The Axxis Ultimate, for my customers, is hands-down the best street/auto-x and light track compound on the market, especially in Honda/Acura fitments.

-Andie


[Modified by cobalt, 11:52 AM 9/5/2002]

 

thanks for pointing that out to me

 

I love my Axxis Ultimates, got em from Andie @ Cobalt as well, second set, great pads and great customer service

 

I have hawk Hps on my ride and I love them... next time around (when they wear out) I'm going to try Axxis Ultimates...

 

The Hawk HP Plus is also another good high-performance street and auto-x pad. It is in the same performance category (hi-perf street/auto-x) as the Axxis Ultimate and Ferodo DS2500. The key differences are that the Hawk HP Plus exhibits/has:

(1) less fade resistance
(750F versus 1000F for the Axxis Ultimate & Ferodo DS2500)
(2) much higher dust and noise levels
(3) only mediocre cold stopping
(4) more rotor aggressive

-Andie

 

hey cobalt/andie.. just curious what the cold stopping performance is like on the Axxis Ultimates.. like on my hawks.. the first few stops until its warmed up don't feel all that strong until the pads heat up which is normal.... is it the same/better/worse w/ the Axxis ultimates? thats another reason why I NEVER let other people drive my car because the brakes aren't 100% until the pads are warm...


[Modified by GSRaCeRbOI, 7:59 PM 9/5/2002]

 

The Axxis Ultimate is similar to the OEM pads in terms of cold initial bite...certainly a safer choice for street use, especially in colder climates, and thus it is better in terms of cold performance relative to the Hawk HP Plus, which, as you noted, does require some heat.

HTH... -Andie

 

use your transmission there is a reason tegras redline at 8000rpms.

 

Uh...NO...

You do NOT want to use your transmission to engine brake...that's what the BRAKES are on the car for. You use the engine and tranny to speed up, and you use the brakes to slow down.

Only in older/vintage cars do you use the tranny to engine brake, because the brake systems and friction compounds available at that time (back in the day) were insufficient to effectively slow down the vehicle.

If you use the tranny to deccelerate, you will be putting unnecessary strain on the drivetrain, and eventually, one of these days, you may do the infamous "money shift" and slam a piston into a valve at 10,000rpm. Replacing brake pads, or upgrading to better brake pads, is far less expensive that replacing a tranny or engine parts.

The only case where you would downshift, is when you are downshifting WHILE braking, only to match revs to the road speed to be in a low enough gear to accelerate after releasing the brake pedal. This is known as heel-and-toe downshifting, and is mostly used in road racing. On the street, the only case where you'd need to do this while braking in a straight line is in a non-ABS vehicle while threshold braking...so you don't lock them up and skip a tooth on your timing belt.

-Andie


[Modified by cobalt, 8:47 PM 9/5/2002]

 

uh ya i live in the mtns of colorado and drive on dirt roads daily the only time i use the brakes is to slide into a turn or pull the rear end around, the transmission is your best friend. holding a certain rpm isn't bad for it, it may heat the oil up more but at leasdt you don't have to worry about melting brake pads, just change the oil more frequently

 

Your synchros must just about be worn out by now. Anyhow, Andie is talking about valve float from exceeding the redline when downshifting as his major concern. Changing tranny oil won't do too much for the gearbox except get rid of all the shavings from the synchros you're wearing out.

If you must downshift, do it in conjunction w/ braking to get the revs down.

You could do around 4-5 brake jobs for the cost of putting in new synchros, at least.