Hey guys, looking for suggestions on brake pads for daily driving. I have an itr setup on my crx up front, started out with ceramics and they didn't cut it, near instant fade from high-speed highway stops, switched to Hp+ and while they stop on a dime, the low speed squealing is ridiculous, had to pull them out couldn't take it driving around town.

Any middle ground recommendations?

 

Centric Stoptech Street Performance have about the same fade resistance as HP+, but way less dust, the dust is not corrosive, and no squeal. They also cost less than half the price of HP+. The only downside is that they don't have the torque that the HP+ has.

I buy them for all my DD's, and for street-use pads on my S2000 because I like a more aggressive feel and stopping power without having corrosive dust or squeal.


I usually get them at rockauto.com. For the ITR, they should be like 40ish dollars for the front set.

I used them on the race track with my GF's AP2, and they didn't fade over a 20 min session. It was on Kumho SPT's, though...so I wasn't doing any serious lapping. Friends of mine have used them on the race track, though, and they've held up till about the same point where HP+ would fall off.

Bedding them in is incredibly important. I'd suggest buying a set of rotors. Bed them in on a lonely road or race track. The first few stops feel like stepping on a brick. The pressure is there....but the car won't stop. After bedding them in, there is a night and day difference.

I used to have HP+'s on my ITR. Ruined my wheels. Blackened my fenders. Made tons of noise and sparks. Not good street pads.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write that, I read a few more reviews and all seem to say exactly what I want, great inital bite, low fade and no noise. I wouldnt even care if they cost $100+, only being $50 is a nice bonus, just bought some off rockauto

Thanks

 

Glad I could help! Lmk how you like em.

 

I use Autozone Duralast Ceramic or C-max pads. These are usually in the 35-70 dollar range, and are very quiet, have reasonable cold performance, and don't let go at higher temperatures easily. They work very well on cars that have a spirited driver. If you are constantly going from 140-0, your braking needs will go well beyond a simple pad change. Fluid becomes a problem point here. NAPA ceramics are also another good choice.

Most of these higher-end pads will come with a rubber or nitrile shim that will need to be compressed for a few weeks. Once they settle in, they have great bite and low noise, even after a fresh downpour and creeping out of the driveway. All brake service techniques still apply!!

I have noticed a few of the semi-ceramic and part metallic pads have a not so ideal "crunch" when stopping cold. I see comebacks on higher end cars using lower quality pads for this reason alone.

The type of vehicle, modifications, and how you drive would be beneficial for anyone else wanting to read this post.

 

These Centric Stoptech street performance pads WORK GREAT. Holy hell after breaking them in they BITE

Make my Nitto NeoGens feel like winter tires they can lock them up like butter! Time for a tire upgrade for sure

Felt bad while I was doing the swap at first since my ceramics had 95%+ life left in them, but god damn this was well worth it

 

Glad they worked out for you, man. I started using them a couple years back and was really impressed.