Wondering what track pads you folks with Civic Type Rs use? I am used to Raybestos 43, Carbotech and G-Loc 10s and 12 and a bit with Hawk DTC 60s on a similar wgt car.

 

I dont know one person on here that actually owns and tracks a NEW Type R.
Cant go wrong with the Hawk DTC 60's though,
Pretty widely used.

 

Any suggestions as to where I might chat with some one who does track an FK8? I know there are a number of folks who do and getting pooled information is a great way to not make the same mistakes as others.

BTW, in my own experience, I am not a fan of Hawk DTC 60s. Too much initial bite. Had them on our Chumpcar and convinced my team mates to try G Locs and all of us were happy with the switch.

 

maybe ask this guy -
1:55 is jamming on this track and the car is bone stock. He knows what he's doing to some extent.

 

Sorry we use something that you don't like.
We all have our preferences and most of us here run much older cars.
Maybe trying the civic type R forums? im sure there are some elsewhere.
Try more youtube vids and contact those on there.
To be honest with you we who come here dont give up our car set ups and what not.
Why? Some of us actually compete wheel to wheel.
The last type r i saw on track trailered it home.
Google is your friend.

 

That is a bit unfortunate. I am coming from a C5Z Corvette and the majority of people who compete either autocross, time trial or wheel to wheel are quite comfortable sharing at least most of their set up. There are actually a lot of people who track their Corvettes in various forms and at different levels of prep so what works for one may well not work for another set up. OTOH, I suppose imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

No problems re the DTC 60s. Each to his own I guess

 

I'll tell you everything I'm doing- but I race a Prelude.

The Raybestos ST-xx lineup has never let me down. 43, 45, 47- all good, basically just different degrees of bite.

 

My honest opinion for you is too learn about brake pads and their inherent characteristics. Most if not all of the brake pad manufacturers list enough technical data that should help you choose the right pad. Data that is important is mu (coefficient of friction), temperature range, and even some subjective information like "initial bite" and "feel." On top of this, you should try some high temperature paint (I use Genesis paint) from Pegasus to see what maximum temperatures you are seeing. You can also use a properly calibrated infrared camera to see the temperature of the rotor when you come into the pits. This all said, the proper pad will depend on many factors: Your driving style, whether you are using slotted or cross-drilled rotors, your tire grip level (remember brakes do not stop a car, the tires do), the track layout (high speed straights to low speed or medium speed corners...). and even the center of mass of your car (braking load transfer issues). You also will want to look at the front pad friction material separately from the rear pad material for many of the same reasons given for the front pad. I do lots of testing on race and high performance street cars and these are some of the things I do.

 

Interestingly the C5 Corvette's weakest point is the stock sized brakes. There are a lot of so-so fixes but real fixes are in the big dollar zone. One of the things that attracts me to the CTR (FK8) is the stock braking system which is clearly superior.

It is a big point of discussion among Corvette owners about staggering the pad compounds front to back or using the same pads at both ends. (Personally on the Corvette, I am a big fan of staggering and certainly as your tire grip improves, more proportional braking is done by the fronts.) I would be really interested what the Civic Type R experience is.

I am also a big fan of Raybestos ST43 and 45. The 43s are easier to drive and with Castrol SRF fluid and home made brake ducts my car can be consistent for up to 30 minutes or more of track time depending on the track. I certainly can't use a pad with high initial bite as with the small rotors (12.9") the anti locks with trigger far too often.

 

Just when i thought some old school people have left us one pops in and gives... well a great reply.
Johnny Mac Honda Tech's resident aerodynamics expert.

Finding FK8 people is you salvation. you just dont find them on here.

 

Haha,
I've been gone for quite some time but I've been working with Toyota projects the past few years. Now I want to do some of my own car stuff with my beloved Hondas. Building some B18's and K20's in the next few months to go and have fun on track again (but not race just yet); just HPDE's and track days while I test a bunch of things. I see you're still here, which is great to know, but a lot of others like Rinde, and Descartesfool seem to have gone away...sadly.

 

@.Grimace regularly tracks his CTR. He's upgraded his brake pads and rotors as well.

 

OEM works great depending on the track. Something with heavy braking zones like Laguna Seca will overheat the pads pretty quick. If you get on a civic type r forum or Facebook group the fan favorites are winmax w4 or w5. You’ll literally turn your caliper brown before those fail.

Also your rear pads are going to need to be replaced well before your fronts. Even with all nannie systems turned off those tiny rear pads just get worn away faster. I made it 13,000 miles and about 8 track days before my rears were almost metal on metal.

once you’ve upgraded your pads your crappy oem rotors are going to fail next. Just like most drilled rotors you’ll start getting cracks between them. Highly recommend upgrading to girodisc rotors. Loving my setup.

Out of curiosity what is your wheel and tire plan? Hope you’re switching to 18s and not using OEM 20s?

 

Quick theres a FK owner/tracker.. ask him quick before he disappears.

Been lurking on track here and there too Johnny mostly up here in nor cal.
Most of So Cal H2 have switched to H4 class .. its cheaper they say.
I dont know about that they seem to like to rub alot on their race starts.
Anytime i crossed over to run with them from up here id start at the back of the pack regardless of where i qualified.
Its much safer that way, still a bunch of fun guys that run up front no matter what class they are in.
Caoboy where are you located?

 

Honda deciding that 20" rims were a good idea for this car OEM is pretty crazy. Certainly the tire choices (and prices) for 18" rims are much better.

I do actually know a few folks running these cars on track and one of them is using the Enkei Kojin wheel which is significantly lighter than the OEM wheel. Not pretty but reducing rotating mass is generally much better than reducing static mass. He is using a 18 x 9.5 rim I believe with a 45mm offset and with a larger tire has a small fit issue. Given that I would like to keep the torque steer down and that the lower offset may make it worse, I think going with a smaller diameter tire may help.

Nice to see that there are some lighter 2 piece rotors available. Are the Giro-disc floating or non floating type?

 

Salute to all old friends from this sub forum...miss our old days.

I ran a Type R for a few events within the last 2 years. I tried OEM F/R pads, Hawk Street Race F/R and DTC-60 F/Street Race R. They all worked very well, even the OE during very hot days. I ended up using OE pads until now as Hawk pads gave an unbearable screeching on the street, that I could not endure for daily commutes. I got older now, and fixed caliper screeching is nothing like the gold old integra type R 5 lug conversion-dailying on DTC-60-level of noise IMO.

We used fresh Gulf RF1000 and ran 18x9.5 wheels on 265/35/18 Hankook RS4. The car is something on the track...very composed, super easy to go fast compared to our usual old chassis. It goes, and goes...

I may have a set of BNIB front DTC-60 still, if you want to make an offer.