I just wanted to share my experience with the road race crowd. I know a lot of the track day guys in the ITRs are familiar with Cobalt, but from my experience this year many SCCA road racers are not. I know this may sound like a shameless plug but I think I owe alot to Andie Lin for helping me out and teaching me more than I ever knew about racing brake pads.

I started out the year with Carbotechs and HAWK Blues on my 99 SSC Civic Si. This is what I had used in the past and I always though a soft pedal was part of the deal racing the Civics. We could never get a firm brake pedal until I met Andie Lin and he switched me over to Ferodo DS3000s (and eventually to his VR compound). The performance and pedal feel (right down to minimum thickness) of these two pads has been OUTSTANDING in back to back on track comparisons versus the Carbotech XPs and Hawk Blues.

Also, the customer service has been great as well! I needed pads right before the National at Nelson Ledges this weekend and Andie went the extra mile to have them drop shipped over night. It paid off with my first National win!

Lee Niffenegger
#42 SSC Honda Civic Si
Team Honda Research

 

You won't find many guys dedicated to their work as much as Andie Lin is. I have a ton of respect for him and http://www.cobaltfriction.com

He has never steered me wrong once. I would reccomend him to anyone at virtually every level of racing.

 

Yes Andie definitely is willing to spend the extra time going over your specific setup, and getting you the pads by pretty much whatever means necessary. Andie takes a less common (and maybe even less effective) way to do business: honestly. While Cobalt (and Carbotech when he used to work for him) may have lost a few sales on a given day, customers (me included) recognized Andie's straight forward manner and took note. I know a lot of people on the boards here have this Carbotech vs. Cobalt mentality, which is stupid because what do we really owe to these companies? They are here to serve us, not the other way around. I will continue to give my (currently limited) business to the company who can get me the best pad for $, and that is that.

 

I too tip my hat to Andie Lin and Cobalt Friction. When you deal with Andie you deal with one of the best customer services reps there is. He goes over your setup for you personally, and is very friendly and professional about it.

Cobalt Friction

Also, congrat's on your win!

 

Sharing my experience. I used Cobalt pads in testing for a 12 hour race and they wore out quicker than any XP pad I've used. However, I've found the light with PF.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Littleton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sharing my experience. I used Cobalt pads in testing for a 12 hour race and they wore out quicker than any XP pad I've used. However, I've found the light with PF.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The pads we used for the first half of the race were PF, and then switched to XP at 6hrs.

Edit: The other team (94 Integra RS) ran the XP's and got 9 hrs on them and they still had some life left, and that car weighs 500 lbs more.

RJ

 

I just got off the phone w/ andie to order some pads

yshi - who has to call andie back b/c he forgot to also order rotors

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97ITR239 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...shameless plug</TD></TR></TABLE>

It wouldn't be honda-tech without them...
Glad you had a good experience.

 

if you call and andie is not available, talk to richard. he was very helpful and together we decided that GT-Sports are the pad for me (would have been vr's, but they are twice as much). and when you mention that you're an h-t member or nasa member, you get 10% off!

when i told richard 'everyone on honda-tech says to ask for andie' he said 'well, i work here too...' in a sad voice , so i told him i would put in a good word for him.

me, my gt-sports, and my ate super blue are going to our first nasa hpde next weekend at willow springs. watch out group 3!

 

what kind of rotors does Andie sell?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ruthless013 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
if you call and andie is not available, talk to richard. he was very helpful and together we decided that GT-Sports are the pad for me (would have been vr's, but they are twice as much). and when you mention that you're an h-t member or nasa member, you get 10% off!

when i told richard 'everyone on honda-tech says to ask for andie' he said 'well, i work here too...' in a sad voice , so i told him i would put in a good word for him.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats funny. I actually placed my order with Richard last week as well, and he proved to be most helpful. I must have spent like a half hour on the phone with the guy. great in assistaing regardless of setup.

Another shameless plug for cobalt

 

andie has been nothing short of excellent in terms of customer service! i made an order from him for the first time about two weeks ago and was extemely satisfied.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VTEConly &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what kind of rotors does Andie sell? </TD></TR></TABLE>

G3000 "oem replacements".. I have found them to last longer than the brembos I used to run, and are cheaper..

 

b/c he forgot to also order rotors

Autozone is just down the road

you can't beat $28.99 each

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ruthless013 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
if you call and andie is not available, talk to richard. he was very helpful and together we decided that GT-Sports are the pad for me (would have been vr's, but they are twice as much). and when you mention that you're an h-t member or nasa member, you get 10% off!
</TD></TR></TABLE>

& a for Richard! I never got to talk with Andie, but Richard provided the same help and service that everyone else mentions about Andie.

note: i "think" my rotors(w/o shipping) were cheaper than Autozone rotors!

 

With regards to product knowledge and service, all Cobalt employees and staff are qualified to deliver the level of service that Cobalt customers have come to expect and value. In those rare situations where an answer to a customer information request is not readily available, the appropriate sources will be consulted with, and the customer provided a response in a timely manner.

We are currently restructuring our internal operations with regards to sales, in order to provide our customers with more timely service, while not only maintaining, but improving, the quality of our service.

Richard was the first addition to the Cobalt team, and he has the knowledge and aptitude necessary to provide our customers with the information and quality service that we insist upon. All Cobalt customers should feel equally comfortable speaking with Richard or myself, as well as any of our future salespersons, since part of our protocol is a very thorough training program before a salesperson is permitted to answer a single phone call. Additionally, no one at Cobalt works on commission, so this should not be a deciding factor as to who you wish to speak with.

Regarding rotors -- as a testament to the quality of the G3000-spec Premium Grade Rotors that we sell, on our RSX Type-S race car, one set of G3000-spec front rotors started new with an overall thickness of 25mm, and after 2 test days, 5 sprint races, and one 12hr enduro, which comprised 3 sets of Ferodo DS3000 and 2 sets of Cobalt GT-R.spec(VR) brake pads, the rotors exhibited minimal grooving and wear, and have a present thickness of 24.9mm. We will be resurfacing these rotors and using them again, as the minimum thickness is 23mm on this rotor.

-Andie

 

you can't beat $28.99 each &lt;-------ITR application

$21.99 for EP application

Performs perfectly, not just for me, for alot of others on this board.
Carbotech, PF, Hawk, Cobalt, etc........ users alike


P.S. Just curious as to why one would resurface a $25ish rotor??

 

We're resurfacing the rotors because we have a rotor lathe and it doesn't cost us much to perform this task. If you inspect the rotors, they don't actually need it, but I insist on a flat/virgin mating surface for new pads on our race cars. This is just an extra step and attention to detail that we take on our race cars, similar to deburring and polishing the sections of the backing plate which contact the tension clips on the calipers to ensure proper and reliable brake operation. Optimal performance and reliability are our primary focus when it comes to racing.


-Andie

 

We're resurfacing the rotors because we have a rotor lathe and it doesn't cost us much to perform this task. If you inspect the rotors, they don't actually need it, but I insist on a flat/virgin mating surface for new pads on our race cars. This is just an extra step and attention to detail that we take on our race cars, similar to deburring and polishing the sections of the backing plate which contact the tension clips on the calipers to ensure proper and reliable brake operation. Optimal performance and reliability are our primary focus when it comes to racing.



But most of us have to pay $10-18ish for a resurface.......so a few bucks more for new ones with the assurance of no heat cracks is the best bet IMHO.

Later,

 

$6 @ Pepboyz ownz.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18CXr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> you can't beat $28.99 each &lt;-------ITR application

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Doh!

 

The benefits of cryogenics is largely dependent upon the quality of the original rotor/casting. That is, if you take an average quality rotor and cryogenically treat it, you will end up with an average quality rotor.

I have seen improvements in wear with cryogenically treated rotors, but only if the rotor itself is of a high quality.

This being said, it is important to thoroughly investigate the actual cryogenic process. There are countless shops which advertise "cryogenic treatment", but in reality, only a handfull (read: very few) of them actually know what they are doing, and have a process which is proven. I feel the following to be a good checklist when considering a cryogenic service...if the shop is unable to verify the following, then keep shopping:

(1) minimum temperature of at least -292F

(2) computer controlled heating AND cooling stages with _zero_ materials handling from beginning to end

(3) non-invasive cooling via convection, rather than direct liquid nitrogen

(4) a temperature/time graph showing a minimum temp of at least -292F, initial and final heating to at least 200F, and at least 2 temperature ramp UP and DOWN cycles below -150F -- all of this must involve zero handling of materials

Again, very few shops have the actual equipment and/or knowledge to properly cryogenically treat materials. Most setups which consist of a cooling "tub", which looks like a meat freezer, with a computer controlled valve which meters liquid nitrogen into the tank/tub/freezer, are considered ancient technology, and are not proven effective.

One of the few shops which does a good job at cryogenically treating rotors and other ferrous metal materials is Diversified Cryogenics.

HTH... -Andie

 

Damn Andie, you beat me to it. I was going to offer the same suggestions!

 

Thanks for the props.

Respect.