I received a beta version of the GT-R "solo 2, novice-intermediate HPDE" compound Wed. and I thought I would share my inital impressions. I bedded the pads in yesterday and found a few interesting things. I would say the pads need a hard stop from 40-50 mph, or threshold stop from around 30 mph to get up to temp. Once the pads get some heat, they are VERY grippy. All other qualities aside, the actual braking torque of these pads are close, if not higher than the P+. Although the torque of the pads seem very linear once it gets up to temp, the torque increases quite drastically while the pad is heating up. If the pad is being used for the track, this would not be a problem because the pads seem liner while at temp, but for autoX it may need some getting used to. If used for autox, I would suggest trying to get some heat into the pads before the run. If not, the pads are very easy to modulate and should be fine after the first braking zone. I have driven them one day on the street and have heard no noise, but did hear some noise during bed-in during the 4th or 5th threshold stop from 60. Dust, yes.
Again, these are inital impressions but I will be heading down to Sebring this Sunday to meet up with Andie and test the pads on-track.
Some pics:





Um, sure I'll take my pads shrink wrapped please. Silver "cobalt" decal will work too.





I will be back Sun. night with some "real" information.

 

noise levels? corrosive dust?

i am looking foward to the review, as i have P+'s on my car currently.

 

Pads didnt make a sound today while driving on the street.

Non-corrosive dust.

 

so, how were they @ sebring?

 

What a day yesterday, sorry I didnt write up something last night I doubt it would have been coherent.

First on the list, hats off the Andie and his team. These guys are not messing around. They showed up with a brand new Cobalt/Cybernation trailor and were also sporting two Cobalt s2000's and a few Radical SR3 supersports.

On to the pads....the Cobalt GT-Sport. (A.K.A. GT-R spec (AX) on their site. I think they will be sticking with the name GT-Sport, though.)

The way these pads behave on track completly differ from the way I thought they behaved from driving them "agressivly" on the street for a few days. Only thing I would change about my inital observations is that the pad DOES make some noise at very low speeds. Its not that big of a deal, but I had originaly said it made no noise. If anyone cares, the pad does not make any noise at the track.

<U>Observations</U>

1. LINEAR! These pads are extremely linear once they get up to temp (aka after 1-2 laps.) Once I found the capibilities of the pads, I just hit the brakes and held it until turn-in. One of the best things about the pad, IMO.

2. Sufficent braking torque. These pads are designed for novice-intermediate HPDE drivers and would be PLENTY enough of a pad for ones first 4-5 track events. I did manage to fade the pads, but only after 7-8 laps of late braking and trying my damndest to beat the hell out of the pads. Fade would not be a problem for a novice driver. Also remeber this was Sebring full course which isnt the easiest track in the world on brakes.

3. Price. In my fitment (99-00 Si), Andie claimed the price would be ballpark $80-$90. For a novice driver, it would be a complete waste to spend over $120 on P+ or the like to go out and waste it on the track. I impressed a lot of people at the track with the pads performance itself, but got even more excitement once they found out about the price.

Overall, the GT-Sport is an amazing pad for what it is. Bottom line, if you have driven less than 4-5 track events I would strongly suggest looking into these pads.

 

cool, sounds like a good compound. they sound like they're alittle much for autox, but good for the track for novices, as u said.
-spenc

 

I dont think they would be too much for autox. If I had to place them somewhere, I would say they are in between the Ultimate and the P+. If you currently use the Ultimate for autox and think it is enough pad, than yes the GT-Sport will be a little too much. For those who are looking for a little something extra, the GT-Sport bites harder and it easier to modulate than the Ultimate.

 

sounds like a lot of brake for the buck!

I look forward to trying some out after they hit the retail market. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind having some for Roebling in January for that matter...

 

well, i was lookin to run the ultimates or hawk hps after i run through the couple sets of hp+. but since i do run hpde's and my car is fairly light i may try the gt-r spec if they make it for 4th gen civic. maybe the gt-s. looks a little better suited for my needs. my only consern is getting them up to temp at the autocross. i know the hp+ is good after one good stop to warm them up. but when i took them to limerock if felt like they got even better once they got real warm.

-spenc


[Modified by SOLOef, 3:58 PM 12/23/2002]

 

I would like to thank Jacob (creator of this post) for his help yesterday with my brakes. I was using Andie's pads that he sent me (Ferodo DS3000) on my ITR. They warped my first ever set of AutoZone rotors within the first lap. I guess i got a bad set of rotors

He helped me switch back to my Brembo blank rotors along with keeping the DS3000 pads and that setup was AWESOME. I never had brake fade the whole day and i stood on them coming into the hairpin turn from 115mph to about 35mph braking speeds. Oh well thanks again Jacob. You are da man

mike

 

The ultimate is an outstanding pad for solo because it doesn't require much heat and it clamps like a vice when you nail the brakes. If someone shows me a better autox pad, I'd love to see it. It isn't great for the street because it makes a lot of dust and I can't speak on how it holds up on the track, although I'd bet not good for heavy use.

This new pad sounds interesting though. And since my Spoon calipers, the modulation problems associated with the grippy pads went away--everything is much more linear now.

 

the ultamates have a higher operating temp than the hp+ i believe. so for me they would probably be ok. i need to get to a track that is hard on brakes and see what the hp+ does on my light, slow car. but th cobalt pads have such a high fade temp that they would be fine on my car and most likely never fade.

oh, and i dont care about dust
-spenc


[Modified by SOLOef, 4:30 PM 12/23/2002]

 

This was my original concern with the GT-Sport Pads. After more street driving, I found that they needed LESS heat that I orginally had thought to bite hard. Like the Ultimates, they do best after a hard stop. I would say warm-up is similar to the Ultimate, but the bite of the GT-Sport is of no comparison to the ultimate.

 

Hey Mike,
Not a problem man. I know having troubles at the track sucks becuase you are losing valuable track time. A lap or two in the ARRR would have been welcomed though!

As for the DS3000's....holy ****. Seriously Mike your brakes were VERY impressive. What pad were you running out back?

 

excellant. i will pick up a set later on in the spring. i still have one more set of hp+ to go through.
-spenc

 

Jacob,

I was really testing these pads all day. I didn't know how much heat they could handle at sessions of over 20 minutes. I finally started getting on them with my other buddy (96 SOHC VTEC) and they felt awesome.

Mike

 

Seems like everyone was using Andie's pads here. Since this was my first event, Andie recommended I go with the Axxis Ultimates. I thought the pads were great for being a novice. It wasn't until the last session that I really started getting on them, but I never found them to fade. They could have been pushed harder. I am sure Mike, or Jacob could have faded them, but since I was still learning braking points they are a great pad for a beginner.

Jacob, nice meeting you for the first time and I look forward to seeing you at future Chin events. You were definitely quick out there.

I also got to meet Andie and he was a real nice guy. Hats off to Andie.




[Modified by 96 SOHC VTEC, 1:44 PM 12/24/2002]

 

jacob and i both drive a 00' si that are set up similar. i rode with jacob and the pads as well as drove with him on the track. i was running panther xp front, p+ rear and the cobalt pad impressed me as well and i will be switching to the cobalt pads. speaking from personal experience you will not find better customer service and support than what Andie offers. he also attended the event himself. was the manufacturer of your brake pads at your last track event?

 

Brad, I would talk to Andie about your setup. I can tell you that the GT-Sport will not be enough pad for you. Did you ever ride in Mike's R? He is running the DS3000's are they are a pretty silly pad. Andie will also be making a more agressive "cobalt" pad. Give him a HOLLA after the new years and he will be glad to talk to you.

 

*cough*VW application*cough*


-Adam

 

jacob, yeah i will want a more aggressive pad but still i was impressed with the beta pad you ran, especially for the money. and i am glad to find andie at cobalt i will deal with him exclusively from this point on. by the way good job on the report, very informative.

 

[QUOTE] Did you ever ride in Mike's R? He is running the DS3000's are they are a pretty silly pad. QUOTE]


Don't forget, Mike's got some other brake upgrades as well, besides the pads, to assist with his astounding braking.

I think Mike took Brad for a few laps as well, but I am not positive.


[Modified by 96 SOHC VTEC, 11:24 PM 12/25/2002]

 

Yea, like ITR calipers and MC.

 

i didnt get to ride in mikes R sunday, but his rear bumper sure is cool.

 

Just a quick update about those who were inquiring about brake dust. I just washed my car tonight (5 days after the event) and the brake dust came off just like any OEM dust would! Nothing special, just a rag and normal car wash. Took no more time than it would to clean off OEM dust, there is just A LOT more of it.