Brake pads for Autocross and infrequent track use?

GameboyRMH wrote:

LuxInterior wrote: I dont think that there is a "Goldilocks" compromise street/track pad. All the street/track pads I've used dust like crazy. Street pads don't dust so much, but they cause exciting "E36 M3! No brakes!" Moments on track. I suggest geting a compromise pad and just deal with the dust/ wheel damage or just swap pads before each event. That's what I'm doing. Track pads are a little like shoes. What I love, you may hate. I love axxis ultimates and Hawk DTC 60/30s. I hate Porterfields and anything carbon/kevlar.

I went with the EBC Yellowstuff as a "compromise pad," something that would be decent on both the track and street. It has a laundry list of downsides - loud, dusty, hard on rotors, needs a little warm-up - but it's probably the best "compromise" pad if you want something that will do OK on both the street and track. But a "compromise pad" is too aggressive for what the OP needs. He just needs an autocross pad. Those won't get gooey from a few hard stops, which is good enough for someone who is merely track-curious.

Yeah I've been wrestling with whether or not it's worth it to get into something like the Yellow Stuff and deal with the downsides of having something overly aggressive for street driving for the sake of not having to change pads and re-bed for different pads (especially if it's pads from 2 different companies) afterward, and/or swap rotors and pads out.

The most sensible thing may be a track set of rotors and pads (and we're only talking fronts because I am running drums in the back) and swapping back when I get home to a "street setup" or a combo of Carbotech AX6s for daily use and XP10s or 12's for track days. At least those compounds are supposed to "place nice" with each other. But by that point I've spent $400 in brake pads.

As far as the Yellow Stuff goes, have you experienced any fade or excessive wear with them? For what I described (a two day event with 8 x 20 min. sessions) could I get away with these for maybe 2-3 events in a whole summer?

FWIW I ran with HAWK HP+ pads on my 1997 M3 at Road America and liquified them after 8 laps or so. Granted this was in a 3100lb car, so YMMV.

They also dust considerably, and squeal on the street. They are an acceptable auto-x / street pad, but for track use, I'll be looking elsewhere.

Contradiction wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote:

LuxInterior wrote: I dont think that there is a "Goldilocks" compromise street/track pad. All the street/track pads I've used dust like crazy. Street pads don't dust so much, but they cause exciting "E36 M3! No brakes!" Moments on track. I suggest geting a compromise pad and just deal with the dust/ wheel damage or just swap pads before each event. That's what I'm doing. Track pads are a little like shoes. What I love, you may hate. I love axxis ultimates and Hawk DTC 60/30s. I hate Porterfields and anything carbon/kevlar.

I went with the EBC Yellowstuff as a "compromise pad," something that would be decent on both the track and street. It has a laundry list of downsides - loud, dusty, hard on rotors, needs a little warm-up - but it's probably the best "compromise" pad if you want something that will do OK on both the street and track. But a "compromise pad" is too aggressive for what the OP needs. He just needs an autocross pad. Those won't get gooey from a few hard stops, which is good enough for someone who is merely track-curious.

Yeah I've been wrestling with whether or not it's worth it to get into something like the Yellow Stuff and deal with the downsides of having something overly aggressive for street driving for the sake of not having to change pads and re-bed for different pads (especially if it's pads from 2 different companies) afterward, and/or swap rotors and pads out. The most sensible thing may be a track set of rotors and pads (and we're only talking fronts because I am running drums in the back) and swapping back when I get home to a "street setup" or a combo of Carbotech AX6s for daily use and XP10s or 12's for track days. At least those compounds are supposed to "place nice" with each other. But by that point I've spent $400 in brake pads. As far as the Yellow Stuff goes, have you experienced any fade or excessive wear with them? For what I described (a two day event with 8 x 20 min. sessions) could I get away with these for maybe 2-3 events in a whole summer?

call them and make sure that you'll be ok with no re-bedding due to same company pads ... there could well be some differences in the material of the 6's as compared to the the 10's, that might be a problem ... they're really easy to work with over the phone

keep in mind, as far as money spent, that you shouldn't have to re-purchase the 6's all that often ... depending on how you drive on the street of course

Contradiction wrote: As far as the Yellow Stuff goes, have you experienced any fade or excessive wear with them? For what I described (a two day event with 8 x 20 min. sessions) could I get away with these for maybe 2-3 events in a whole summer?

I haven't even driven on them yet, got a dead engine But they'll be fine for 2-3 events in a summer. They're closer to race pads than street pads.

I'm surprised we got to page 2 before somebody said it: StopTech Street Performance. You can leave them on your car all year round, they have feel like a premium street pad, but they don't melt at HPDE. That's what I used on my M3 the first two years of HPDE. But I don't 'cross, so I don't know if there's some requirement there I'm not clued in to.

Jamey_from_Legal wrote: I'm surprised we got to page 2 before somebody said it: StopTech Street Performance. You can leave them on your car all year round, they have feel like a premium street pad, but they don't melt at HPDE. That's what I used on my M3 the first two years of HPDE. But I don't 'cross, so I don't know if there's some requirement there I'm not clued in to.

An autocross pad is basically a "sporty" pad with good cold performance. Sounds like this pad would do well in autocross.

Jamey_from_Legal wrote: I'm surprised we got to page 2 before somebody said it: StopTech Street Performance. You can leave them on your car all year round, they have feel like a premium street pad, but they don't melt at HPDE. That's what I used on my M3 the first two years of HPDE. But I don't 'cross, so I don't know if there's some requirement there I'm not clued in to.

be careful .. as you get more and more confident at HPDE you'll start using them later and later as you approach corner entry ... therefor using them harder and harder ... make sure you don't over do them ... might be time to switch to a dedicate set of DE pads and rotors ... swap out at the track (carry spars of each)

wbjones wrote:

Jamey_from_Legal wrote: I'm surprised we got to page 2 before somebody said it: StopTech Street Performance. You can leave them on your car all year round, they have feel like a premium street pad, but they don't melt at HPDE. That's what I used on my M3 the first two years of HPDE. But I don't 'cross, so I don't know if there's some requirement there I'm not clued in to.

be careful .. as you get more and more confident at HPDE you'll start using them later and later as you approach corner entry ... therefor using them harder and harder ... make sure you don't over do them ... might be time to switch to a dedicate set of DE pads and rotors ... swap out at the track (carry spars of each)

Good point. If I really do get invested in doing HPDEs then I would certainly switch to a dedicated set of track pads and rotors. Right now I'm thinking more along the lines of if there's anything out there that would let me "stick my toe in the water" and see how I like it.

I'd probably do no more then 2 events with instructors that would most likely be like the 8 run - 20 min. session weekend I heard about at Gingerman.

back up there buddy ...

the instructors will be the determining factor as to when you get to run without an instructor on board ... your "logbook" will have a place for instructor comments, and (s)he will also turn in their thoughts about how you conduct yourself on track ....

your situational awareness, how you've progressed, with regard to picking up on the approaches and executions of each corner ... lots of things will go into their assessment of when you're ready to move up to intermediate (as opposed to novice) and if you're ready to solo ...

so LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN to your instructor(s) because you'll probably have different ones at each event

oh, forgot ... if you get an instructor that you just don't jibe with, go to the event boss (they go by different names) and explain your situation, and get another instructor ... if you spend all your mental time fighting with him/her you won't be learning anything and it will be reflected on you chances to move up

and for that matter, any time you go to a track you've never driven before, even if you've "graduated" to intermediate or above, there's nothing wrong with getting with the instructors and seeing if any of them have a spare session that they could ride with you and help you learn a new track

I've been doing track days and TT for ~ 7 or 8 yrs .. but this past summer was my first chance at Charlotte Motor speedway (the infield and onto the high banks) ... I found a racer/instructor that wanted to ride and see the changes to the infield and was happy to ride with me ... we both gained

Don't worry, I have no delusions of thinking that I will "a natural" on the track and be out there by myself any time soon! I'm more then happy to spend as much time with an instructor as I can. Especially when we're talking about a real track instead of a parking lot full of cones.

If there's one thing I learned from my limited experience in autocross so far it's that no matter how good you THINK you are as a driver, you can and probably still will suck at real racing. My first year in autocross felt kind of like golfing. I went through all of the right motions, but no matter how good it felt or looked on the course, I was still slow. I just want to get out there and learn as much as I can.

I'm looking for new pads for my STR prepped 2010 MX-5 and need to meet the same criteria. The stock pads were good on the street and for autocross but not on the track. Hawk HP+ were good but difficult to modulate at autocross but also weren't enough for the track. A couple of seasons ago I did more time attack and track and went to the Hawk DTC-60's. They worked very well on the track and as an experiment I even drove them at autocross on on the street. They worked other than the noise and dust but destroyed a set of rotors after a season. The dust from them were insane but when I track more in the future will probably have a dedicated set of these pads.

So now that its anew season and I need new pads I'm thinking of trying the Cobalt XR3 or XR4. Has anyone had any experience with these for street/autox/track? Noise and dust don't usually bother me as long it cleans reasonably easily.

Well I settled on Carbotech XP8s.

I talked to Carbotech and Ampd Autosport today and both thought that the Carbotech XP8s would be good for what I'm looking for. They felt the temp range for them would hold up and be suitable for a Beginner HPDE driver and would be okay for DD and Autocross as long as I could stand a bit more noise and dust. Carbotech actually said the XP8 should dust slightly less then the AX6 because there's less carbon in them. If they are unbearable for street driving, I can also switch out to the 1521 Bobcats which won't have any issue with compound compatibility.