WARNING: Cobalt GT-S defective
10-23-2007, 12:17 PM
#11
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I have personally seen every step of this whole ordeal myself. I remember when he first put the brakes on and he complained about how the felt like they were draging.
Pictures can do no justice, to see the wheels and paint in person, it is just horible. Not just the front wheels but every single part around the front brakes. The caliper, backing plate, the KW3's, fender liners, everything is coated with pieces of metal. I pointed out to bill on sunday about how bad his wing looked, the whole front edge is rusty along with both sides of the car. I even made a joke about how does carbon fiber rust
I feel bad for you bill, I hope you can get this whole thing resolved. And put the word out about this inferior product. I know I am telling everyone that I know and race with not to put the cobalts on there car.
Pictures can do no justice, to see the wheels and paint in person, it is just horible. Not just the front wheels but every single part around the front brakes. The caliper, backing plate, the KW3's, fender liners, everything is coated with pieces of metal. I pointed out to bill on sunday about how bad his wing looked, the whole front edge is rusty along with both sides of the car. I even made a joke about how does carbon fiber rust
I feel bad for you bill, I hope you can get this whole thing resolved. And put the word out about this inferior product. I know I am telling everyone that I know and race with not to put the cobalts on there car.
10-23-2007, 01:13 PM
#13
Originally Posted by speedworksracing,Oct 23 2007, 12:17 PM
I have personally seen every step of this whole ordeal myself. I remember when he first put the brakes on and he complained about how the felt like they were draging.
Pictures can do no justice, to see the wheels and paint in person, it is just horible. Not just the front wheels but every single part around the front brakes. The caliper, backing plate, the KW3's, fender liners, everything is coated with pieces of metal. I pointed out to bill on sunday about how bad his wing looked, the whole front edge is rusty along with both sides of the car. I even made a joke about how does carbon fiber rust
I feel bad for you bill, I hope you can get this whole thing resolved. And put the word out about this inferior product. I know I am telling everyone that I know and race with not to put the cobalts on there car.
Pictures can do no justice, to see the wheels and paint in person, it is just horible. Not just the front wheels but every single part around the front brakes. The caliper, backing plate, the KW3's, fender liners, everything is coated with pieces of metal. I pointed out to bill on sunday about how bad his wing looked, the whole front edge is rusty along with both sides of the car. I even made a joke about how does carbon fiber rust
I feel bad for you bill, I hope you can get this whole thing resolved. And put the word out about this inferior product. I know I am telling everyone that I know and race with not to put the cobalts on there car.
10-23-2007, 01:40 PM
#14
Former Sponsor
Cobalt has been informed of the few people that seem to have had an issue. Ive contacted them myself as well. They are currently looking into all things presented to see if there is infact an issue.
I wouldnt be so bold to claim GTS pads defective, or dangerous...
2 months of driving, or even a month of driving can be pretty vague to tell people. I can have 4 hard track sessions in a month and blow through rotors and pads in that time.
As far as the pad sticking, they are looking to see if something in the metalic make up of the pads is maybe causing them to stick as they material dusts while using. That seems to be more the root of your wear problem perhaps.
Your old Hawks that you installed: which compound? less aggressive? less torque and bite? more? a hawk street pad would wear the rotors less for sure. details of this please?
For those that are comparing the old GTS, to the new, it is a completely different compound. The pad being used on the street will increase wear on both the pads and rotors significantly. cobalt recomends the pad to be used in autoX/HPDE type driving, or other repeated extreme braking situations ( canyon/mountain driving given as examples). these are situations where the brake pad material will reach the proper opperating temps, and the desired braking/wear characteristics.
For what its worth, we run the XR3 front and GTS rear pads on our time attack DC5 (same brakes as the s2k) and have none of the issues mentioned. Both break pad and rotor wear are normal, and no sticking. The cars is track driven, and often highway driven to and from events.
I wouldnt be so bold to claim GTS pads defective, or dangerous...
2 months of driving, or even a month of driving can be pretty vague to tell people. I can have 4 hard track sessions in a month and blow through rotors and pads in that time.
As far as the pad sticking, they are looking to see if something in the metalic make up of the pads is maybe causing them to stick as they material dusts while using. That seems to be more the root of your wear problem perhaps.
Your old Hawks that you installed: which compound? less aggressive? less torque and bite? more? a hawk street pad would wear the rotors less for sure. details of this please?
For those that are comparing the old GTS, to the new, it is a completely different compound. The pad being used on the street will increase wear on both the pads and rotors significantly. cobalt recomends the pad to be used in autoX/HPDE type driving, or other repeated extreme braking situations ( canyon/mountain driving given as examples). these are situations where the brake pad material will reach the proper opperating temps, and the desired braking/wear characteristics.
For what its worth, we run the XR3 front and GTS rear pads on our time attack DC5 (same brakes as the s2k) and have none of the issues mentioned. Both break pad and rotor wear are normal, and no sticking. The cars is track driven, and often highway driven to and from events.
cobalts are hella cheap compared to your typical s2k
10-23-2007, 04:06 PM
#16
Former Moderator
Originally Posted by J's Racing,Oct 23 2007, 05:40 PM
For those that are comparing the old GTS, to the new, it is a completely different compound.
It would be really good for Cobalt to recall all the new material pads, go back to the old material, and make good on the "few" folks who have been damaged by the new material. That will go a long way to repair their damaged reputation, before their reputation is so damaged that they lose their business.
10-23-2007, 04:54 PM
#17
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Originally Posted by negcamber,Oct 23 2007, 05:06 PM
And that is really too bad. It is obvious from this thread and the thread in the Racing Forum that many people prefer the old material. There was not the risk of the damage seen here.
It would be really good for Cobalt to recall all the new material pads, go back to the old material, and make good on the "few" folks who have been damaged by the new material. That will go a long way to repair their damaged reputation, before their reputation is so damaged that they lose their business.
It would be really good for Cobalt to recall all the new material pads, go back to the old material, and make good on the "few" folks who have been damaged by the new material. That will go a long way to repair their damaged reputation, before their reputation is so damaged that they lose their business.
10-23-2007, 05:01 PM
#18
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Originally Posted by J's Racing,Oct 23 2007, 05:40 PM
I wouldnt be so bold to claim GTS pads defective, or dangerous...
2 months of driving, or even a month of driving can be pretty vague to tell people. I can have 4 hard track sessions in a month and blow through rotors and pads in that time.
Your old Hawks that you installed: which compound? less aggressive? less torque and bite? more? a hawk street pad would wear the rotors less for sure. details of this please?
For those that are comparing the old GTS, to the new, it is a completely different compound. The pad being used on the street will increase wear on both the pads and rotors significantly. cobalt recomends the pad to be used in autoX/HPDE type driving, or other repeated extreme braking situations ( canyon/mountain driving given as examples). these are situations where the brake pad material will reach the proper opperating temps, and the desired braking/wear characteristics.
For what its worth, we run the XR3 front and GTS rear pads on our time attack DC5 (same brakes as the s2k) and have none of the issues mentioned. Both break pad and rotor wear are normal, and no sticking. The cars is track driven, and often highway driven to and from events.
2 months of driving, or even a month of driving can be pretty vague to tell people. I can have 4 hard track sessions in a month and blow through rotors and pads in that time.
Your old Hawks that you installed: which compound? less aggressive? less torque and bite? more? a hawk street pad would wear the rotors less for sure. details of this please?
For those that are comparing the old GTS, to the new, it is a completely different compound. The pad being used on the street will increase wear on both the pads and rotors significantly. cobalt recomends the pad to be used in autoX/HPDE type driving, or other repeated extreme braking situations ( canyon/mountain driving given as examples). these are situations where the brake pad material will reach the proper opperating temps, and the desired braking/wear characteristics.
For what its worth, we run the XR3 front and GTS rear pads on our time attack DC5 (same brakes as the s2k) and have none of the issues mentioned. Both break pad and rotor wear are normal, and no sticking. The cars is track driven, and often highway driven to and from events.
"along with its excellent performance, the GT-Sport compound is rotor friendly and has very good wear rates over a broad operating temperature range."
http://www.cobaltfriction.com/compounds/
They are NOT rotor friendly whatsoever. If this is the claim, certainly the pads I purchased are defective.
In the period I used the pads between August 10 and October 19, I participated in only two auto-Xs, for a total of 8 runs of less than 50 seconds each. So let's say 7 minutes of hard driving. Other than that I was going to work with 10 minutes of 20 on an empty stretch of I-95. If I had let the pads wear again for another month, the majority (if not all) of the pad material would be gone and the rotors ripe for breaking. That is quite dangerous by anyone's standards. Look at my rotors and pads and tell me with a clear conscious that it was safe to drive under those conditions.
The HAWKS are HPS pads that I had on for week while waiting for my replacement pads. The same exact pads I had on for well over a year with countless Auto-Xs and numerous Dragon trips that are much harder on pads than an Auto-X. I had zero issues with the HAWKS. Stopped great were dusty and a little squeaky but perfect for my driving style.
I would check the rear rotors of your DC5. The Cobalt GTS pads are trouble and are costing me a fortune. I don't want you to have a "surprise" rotor break on the track.
Currently I have the HAWK HP+ on my car with OEM pads and so far no issues. I do not expect any, but I will be inspecting my pads regularly. No dragging so far. If problems arise I will post them here in this public forum.
