i need to flush all my fluids and replace my pads. i'm looking into what would be a solid upgrade in performance over the oem setup I have.

the brake system is all stock except for ATE Brake fluid.

I'm mostly street with plans to start the occasional track day in the spring and some spirited canyon driving.

so what would you guys recommend for:

pads
rotors
SS brakelines
fluid ( probably just stay with ATE )

if you think oem is a better choice somewhere, just say so.

thanks everyone.

 

For the street / auto-x (i.e. good performance from cold temps on up)

Pads: Carbotech Bobcat (ctbrakes.com)

Fluid: BREMBO LCF 600+ (topbrakes.com)

Rotors: OEM or cheapest blanks you can find (BrakePerformance.com)

 

Hero,
My car is daily driven all year round. I see maybe 3-5 HPDE's per year, maybe less. I honestly think that for daily driving the OEM brake pads, rotors, lines, and fluids are the best option and the cheapest alternative.

For track duty I don't think the stock pads or fluid are up to duty. I've experienced brake fade using stock pads and fluid. I personally switched to Stoptech slotted rotors (mostly for looks), Carbotech XP8's front and rear, Goodridge stainless steel brake lines, and ATE DOT 4 brake fluid. I swap the Carbotech pads for the track, then swap back to OEM for the ride home and daily use. This has been the best alternative for me since I'm still use street tires, not R-compound. I'd highly recommend this setup. Let me know if you have anything else that I can help out with.

Hope this helps.

Christopher

 

how fast can you swap out the brake pads on the oem calipers?

I haven't done it yet on this car. i'll be swapping wheels for track too when it gets to that point so that is an option, probably not r-compounds though.


thanks for the input.

 

ive read the oem rotors are a pretty decent setup.

so slotted rotors don't offer much benefit over oem then? ( i know cross-drilled are a bad idea for hard driving ).

 

let me ask this also: my car only has 40k miles on it. should i replace the rotors or have the machined and re-used?

 

just out of curiousity why are dillred / crossed rotors bad for hard driving?

 

you are removing the integrity of the rotors. they will crack much easier.

not really worth the little bit of weight you save.

 

Like Nofar, I have two brake setups -

Track days with sticky r-comps:
Carbotech XP10s front, XP8s rear
Carbotech blank rotors
Brembo LCF 600+ brake fluid (change it about once a year)

Street driving:
OEM pads
OEM rotors

I highly recommend a dedicated setup for track use. The XP10/8s are amazing on the track, but are way too loud for street use. Also, if you damage a rotor at the track, you won't have an issue getting to work on Monday morning. Just swap the OEM parts back on and replace the damaged track components. Also, Carbotech recommends a specific break in procedure that would be negated by not using dedicated rotors. I can't comment on the effects of running the street & race pads on the same rotors.

After tracking my OEM pads once, I will never run them around a track again. The temps are too much for them. You'd be surprised how quickly you can kill a fresh set of OEM pads on the track, not to mention the fade you'll experience from glazing the pads. The Carbotechs wear much better on the track than the OEMs and I've yet to overheat them.

I take about 1.5 hours to change my pads/rotors and inspect the suspension after a lapping day. You can just drive home on the track setup and change them in a garage, at your leisure.

 

what's the cost of oem pads and rotors?

would you guys say oem is a better choice for street ( assuming 2 seperate track/street setups ) over something like hawk hps, carbotech, axxis ?

thanks for the advice...the more i read through this and do some searching its looking like 2 setups is best. and i have the opportunity to this since i use my bike to get to work mostly.