what i always wanted to know, is what is a great street pad. i could care less about tracking it, as if i do, i will buy xp8s and swap them at the track. i drive decent on the street, but hey, its the street, so how aggressive can u be? thats why i was just going to go back to the stock pad. on the street, and the dragon, i dont remeber it fading. anyone have a comment?

 

Stock Honda pads are fine for the street, and you can get by at the track with them. I've done 2-day events on stock pads with no major issues, just took it a little easier on the brakes.
I *think* that the AP1 pads (different part number) are "better".
But I could be totally F.O.S. on that...

 

I mated xp10 to new front rotors and xp8 to used oem rotors (25k miles). For the first week or two after bedding... there were no squeels. Then a couple lapping days later and a few K miles driving on the street and they squeel slightly. It's really not that bad at all right now but there was a period of time that it was almost unbearable... really not sure how that changed though as now they are tolerable.

 

[QUOTE=ZDan,Sep 9 2009, 01:02 PM] Stock Honda pads are fine for the street, and you can get by at the track with them.

 

Of course I don't recommend stock pads at the track, but in a few instances, at Mont Tremblant and at NHMS, I have gotten by with them.

That better?

For street *and* track duty, CarboTech XP8 and Hawk HP+ are pretty decent at both. Agree it is better to have street pads and track pads.

Fluid is a no-brainer, but of course always worth mentioning.

I've had different amounts of success using stock pads (fair to middling), and I know I've used both AP1 and AP2, but don't recall exactly which performed better.

 

If you want a higher performance street pad, I would say the Hawk HP+ hands down. I feel like my Carbotech Bobcats are equal to the OEM's grip level, but different on modulation- I don't feel that the purchase was worth it in this case.

Track, go all out. I take my XP10/8 combo with me to Deal's Gap (I'm that guy with the noisy brakes besides Billman ) just out of peace of mind. that's not the sort of place you want your brakes to be insufficient.

 

I use XP10/8 combo at the track, and do some street miles on them (mainly just the trips to/from the track). Right now they're near the backing plates have quieted down significantly, but before that they squealed like crazy when they were cold (especially at light/medium pedal pressure).

Track days = track pads, street days = street pads. I've tracked the OEM pads (AP2). It took a 1.9 mile track with two hard braking zones from before I found the limit of even the OEM pads. This is pad fade, as in rock hard brake pedal and the surface of the pad getting glazed. Soft pedal = brake fluid can't take it. Anyway, if you can fade any brake pads on the street, you're either dragging the brakes while flying downhill or just outright driving like an idiot on the street.

 

Bump. I've installed these now, XP8s all around, and I can give a bit of feedback about how they sound. It seems to depend on temperature and pressure.

When cold, they're completely silent. When warmed to relaxed street driving, they only squeak at light pressure, and it's liveably quiet. When warmed to jackass street driving temps, they squeak no matter how the pedal is pressed, but again, it's not that loud. If the weather allows, I'll be at the track next weekend, so I can report more then.

I installed these pads with lots of anti-squeal goop as well as the shims from the OEM pads. The front pad had two shims on one side. I sandwiched the goop between every layer of shim too.

The pads have less bite than OEM at the first couple stops, but they aren't dangerous either, plus they heat up quickly anyway. It's a bit annoying that the pads keep changing sensitivity as they change temps, but I think I'll get used to that soon.

 

I've got XP8's all around as well. That pretty much mirrors my experience spot on. I actually got annoyed even with the light squeaking (and stares) so they've been relegated to track-only duty.

You'll love them on the track. They just stop you without a complaint (assuming the brake fluid is up to the task).

 

You can pick up a used set of OEM pads for really cheap. I've got at least three partial sets sitting around the garage. I ran Carbotech AX6s for a year on one of our S2000s and sometimes it would be silent, but sometimes it would squeak loudly. To the point where a guy on the corner said, "That can't be good...."

I hadn't done brakes myself at that point so I didn't want to swap them out.

This year I did rotors and pads and was like, "Really?! That's IT?" It takes literally 5 minutes per wheel if you don't count wheel removal time.

I'd swap them out if you have a few weeks of street use between events.