I can say unequivocally that the XP8's I ran all around would stop worse than stock (require much more pedal pressure) for the first 2-3 stops. After that, they were still annoyingly noisy. YMMV.

 

That's ok. I can tell you that XP10's don't work nearly as well as good street pads when cold. That's experience in two cars with dozens of sets of pads. That's why any vaguely competent racer or track driver will make sure his/her pads are warm before he/she really needs them.

Your mileage won't vary; you just think it does.

And, aside from the fact that it's simply not true, I would be stunned if Carbotech is telling people that race pads are as good on the street as street pads; their lawyer would have a fit.

 

I'm not arguing the fact that race pads will work better while in their temp range as opposed to being cold. That is a given. All I'm basing it on is the fact that when I went from stock pads to xp10/8's it stopped much quicker right off the bat than what I was used to with the stock pads.

What do you mean by mileage varying?

I was trying to decide what pads to get while talking to a rep at Carbotech. He told me that aside from the noise and dust, the XP10/8 will work as well as stock on the street. He explained that once you jump to the XP12 it will be significantly less effective while cold and pad/rotor life will drop. He did not recommend I run the 12's on the street.

Their website states that even the 10/8's are for track only, but he explained that is mainly to do with the excessive noise and dust. This information was further confirmed when I installed them on the car and went out on them for the first time. Initial bite and stopping power was superior to my stock pads from the first stop.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Call Carbotech at 877-899-5024 and ask to speak to Mike.

 

If you think the xp10s are great then you need to try the ax6 pads. They bite harder and with less heat.

I have mixed feelings on the bobacats. They are getting better as they are slowly bedding in, but I wish there were a tad more aggressive. The rotors still look like new after two bedding runs and 500 miles of street driving.

 

That being said, I rarely drive my car on the street anyway. It's not a daily by any means.

 

is that their street pad? I'm sure they perform better than the stock pads if so.

 

I used to swap pads to OEM but I realised theres no point even for auto-x they are better than OEM

My main problem running XP10/XP8 on auto-x is I brake too early - I think they won't work so on the first big braking zone I am timid when I could be standing on them

I do try and get a little heat in by braking hard on the way to grid
I'm sure the AX is better but I'm not super serious autocrossers

having to change pads between auto-x/track/street would be my worse nitemare

 

my experience. I've run XP8/10/12 on street. other than occasional noise and lot of dust, there are no drivability issue. but I do live in SOCAL. if you live in Canada, cold stopping might be an issue then.

 

The ax6 pads are the autocross pads. They dust like crazy and noisy as well. They have the best modulation out of all the carbotechs I have tried, unfortunately they can't take the heat of a track day.

The bobcats so far don't seem like proper street pads. They take quite a bit to warm up as well.