RedCelica

Thanks for the feedback! I was eyeballing HT10s, but took what I thought was the mainstream route and went with the DTCs since that's what the HC guys are running. Live and learn I suppose. I'm only doing DEs and hoping to get into instructing here soon. Why am I running a full race, rotor-eating pad anyway?!

DanielB

One answer is that the stock brakes on the S2000 are thermally challenged if driven at 10/10 over an extended period (more than a few laps). For example, a friend I track with has an FRS which weighs about the same (actually maybe 100lbs less) and has a slightly larger front rotor and significantly larger vented rear. With upgraded pads he has no brake issues even without adding ducting, and he is at least as aggressive with braking as I am.

The ideal way to address this is, of course, via BBK upgrades, but for some of us, that's something we'd prefer to avoid due to cost, as well as the fact that the stock wheels will no longer fit. So the methods to improve the stock setup are pretty simple:
1. increase cooling via ducting
2. use higher temp pads

I have not tried the HT-10s so don't know if they would survive on the S2000 driven at the limit. There seems to be a lot of variation in how hard different drivers use brakes, and I suspect that too might explain how different drivers have different experiences with what appear to be similar setups.

A little more detail on my experience with the DTC-60: I live in Colorado and the track is at 5k feet elevation. So there's ~15% less atmosphere which affects both HP and cooling. I used to just assume that the lower power would also result in less speed on the track, hence less thermal load on the brakes (ideally cancelling each other out), but I now suspect that the impact on cooling might be greater. Regardless, last Friday I found that if I braked at the latest possible moment for the hard braking corners, after a few laps the fronts began to go into ABS - something that otherwise rarely happens. I adjusted by braking about 10 yards earlier and all was well. I suspect the rears were overheating and moving more load to the fronts which triggered the ABS. I take all of this to mean that the thermal capacity of the stock brakes on the S2000 is just barely adequate for hard driving, and is inadequate for sustained at-the-limit.

So the question becomes whether we are ok to live with the slightly compromised braking of the stock brakes and their shortened life (both pads and rotors) vs. the cost of a BBK and new street wheels.

I'm curious if this agrees with what others are experiencing.

THMotorsports

Carbotechs are a fair bit cheaper than the Hawks, they aren't as abrasive on rotors, and the dust won't ruin your wheels/paint if it gets wet.

That said though... the Hawks DO work really well on certain cars. I have a lot of luck with them on a Corvette, but was also running DTC70.

RedCelica

Are they? I was on your website and the xp16s are $221 for fronts, and DTC60s are $208. If you can get me Carbo's cheaper than I can buy Hawks we need to talk!

As far as "ruin the paint", my car did get wet and there were brake dust deposits from the hawks. Clay bar took it right out

THMotorsports

Try an Iron remover like Iron-X.

With the tax time sale, the DTC60 are a bit cheaper on the site. But yeah, I can get you a great deal on the Carbotechs. Hollllaaaaaa.

InsaneSp

I run DTC70s front and rear with no issues. I've tried many others but thanks to the contingency, I haven't paid for pads in two years.

BradtheMachine

Hey Bret! I will be trying out DTC60's for the first time this year as well and will report back!

RedCelica

Hey Brad! I look forward to your review sir!

Ricky_Flowers_

Brett, I would take those Hawk Blues and throw them shits in the trash. Try running a DTC-30 or HT-10 in the rear. I had a similar issue running DTC-60s in the front and HP+ in the rear (two pad compounds with far different working temperature ranges) and my brakes felt like shit after a few laps of heating up the rears.

gptoyz

Carbotech needs to release a temp vs mU graph. If you look at the DTC60 they have a pretty broad coefficient of friction profile and doesn't really fall off until 1500 F!!!! The maximum mU is over .75 @ 500 F it's already exceeded the performance of the xp16.

What I definitely hated about the carbotechs is that the backing plates were like tinfoil, there was so much flex in the pedal.