Are the Hawk HPS pads an improvement?
 

I've been doing some searching, and I can't seem to find anyone that advocates getting the Hawk HPS pads. So, I'm just assuming that they're really not much of an improvement over OEM pads.

Assuming this is true, which are the better pads: Hawk HP Plus or Cobalt GT Sport?

I will be doing most of my driving on the street, with very occasional track / autocross days. One consideration that is important to me is dust. During the winter, I don't get to wash the car very often, and I don't want to ruin the rims.

Thanks!

I have Hawk HPS pads, and I can only recommend them as OEM replacements -- they fade badly on the track. They also don't have any more initial bite than the stock pads, as some people prefer.

I've never had stock pads on my car, so I can't compare the amount of dust against them. The HPS' do dust, but not nearly as badly as the Brakeman #3s that I had previously.

Since this isn't a Racing and Competition-oriented question, and your primary decision criterion is lack of dust, you'd probably have better luck asking in S2000 Talk.

Steve

Steve-

Thanks for the advice. As far as moving this topic to another forum, I guess I should have been more explicit as far as my criteria. They are:

1. Adequate track performance. (From what I can read, a lot of people would argue that OEM pads do NOT meet this criterion).

2. Dust.

3. Cold performance (street).

4. Rotor wear.

5. Cost.

6. Noise, etc.

Hawk HPS are woefully inadequate for any real track driving. Any performance pad is going to dust more than the OEM pads since low dust isn't really a criteria of theirs when formulating pad compounds.

Between the GT Sports or the HP+ pads, it's a tossup. I ran the HP+ for 6 months as my only pads and was pretty happy with them although they didn't bite the way I like. They throw a ton of dust and are noisy too but coldperformance is fine for the street.

The Cobalts aim at pretty much the same target although Cobalt at least gives you the temp ranges and coefficient of friction of these pads so you can intelligently compare them against other performance compounds. Hawk does no such thing since they consider the HP+ to be a street pad primarily.

If I had to choose a dual-purpose pad today, I'd pick the GT Sports.

I've used several different pads for both autocross and the occasional track use, including the Cobalt GT Sports and the Hawk HP+, and given your criteria, I would say get the Cobalt pads hands down.

1. track performance: Both pads are similar in this respect. If you're not using brake marker number 1 (like I always do) than those pads will last you the whole track day without going south on you. The pads are rated up to 950 degrees. If you start to fade either one of those pads, then it's time to start using dedicated track pads.

2. Dusting. The Hawk HP+ have got to be the MOST dust producing pads I have ever used. It is one of the reasons I stopped using them with half the pad life still on the car. That and the noise.... SCREACH.... Cobalt GT Sports, they will dust more than OEM, but they dust the least out of all the pads I tried, including the Axxis Ultimates.

3. I'd say both pads have good cold performance, with the slight edge going to Cobalts because the Hawk pads felt a lil bit better after a stop or two. But this is more of a small detail than a valid point to differentiate the two. Both are pretty equal.

4. The Cobalts have been a lot more rotor friendly than the Hawks. I think the Hawk compound is a more aggressive one (hence the better initial bite, at the cost of LOTS of dust and screaching brakes) and thus the eat the rotors at a higher rate then the Cobalts.

5. Price: pretty much even. You can get the Cobalts thru s2ki for $119 or you can get the Hawks from Tirerack for $117.

6. Noise: This is probably the biggest thing that drove me nuts with the Hawks. I use my car when I drive around the city and hang out with my friends, and it was embarrassing how much damn noise the Hawks made. So embarrassing that I would use the Ebrake to stop if they were in earshot...

conclusion: Cobalts. Best all around street pad for the occasional track day.

James

James and Ludedude-

Thanks! This was exactly the info I was looking for. :thumbup:

You're welcome. James did a much better job explaining it than I did :)

BTW, we sell the pads here: http://gofastlab.com/s2ki/customer/home.php?cat=21

If you become an s2ki member, we'll give you 5 or 10% off the listed prices ;)

unless you drive pretty sedately on the track, it's really hard to find a pad to do both, especially with our underbraked cars. (anyone that wants to argue that point can look at the heat cracks in my rotors...)

I found the stock 00-03 pads are great for street use and inadequate for track use, the 04 pads last a decent amount longer on the track but still aren't up to full track duty. The Hawk Blues or Cobalt Spec VRs are great for the track but lousy on the street, noisy and super dusty and will eat rotors, cold.

Yep, which is why a pad like the GT Sport is the best of the available compromises.

I'll put in another vote for the Cobalt GT-Sports as a dual purpose pad. They do dust more than OEM pads, but hold up much better than OEM under hard braking on the track. Also, the dust is not corrosive like it can be with dedicated track pads, so there's less concern about damage to the wheels. Plus, most dedicated track pads, like Hawk blues or Cobalt Friction Spec VRs, have very poor cold stopping response and will rapidly wear rotors if they're not up to temperature.

So, for mixed street, autocross, and light track use, go with the GT-Sports. When you want to get gonzo on the track, the best solution is to switch pads and rotors for each intended use, using OEM pads on the street and a high perfromance track pad on the track. I keep my rotors matched to the pads, so that's a bit of prep work swapping pads and rotors before each event.