I'm looking to upgrayyed by brakes from the EBC yellow pads I was using last year. I liked the EBCs except for that they crumbled apart during their late period and faded a little at Autobahn CC full course (Joliet, IL).

They worked really well at Road America and Gingerman...so I think the fade was caused by the crumbling.

Anyway, I keep hearing excellent things about Carbotechs. My friend has them on his Z06 and other people in the internet seem to be clamoring about them. It seems to fit my needs:

No corrosive dust
Can be used for street driving if need be
etc.

I have 225/45/17 and 255/40/17 dunlop Z1 starspecs. I have KW V3s. I do a handful of HPDEs per season (around 5-10 events/days). I do brake agressively.

The real question is...what are the advantages of using XP10F and XP8R vs. using XP10s all around? I was thinking about switching to R-comps as my Direzzas are probably only going to last like 2 more track days.

I see a lot of topics about people using them one way or the other...but nobody has really stated the advantges/disadvantages.

I figure I'll move the braking bias to the front more with XP10F and XP8R for later/trail braking...but besides that, I'm not sure of much else.

I also figure that XP12F and XP10R will be a little overkill since I just have an intake as the only engine mod. I'll add an exhaust later...but it's not going to make a world of difference.

Thanks for any help.

 

I do xp10/8 combo w/ a similar setup and its great.

 

I have no engine mods or suspension mods at all, except for a front camber kit (which would decrease braking force). Yet with R-comps (staggered 225/255 Nitto NT01) I did experience brake fade this past weekend at Buttonwillow with 94-degree F track temps. I was running Carbotech XP10 all around.

I do like to late-brake and trail brake into corners, and I didn't feel like the rears were locking up much faster than the rears, either, with the same pad compound front and rear.

If you're going with R-comps, are aggressive with braking, and you have hot track temps during the summer, I would recommend going with XP12/XP10. If you're going with street tires and track temps aren't that hot, then XP10/XP10 or XP10/XP8 should be just fine.

 

I have an XP12/XP10 setup, but I'm not certain it's better than XP10/XP10 or XP10/XP8. It's working for me, though, so I'm planning to stick with it.

I did a period over the last year and a half where I tried a bunch of different brakes and eventually came back to using the Carbotechs like I started with.

 

Alot of you are saying the xp12/xp10 setup is pretty good, but is it ok for the streets? The OP says he wants to use them on the street. I always assumed that the more track oriented the pad, the hotter you need to get it to achieve proper braking.

 

I was wondering the same thing. I dont think 12/10 would be good on the streets at all, but would 10/8?

 

It's not a good street setup. None of the XP pads are, really.

I will drive the car on the street (ie. out to the gas station, or from my house to the track). This would not be my choice as a daily driver.

Stop being lazy and just swap to street pads if you want to use the car on the street.

 

Thats what i have come to the conclusion of doing. Lol. Plus the pads on my car are pretty meaty anyways

Thanks for answering Mike

 

I just switched to XP10/XP8 and I really like them... so nice to be flying into a corner and not worry about whether your brakes will be there or not.

The XP10/XP8 setup seems to be more front-biased than the OEM AP2 pads; I'm able to trail brake a bit harder and later into the corners than before.

As for the street, they're okay, but far from ideal. The cold bite isn't that great, and at light pedal pressures the noise can be insane. I drive to/from the track with them, and to work for a day or two (literally around the corner for me) until I can swap them.

 

Honestly, I have the carbotech pantherplus series and they do really well on the street. Just a little loud (sounds like a semi-truck when coming to a stop). I think these are going to be the threshold as to street/track duty. If you are at the point where a pad like panther plus just doesn't hold up, then I don't think you have much of a choice other than swapping your pads out whenever you go out to the track.