255/40



1st place PAX

 

But.... there was very limited competition and I only went .6 faster than Jadrice in his B-Stock CR on Dunlops. So... it's not really a good bench racing data point. Sorry.

 

Since it's time to do brake pads on my S and I'll be running STR this year and for the the forseable future, what brake pads are poeple going to run?

I can get Hawk stuff through work at a good price, so I wasn't sure if I should run HPS, HP+ DTC-60/70's or a mixture of them.

Carbotechs have the AX6, XP8, XP10, not sure if i should run a mixture of them either. I don't do track days so i'm not sure if the XP10/XP8 that the track guys run...

Any idea's?

 

Are you left foot braking in the S2k Matt? Nice driving. Wish I was playing with my car...

James Yom

 

I'm running OEM pads. I've run them on both R comps and street tires, and for autox, they get the job done. Easier to control the brakes and modulate than aftermarket compounds too. The OEM brakes are horrible on the track because they fade so fast, but for autox they're acutally pretty good.

I hated the HP+ becuase they dust like crazy and squeal like a pig...

James Yom

 

i had the exact opposite experience. stock pads sux0r with R comp, and i found the hp+ much easier to modulate. yeah, they do dust up and squal occasionally, but they were so much better then oem, that i just deal with it.

 

I guess everyone has a different experience. I ran my stock pads all of 09 and hated them as I got a handle on the car. I tried my friend's car that has HP+ and I hated them as well. I am going to try Carbotech's and see how they work. Another friend has the now defunct BHP pads and loves them, he also hates both OEM and HP+. Unfortunately you can't get those damn pads anymore.

 

I cannot compare to the stock pads, but the old Cobalt GT-sports were good with R-compounds and the Ferodo DS2500 has worked as a good replacement.

 

I don't left foot brake.

I seriously doubt for STR that you'll need pads that are more grabby than OE. Now, I don't have a lot of experience yet but I haven't had any problems locking the wheels and engaging ABS.

The first sign that you need pads with more bite is if you can't lock up the front wheels under braking. God help our competition of we can achieve that level of traction. I doubt the S2000's stock braking system will be found too weak for 255s on the grippiest surface. But... who knows? Maybe in the heat of summer and at some place like Peru, you'll find out you don't have enough pad.

There are no pads that offer substantially better bite and as good "cold" temperature performance as the stock pads. All pads that offer better bite are going to suffer some form of daily driving aggravation. They'll either dust more than OE (which is bad enough already) or they will make noise. It's not worth those problems when stock will most likely be enough on street tires.

 

My .02 on pads ... unless you only race on concrete, stick with OEM. I experienced abs freeze mode more often with HPs. They would bite harder yes, but always seemed to engage the abs on asphalt, slick, or sandy surfaces. This caused more push and the inability to slow down. I learned not to use the brakes unless absolutely necessary (alot of pitching, lifting, and coasting). This is abviously going to be personal preference, so best to do some testing between the two and find what you life best.

My driving style is a bit different, so keep that in mind.

-Marc