i want to upgrade my stock ap1 brakes. here is what i found.

Hawk HP+/ Endless CCA Pads
Gruppe-S Steel Braided Brake Lines
ATE Super Blue Brake Fluid

Will this make a big difference in braking? How are these pads with brake dust? I do weekend autocross, and mainly dd.

 

Another good way to increase braking is to upgrade tire grip. As for braking, i'm still good with oem setup so i wouldn't know...

 

HP+ pads are pretty good, much more initial bite than stock, and OK cold. They do dust quite a bit, but it cleans up reasonably well if you get to it soon enough. Whatever you do, though, don't get HPS pads. WORSE than stock.
Carbotech XP-8's are also good street/track and (presumably) autoX pads.

In my experience at the track, ATE SuperBlue is not better than, perhaps worse than good off-the-shelf DOT4 (Valvoline SynPower, Castrol).

I haven't felt the need to go to stainless lines.

For street/AutoX, biggest difference will be pads.

Tires are, of course, the most important element!

 

make one change first (the easiest to install) and see if it's enough.

hp+ and xp8's will be noisier and dust more than stock. i have xp10/xp8's for the track but put the stock pads back on for daily since i'm not doing too many track days recently. off the shelf valvoline and stock brake lines.

 

XP8s are not good for autocross. AX6 are excellent, though.

To the OP, you might only be able to do pads depending on the autocross class.

 

skip the dot4 fluid, you'll never even come close to boiling point for dd and autocross, it's cost more, need to flush out more often=waste of effort.

unless your current line are bad, SS braided line offers little to no difference in some car, btw those braided line are notorious for bursthing because you can't actually see the damage underneath the mesh and most people have no visual clue even when their line is about the burst. most racer have those change them by time interval/mileage/race season

the most bang for the buck is tires and pad, fresh fluid in system and just have fun.

 

Stay away from that super blue brake fluid. That stuff comes stock on Porsches and the first thing those guys do is get rid of that stuff.

If you wanna upgrade the brake fluid get the Motul 600 brake fluid. Great stuff.

Look into Proterfield R4s pads if you wanna get much better than stock pads that you can use on the street as well.

I am currently running:
Slotted Rotors
Goodridge SS brake lines
Motul 600 Dot 4 brake fluid
Hawk HPS pads(replacing these with Porterfield R4s pads soon)

 

[QUOTE=Rubn1out4GudLuk,Dec 17 2009, 08:25 AM]Stay away from that super blue brake fluid.

 

I have been using ATE Super Blue for 6+ years on the track and have never had a single issue with it. I also know of some Honda Challenge racers that use it, so it obviously can take the heat of racing. Not sure why some of you guys have had different experiences.

I tried Hawks when I first started tracking and found no good reason to buy another set. Too much dust and poor modulation compared to other brands. The Endless CCA performed better and did not dust.

 

For my past track session I bought:

Stainless Steel Braided Lines
Hawk HP+ (front & rear)
Super Blue ATE Fluid

Excellent setup for the track! Much better than when I ran all stock equipment. The Hawk HP+ are horrible for daily driving because they squeal when you're driving slow in a parking lot and braking for pedestrians. It's quite annoying. I need to find a brake pad suitable for the street and autocross that has more bite than stock but no squealing.

I swapped back to the stock pads and I can't believe the difference I felt; the stock pads are horrible for braking compared to the Hawk HP+. You might not notice too much of an improvement on the street when you upgrade your brakes but you will notice a HUGE difference when you downgrade back to stock pads when you're not on the track. Just my $0.02