Track Day / HPDE Stock Brake Pad Replacement Recommendations

[oldbmwfan]

HPS suck. Honestly I don't know why anyone runs them on track, ever. Same with the HP+, which are a very old compound. HP+ do have fantastic cold bite, so they are a great autocross pad. If your car weighs 2k lbs and makes <200 hp, they probably do fine on track, too.

The reason our stock pads don't last that long is because they are thin. To handle continuous lapping without overheating, the rotors are massively thick and take up most of the space in the caliper. I was very surprised when I saw how thin the pads are given the caliper size, but I guess in part they make up for limited material depth with a huge swept area.

The other characteristic to consider is rotor wear. Not sure what others are experiencing, but after going through a few sets of stock pads my rotors still look excellent. If a more aggressive pad also wears the rotors faster, that increases the effective cost even more. I'm guessing one would need an R7 or stickier tire to really take advantage of those changes.

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[arsenalrocks]

there is wear indicator, so you don't need to guess, I have mine down to just able to touch the rotor.

Autonation ford white bear lake is the best got all my stuff there thanks to this forum.

Personally I am sticking with stock rotor and pads, I brake from ~145mph every lap and the stock setup is perfect for me.

 

[ShiftPoint]

there is wear indicator, so you don't need to guess, I have mine down to just able to touch the rotor.

Autonation ford white bear lake is the best got all my stuff there thanks to this forum.

Personally I am sticking with stock rotor and pads, I brake from ~145mph every lap and the stock setup is perfect for me.

Thanks, guys! I'm VERY happy with the stock setup. Just wondered if anyone was deviating from stock. I have absolutely no reason to run anything else. They were GREAT at my first event. Just checking with those that have had the car and more experience than myself.

I don't want to burn through rotors due to a more aggressive pad. For my last event, the top speed was around 134ish and I never had a single bit of fade or issues the entire event.

In two weeks im at Mid Ohio Road Course here in Ohio and most with our cars are coming off about 147 - 152ish to 70 on the long back straight. Just thought maybe it would be a good idea to have an extra set of pads of they wear out.

Coming from my old car, I'm always thinking about the worse case scenario and trying to be prepared. It was a BLAST not having to work on the car or mess with for an entire track day! Worth. Every. Penny :ford:

 

[oldbmwfan]

Extra set of pads at MO highly recommended. That is a track where I went through a set of fronts in about 3.5 hours total lapping time.

 

[snaproll]

Ahhh Putnam Park! Great little track. Fond memories from learning to drive there. That 1-4 complex is still among my favorite turns in the country. Way faster than it looks. Fun, safe, and educational. I managed to bury a fox body in the creek through the trees thereafter but that’s another story.

Brakes? Use them up but realize the last half of the pad goes away much faster than the first half! And everything is a compromise. More friction is more heat is more wear and all that will be distributed accordingly. It would be ideal to have .980 pads but at least the rotors are thick enough to take a beating. I don’t replace rotors until they have multiple cracks through the outer edge or a 1” or more radial crack through the edge.

 

[Trackaholic]

For the front pad change, if you don't want to get the studs, you can get some M14 x 180mm long bolts from McMaster-Carr (or similar) and use them as temporary guides to support the calipers while you pull off the rotors to swap the pads.

That worked very well for me.

I brake pretty lightly at the track, and made it through 4 track days before swapping with fresh OEM pads. One one of the track days I didn't cool the brakes enough before parking, and built up deposits on the rotors that caused annoying vibrations. I therefore also got new front rotors and swapped those in as well.

I like the stock pads and rotors, and feel they are an economical solution and have decent bite and of course are very street friendly. I do need to put in new brake fluid, and will likely go with Castrol SRF which seems popular these days.

My rear pads still have lots of life left, but as I said, I try to be pretty easy on the brakes.

-T

 

[firestarter2]

I had the ferod DSUNO pads. I got over 10 days in them. I had some in uneven wear that I think had I rotated then would not of happen. They are pricey I do not know how much the stock pads cost

 

[petstang]

Anyone has ever used Powerstop Track Day/ HPDE brake pads for the GT350/R ? I tried to order some OEM brake pads just to have a spare set for my next event but was told they are on back order for 4-6 weeks ! I ordered a set of these Powerstop pads just in case. Any ideas where to get OEM's fast ? Thanks
here is the link to Powerstop:
https://www.powerstop.com/product/t...16&mk=FORD&mo=MUSTANG&ss=SHELBY GT350; GT350R

 

[SixSpdCyclone]

They are one of the best groups I have ran with. Their drivers in intermediate are better than most in Advanced group at other companies. Also they allow passing anywhere on track as long as you get a point by. So you can pass in the turns and its a blast

Great group with tons of knowledge and seat time. I always run the intermediate group with them and advanced group with other companies. Highly recommend them. They have a kick ass photography company there too. I haven't purchased the originals yet but plan on it.

https://shawnandmelissa.smugmug.com...Park-Road-Course-4202018-Professional-Photos/

I'll second this. Can't give 10/10th's enough props. Very well run, great instructors, excellent communication before/during/after the event.

I was at this event running my C6 (we chatted about the alignment of your car in the garage) and it was my third 10/10ths event. Have run events hosted by others but none seem to compare. Highly recommend them.

 

[Epiphany]

It's easier once you have your Caliperfexion studs. http://caliperfexion.net (not a paid spokeperson)

For the front, you need to remove the calipers since they have a structural bridge in place preventing you from removing the pads. For the rear, it's straightforward.

Smart man!

 

[arsenalrocks]

very nice pics

They are one of the best groups I have ran with. Their drivers in intermediate are better than most in Advanced group at other companies. Also they allow passing anywhere on track as long as you get a point by. So you can pass in the turns and its a blast

Great group with tons of knowledge and seat time. I always run the intermediate group with them and advanced group with other companies. Highly recommend them. They have a kick ass photography company there too. I haven't purchased the originals yet but plan on it.

https://shawnandmelissa.smugmug.com...Park-Road-Course-4202018-Professional-Photos/

 

[GT350Brakes.com]

Pmd

I have Ferodo DSUNO pads ready to go for the fronts as well as DSUNO and DS1.11 available for the rear. These will allow you to save your street pads and swap back and forth without having to sand or clean your discs. Just swap and go.

New lower pricing on pads FYI. Be sure to use M6G at checkout for the forum discount.

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