Which brake pads?

[RoadRacer]

Sorry to ask this because I’m sure I’ve seen many people talk about brake pads… but I can’t find any mention now!

I’m running bone stock FFR/mustang brakes, no upgrades and I’d like to experiment with pads. One guy at autocross said “just get autozone ceramic”, another mentioned “hawk”.

What are the best pads for stopping? Don’t care about wear rate or cost - just don’t want to upgrade calipers etc just yet.

[NAZ]

Stay away from the compounds that are designed for high temps as their cold braking torque is usually worse than garden variety OEM pads. Here's an example of coefficient of friction curves for some Wilwood compounds that show what I mean:

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For a comparison, the coefficient of friction of steel sliding on steel (kinetic friction) is 0.42 which is better than some high temp pads when cold. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/friction-coefficients-d_778.html


I've had good luck with Hawk DTC30 compound. Good cold braking torque and still it stops my car without fading from 150 MPH. https://www.hawkperformance.com/compounds/motorsports

[RoadRacer]

Thanks NAZ.

For completeness in this thread, FFR says that the front brakes are 2000 Ford Mustang GT - I always find it hard to get specs on parts. Rears vary of course, but mine is an 02 GT.

[RoadRacer]

NAZ, I know you have a very different use case but have you compared with DTC-60? I know it says the optimal temp range is much higher (700f over 100f), but the graph shows equal braking at low temps, and doesn't drop off as much at higher temps (like when I track it).

Am I reading the data correctly?

[NAZ]

My experience with Hawk pads so far has been limited to the DTC-30 compound as that was the only compound they had to fit my front & rear calipers that was suitable for street use. When you look at the DTC-30 curve it doesn't look like a performance compound but my actual experience has been great. Hauling a 2500 lb car to a stop from 150 MPH puts some heat in the pads and these DTC-30 pads are just as happy stopping from that speed (once) as they are stopping from 45 MPH. So I can't speak from experience with any other Hawk compound, but having compared their various compounds to others I have used, it appears that have some good choices.

Looking at the chart for DTC-60 it would appear to be a good choice for about any application. It has a fairly high coefficient of friction even at 100F but the description says the minimum operating temp is 400F. This seems to conflict with the chart. I'd be interested in this compound's street performance but likely wouldn't buy them to experiment.

Take a look at the data for HP Plus, it looks like a better choice for a performance car that is street driven and may see some track time. The operating range is from 100F to 800F with a fairly high coefficient of friction up to 1000F.

Whatever you go with I'd be interested in you assessment. I'm about finished with my new race car and will likely be shopping for pads soon.

[sread]

Check out the Powerstop stuff. You can buy complete packages for a price that can't be beat (Rockauto). I've been running them on my 350Z daily and have been very pleased. Also built my hot rod with them and although I don't really have any miles on them yet, they feel pretty good so far.https://www.powerstop.com/product/power-stop-z26-street-warrior-brake-kit/

[JimLev]

I forgot who recommended the Powerstop pads, maybe you sread? I also bought them from Rockauto.
They are the Z26-804 Street Warrior Extreme Carbon Fiber pads.
I haven’t bedded them in yet, car isn’t registered yet however just driving up and down my short dead end street they are better pads than what came with the car.

[33fromSD]

I forgot who recommended the Powerstop pads, maybe you sread? I also bought them from Rockauto.
They are the Z26-804 Street Warrior Extreme Carbon Fiber pads.
I haven’t bedded them in yet, car isn’t registered yet however just driving up and down my short dead end street they are better pads than what came with the car.

I think I may have recommended them JimLev, I have them on my 33 and they are far better than the pads that come with the kits.

Jim

[Alan_C]

I had a slightly different configuration for my brakes as I had the 13" Cobra dual pot brakes in the front, but I ended up with Hawk HP pads up front and HP Plus in the rear. I had tried the HPS pads in the rear. They really grabbed, but I soon got tired of cleaning off the brake dust in the rear. For street, I liked the above combination as it provided a bit more grip at the rear.

[Old Timer]

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I am running the EBC yellow with great luck.

[RoadRacer]

Thanks all. I originally bought the K1303-26 powerstop complete setup at the rear but not sure if that’s the same pad that JimLev has. The front is still stock whatever FFR gave is.

The HP plus is interesting. I like the “perfect for autocross” part since that means they work very well cold. I’ll start looking for a set for the front first.

[JimLev]

I think I may have recommended them JimLev, I have them on my 33 and they are far better than the pads that come with the kits.

Jim

Yes, it was you Jim. I just looked at your build thread to see if you used these Street Warrior pad on the rear. I see you used drum brakes.
Anybody know the p/n for the rear Street Warrior pads? (See post #15)

[33fromSD]

Yes, it was you Jim. I just looked at your build thread to see if you used these Street Warrior pad on the rear. I see you used drum brakes.
Anybody know the p/n for the rear Street Warrior pads?

I did not use the street warrior pads in the back, but a minor correction, i have the FFR disc brakes in the back using the pads that came from FFR.

Jim

[johnnybgoode]

2X on EBC. I'm running GreenStuff on the rear and quite like the strong initial bite for the street. They don't dust that bad either. I run HPS on the front. The combination helps to better balance the brakes on my setup with a single, powered master.

EBC also come with a break-in coating so you can swap them in on old rotors, which again I quite like.

Scott

[JimLev]

After a bit of searching I found the calipers and rear pads that come with the kit for the Ford IRS diff use StopTech 309.05450 pads. The calipers are from a 93 Ford Mustang V8.
The Z26 PowerStop Street Warrior rear pads are p/n Z26347 also available at Rock Auto for $36. I just ordered a set.