I am hopeful that my stock brake pads will be done soon and I can upgrade/replace. I am wanting something a bit more fade resistant. I could feel them start to fade on my last mountain run. Want something that is tolerable on the street- I don't mind a bit of noise. There could be a track day in the future, but haven't ever done one yet. I was trying to decide between Hawk HPS and HP+. Any comments on these. Anything else I should consider?
I have the hp + and the stop like no other...but are very loud You may want to go for the hps...they will make noise but not as much as the hp +
I had the HPS and replaced them with the HP+ recentley. I would never go back to the HPS...Yeah, the HP+ is a bit louder but it is worth the difference in stopping power. I usually just turn up my radio.
Yup, they squeal prettly loudly. Mine actually were quiet for the first 5K miles...then they got louder and louder.
I cringe everytime FACE hits the break. He can vouch for that. I have the Hawk HPS and Racing Brake Slotted Rotors. My brake feel is a vast improvement over stock, and I don't hear my brakes ever. My car stops much faster than it could with the Stock pads and rotors. I have not put them thru any real test though, Mtn Run, Auto X, or Track.
SS$S$S#KR&&&&&&eeeeCH....Yeah that loud...at times....OK...most of the time. The Stopping power I got is well worth the noise making everyone at the light think that I need brake's 10k miles ago. It only takes about a month to get over feeling embariesed coming to a stop :keke: The main thing... remember the people behind you will probably not be able to stop as quickly!
Thanks for the info. I've been looking at upgrading the pads on mine and squealy noise is definitely a concern.
i also have the HPS with Powerslot rotors, its such a good comprimise between noise and stopping power. much more then stock ordered mine from here and came to my door in about 3 days https://www.cvrmotorsports.com/stor...9be8825574c87d27917758009c&sl=EN¤cy=usd
What car do you drive (im mobile and can't see avatars or sigs) I've got a set of slightly used HPS pads for 03+ wrx. I went on a couple of runs with them and didn't have a problem. I switched them for hp+ pads when I went to the track and I will admit the bite is a lot better but they are annoyingly squeely. I'll sell the HPS pads say... $50? They've got maybe 1,500 miles on them if that. If they don't sell I may put them back on and save the hp+'s for an event.
You just need to hop on Hawk.com and take a look at the pictures of the pads. As for me I have HP+ in the front and HPS in the rear. Still loud, but not as loud as Face. Around 80% of the braking comes from the front rotors so that's why I went with that. Everyone else forgot to mention the dust also...it's worth it though.
Is the dust easy to clean. I don't have a problem with dust as long as it coms off easy. It is funny - the pads on there now (I think subaru pads) don't dust at all! I am not sure if that is good or bad.
I have the HP + in the front and HPS in the rear. I was afraid of the noise with the +'s but honestly, they are extremely quite. Like near stock kind of quite. I bedded the pads per the instructions and I used a high quality synthetic grease on the hardware and shims. I think the grease is key to making them quiet. After a few thousand miles and a track day they started squealing some. I pulled the pads and the grease had been cooked. These pads generate a lot of heat. I re-greased the hardware with some anti-seize that rated for something like 1200 deg and now they're quite like stock pads.
If everything else is stock except for Stainless brake lines and motul fluid, what should I do with my rear brakes? Car has 53k on stock brakes (mainly highway) and tire guy told me my rear pads were close to the end of the their life. What can I do on the VALUE side of things... would like some increased performance but don't really want the noise, etc...
If you live up with brake dust and noise, check out Axxis Ultimate pads. I recommend them over Hawk HPS.
When I upgraded, my rear pads were still looking very good. If you are interested, I will sell them to you cheap.
For daily driving, none of these pads are going to be a real improvement over stock. Hold on guys, I'm not knocking your setups! That is, if the stock brake pads can lock up the tires (force abs to kick in) then you have enough braking power for the daily driving on the street. Upgrading your pads increases heat capacity, which is a big deal on the track, but unless you drag your brakes all the time when daily drving, you won't get any better performance from an upgraded pad in a DD setting. However, upgrading pads will improve brake pedal FEEL. For instance, I have upgraded to Hawk HPS, ATE super blue fluid and stainless steel lines. My brakes feel WAAAAAYYYY stiffer than stock, but I can't actually stop any more quickly unless I also upgrade my tires. Tires stop the car, not just the brakes. Upgrading brake pads and fluid increases how much heat the system can handle before boiling the fluid. So it is important to note that if you are considering upgrading pads, you should also consider fluid. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with upgrading your brakes to improve feel or just in case you have a track day sometime in the future. But you should also consider better tires and better fluid to take full advantage of your potential braking power. OK, I have been hanging out on nabisco too long, this may be way too much info, so please take this post with some of this:
personally I did not notice a diff between the HPS an HP+ on the track. I would assume on those mtn runs (I have yet to go) the same problem applies and it is your fluid that is boiling. I did however notice a slight diff with the carbotec HP10 (frt) HP8 (rear) but still at the track the fluid faded. This is with the stock caliper setup, upgraded ATE fluid and the SS lines. I plan to try the axxis pads at some point and purchased carbotech bobcats or panthers for the next track session as they are sooo much cheaper than the XP series and now have the 4 pot fronts so if I reduce any fade I will be happy. basically someone else will have to answer the ? on the mtn runs but on the track with stock calipers you are looking at 12 laps max (TGP) and you will hit a turn and say WHERE THE F&%$ ARE MY BRAKES.
I'm afraid I have to disagree. I had a set of Carbotech pads on for a while. Yes, they took heat beautifully. They also had my wife complaining that she kept hitting her head on the wheel when she stepped on the brakes. You might say that I just get to lock-up with less pressure on the brake pedal. Technically, you're right. The experience doesn't feel that simple. DD
Yeah, "technically" isn't always the most fun way to go either. I have upgraded pads, lines and fluid on my car and it feels much better than stock. But my braking performance didn't really increase until I got better tires. It really feels nice to have a firm, responsive pedal under your foot, but sometimes people fool themselves into thinking that they can brake more quickly because of this alone.
Wirelessly posted I am not so sure about that one Matt. If we're talking re92 tires here then yes, they do stink. However, I have always felt a noticable difference with pad upgrades on both platforms (wrx and sti)
I switched to CaroTech (www.CTBrakes.com) pads on all my cars, including our track car, several years ago and have never looked back. As DD noted, they offer great stopping power, even their street pad, and they are very easy on rotors. Feff
i replaced the stock ones with the hps then went to the hp+ the hp+ stop much better and still are very good cold they do make more noise and dust then the hps which is bad for me since i have white wheels lol. But hp+ for the win
Yeah on my GR I bought the HPS front off mmtasty and took a couple hundred miles to get used to them... they do NOT have the bit the HP+'s do. I am so looking forward to upgrading lines and getting some HP+ all around.
After today's mtn run, I'll be upgrading to HP+ all the way around before the next run. While the brakes held and were not cooked, the bite just wasn't there. Also, I've only had Carbotech once during track and both mine and the ones Drew used cracked from 1 track day's use. That just doesn't sound like mere coincidence. When I emailed them with pics explaining the situation, they never replied back. I'm not using Carbotech again. Gonna try Ferodo or Hawk racing pads next time.
I am going to have to agree with Strayen, while the carbotech's have incredible bite, I am not so impressed I would ever spend the additional cash versus Hawks.
Haven't had fade since I went with Carbotech/Motul. Just lots of brake dust and squealing on the street, but on the track they're great.
I really can't stand to avoid re-posting to a thread that I contributed to once before. I've never had this chance. My Carbotech's are grand. They also took a toll on my rotors. And, they squeak when I'm coasting down the cul de sac. So, I'm hunting something somewhere between the HPS and the Carbotech XP10. The Carbotech's will be back, though.....