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Track brake pad recommendations


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Setup: 73 240Z with turbo L28

Front: Toyota 4x4 calipers with 300ZX vented rotors

Rear: 240SX calipers with 300ZX solid rotors

Adjustable proportioning valve

Top speed ~130 mph at the end of the straight with braking to ~70 mph before turn-in.

 

Does anyone have information that shows how the various Hawk materials behave over temp? It's time for me to order track pads and I need a higher coefficient of friction for the rears, otherwise they don't do enough of the work. I've found this page attached that describes the materials in vague non-quantitative terms. It appears to me that if I went with Black front and Blue rear I'd be headed in the right direction. But I'm at a loss to tell how the Blue and HT-10 materials differ. For example, should I use HT-10 instead of Blue in the rear?

 

An alternative is to use Porterfields R4E up front and R4 in rear. The R4E has a lower coefficient of friction than the R4, but not by that much - see attached. I'm worried that even with the rear proportioning valve all the way open, there still won't be enough rear brake bias.

 

Suggestions?

hawkracecomp2009_02_05_03_15_28.pdf

portrace2008_11_06_02_41_04.pdf

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I've run the HT-10's and DTC-70's on the front of my Trans Am and the 70's are a wonderful pad but probably too aggressive. I'm probably going to step back to the 10"s for the next set and would imagine that on the rear of a lighter Z-car they would be the way to go. I've never played with the Porterfield's so no help there.

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I couldn't personally give an opinion on what types of pads are good but I did just read a good article in the October issue of grassroots motorsports where they did a comparison on a handful of different types of race pads on an E36 BMW. Check it out I am sure you will get some good info.

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I spoke with one of the techs at Hawk and he recommended the HT10 for the front, and Blue for the rear (Blacks aren't available for these calipers).

 

I asked what he thought of a more street friendly setup using HP+ front and Black rear and he said it should work, but that he was concerned the HP+ might be a bit grabby at temp and also that the Blacks were hard on the rotors compared to a typical street pad.

 

I hate the StopTech pads I currently have on the car, even for street use, so may take one more stab at a single set of pads for street and track by trying the HP+/Black combination. At least that's the direction I'm leaning right now.

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Do NOT use HP+ IME. Once they get hot the pads fade REALLY REALLY bad. I'm not talking boiled fluid either, more like standing on a perfectly firm pedal but not really slowing at the rate you need to make the next turn. Ask me how I know. I've been happy with HT10s.

 

Cameron

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have the same front brake setup.i use normal napa autoparts store pads on the front for daily use.On track days i switch to porterfield r4 .The oem style asbestos pads are easier on the brake rotors and dont take any warmup.My rear brakes are 84 300 zx rotors with 2 piston willwood calipers.I run porterfield r4s pads in the rear.I use Ford brake fluid

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Porterfield can custom cut a pad from any material they carry to fit the Toyota SW12 or SW13 calipers. I've had them cut DTC70 pad material for my OEM 350Z front and rear calipers (non-Brembo) from a big AP application. For track use, DTC70 is the best pad material I've ever run. They are aggressive as mentioned above and will consume rotors, but they can take a lot of heat and have outstanding release. Very easy to modulate.

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The Blue/HT10 combo was excellent at the track on Saturday. That was my first experience with real track pads and what a difference - no fade, consistent brake pedal pressure over the entire 30 min session, and much less pressure required as well so much easier to modulate. This track has 2 hard braking points, one from about 125 mph to 75 and the other from 100+ to 45. Throughout the session the car just stopped without any drama, just as if I was running errands.

 

Rotors showed some "blueing" and the pedal wasn't as firm at the end of the day. But I never noticed that on the track, only in the pits. Brake fluid is Valvoline synthetic with a 470F dry boiling point and was flushed before the event. Perhaps I need a higher temp brake fluid...

 

Thanks for the suggestion to have custom pads made John. Any thoughts comparing rotor wear between DTC70 and Hawk Blue/HT10?

 

I have one more track day this Saturday and then will pull these pads off and be better able to assess wear.

 

BTW, what do you guys like for an economical street pad? I'm currently using Stoptech Street Performance and hate them. They have poor initial bite and high pedal pressure.

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Porterfield R4-S...just bought a pair of fronts for $59 from LPI Racing (quick shipping too). Great feel, good stopping power, and no squealing.

 

Used to run R4's all the time. Worked great on the track, but I got sick of the long, painful screeeeeecch at every stop when driving on the streets.

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