h4nsm0l3m4n Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I've finally decided to upgrade my drum brakes to 280zx disc brakes. All that's left for me to do is choose good pads for the rear calipers. Hopefully someone can give me some information on what brake pads to go with. Here are some pads I'm looking at: -Hawk HPS "street" pads ~$70 -Porterfield R4S ~$70 -KVR pads ~$40 -Any similar you might recommend that fit the front AND rear, and in the same price range My car is used primarily for autocrossing, driving to and from autocross events, and non-daily "fun" driving every so often. I'm looking for the best "street" pads I can get no R compounds. Also nothing more than $100 a set. Stuff like Porterfield R4, Hawk HP+ pads are too expensive for my level of driving. I do want to mention that stuff like dusting, and pad noise are not really an issue for me as this is not a daily driven car. I would like to run the same pads on all 4 corners. I've heard mixed opinions on the Hawk and Porterfield pads, making the choice somewhat hard. I also assume there are a lot of other options too. Hopefully I can get a few accounts of peoples experienced with these and similar pads, and help me make a decision on which way I would like to go. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 No idea for the US, could do you some suitable pads if AU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I've had good experience with hawk myself. Used HPS pads. Porterfields are also very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I'm running KVR's and am happy with them from the point of view that they are perfectly good for the street, and hold up well in autocross. I am sure I could get more bite out of my brakes with a more aggressive pad, but I'd rather have better rotor life at this point. Cold stops on the KVR's are just fine on the street. Hard for me to tell how much difference the pad change made by itself, as I went to bigger rotors and calipers at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 Thanks for the replys. From my research I've generally found that Hawk HPS pads have more initial bite but Porterfields have a very good linear feel to them. Couldn't find much more info on the KVR pads. I figured the KVRs might be a little easier on the rotors, thanks for reaffirming that. I'm not so much concerned about rotor wear since I drive the car so rarely but its always good to know. From all this I think I will go with HPS pads, they should be an excellent compromise... now all I have to do is wait for the parts to get to me... why does ground shipping have to take so long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 What are you running up front, and what are you using for a proportioning valve? As soon as you swap different brakes in the rear your F/R brake balance may be off. What calipers are you using in the front? I would start with the same compound in the rear as the front. See how the F/R balance is and make adjustments in pad and or proportioning valves as needed until you get the balance you want. For autocross street pads are fine. In fact, the stock brakes are more than adequate for autocross. Personally I would spend your money on high quality pads/shoes and fluid and save yourself a lot of hassle with a rear disc conversion. I run drums in the rear of my road racer with Porterfield R4 shoes and they work great. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Actually up front I'm already running the Hawk HPS pads on stock calipers. For brake balance I was basically planning on doing what you said. Do the disc conversion, and put the same pads (Hawk HPS) on all 4 corners. I've ordered a Wilwood proportioning valve, so I will put that in at the same time and adjust accordingly. I've been recommended the toyota 4x4 brake upgrade by several people but I've been holding off since as you said, stock brakes work really well for autocross already. Main reason I'm doing the rear discs conversion is because I want to. Although, my drum brakes are in need of a major service anyway, the drums are way out of spec and the cylinders are leaking. I'm getting all the parts at a very reasonable price so I figured why not make the upgrade. What brake fluid would you recommend for street/autocross duty? Ive been using Castrol GTLMA (http://www.castrol.com/castrol/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9012213&contentId=7024043) and it seems to be working very well. I've been recommended not to go DOT 5, this stuff "exceeds DOT 3 & 4" but isnt DOT 5.. I figured its a good middle ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 i have an old rear disc conversion on back of my 77 that uses 2 piston willwood calipers on 84 300zx rotors.the rear brakes allways had a bad squeek with the willwood pads.switched to porterfield r4s on back and squeek went away.for fluid i use oem ford fluid.its dot 3 but a very high boiling point.never had a problem at thunderhill.tried the old castrol lma but boiled it.front brakes are 4 piston toyota with the .8" spacers and 84 300zx front rotors.on track days i use porterfield r4 in front but switch out to napa asbestos pads for street.car has been tortured at the track(thunderhill,infineon,laguna) and brakes always work.i like using standard oem style pads for everyday use because they are easier on the rotors.running down a freeway off ramp at 100mph or so is no problem even with the asbestos napa pads-just dont do it too many times in 10 minutes or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy85 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 That Castrol is fine. For autox & occasional street the brakes will last forever. I ran HPS in the front and rear drums and after years of autox and driving to and from they still look new. Why change them now? If you want same front and rear then you've answered your own question and just go with HPS. Now for track that's a different story and you need some higher temp pads. Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 For your intended use (street and autocross) as others have said, I would NOT recommend the Toyota 4x4 upgrade as it will give you too much front brake bias. You will find that even with the prop valve all the way open that your fronts will lock first. The rears will not be doing their fair share of braking. I solved it by going to a rear pad with a higher coefficient of friction, but it's expensive and time consuming to work it out trial and error. If you do the upgrade anyway, I would suggest you go with the vented calipers that have the same size pistons. That way you can buy pads for the early 300zx which gives a better choice of performance pad materials. The truck obviously doesn't have the same variety of choices. Note: you do have to cut off a tab on the backing plate, but it's trivial with a dremel and cutoff wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Actually up front I'm already running the Hawk HPS pads on stock calipers. For brake balance I was basically planning on doing what you said. Do the disc conversion, and put the same pads (Hawk HPS) on all 4 corners. I've ordered a Wilwood proportioning valve, so I will put that in at the same time and adjust accordingly. I've been recommended the toyota 4x4 brake upgrade by several people but I've been holding off since as you said, stock brakes work really well for autocross already. Main reason I'm doing the rear discs conversion is because I want to. Although, my drum brakes are in need of a major service anyway, the drums are way out of spec and the cylinders are leaking. I'm getting all the parts at a very reasonable price so I figured why not make the upgrade. What brake fluid would you recommend for street/autocross duty? Ive been using Castrol GTLMA (http://www.castrol.com/castrol/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9012213&contentId=7024043) and it seems to be working very well. I've been recommended not to go DOT 5, this stuff "exceeds DOT 3 & 4" but isnt DOT 5.. I figured its a good middle ground. Another thing to keep in mind is that you pedal travel will increase with rear disk. So the pedal will travel further before getting firm. You will loose some of that firm pedal feel. Any DOT fluid is fine for autocross. I use DOT4 non-synthetic fluid in all of my Zs. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted July 31, 2009 Administrators Share Posted July 31, 2009 Anybody tried EBC Yellow Stuff? It looks to be a track oriented compound that still exhibits reasonable cold bite. I've been a loyal R4S user for years, but I'm thinking about giving these a shot (at about 2/3rds cost of R4S's for my application). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Hi Ron, I have not personally used any EBC pads. My only feedback is a bad track experience a friend had with them. For the street they might be just fine. One of the best street pads I've used (got them on my truck and 350Z), are the Stillen Metal Matrix pads. Consistent friction at all temperatures. Low dust, and easy on rotors. Unfortunately they are not available for the S30 calipers. The Hawk HPS is a good performance street pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun79z Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Ron and Paul suggested a couple of manufactures. One of those was Porterfield which I am now running on my 280zx. My driving is city and highway, no racing. I have been very happy with their performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 For your intended use (street and autocross) as others have said, I would NOT recommend the Toyota 4x4 upgrade as it will give you too much front brake bias. You will find that even with the prop valve all the way open that your fronts will lock first. The rears will not be doing their fair share of braking. Really? Wow thats actually good to know, I'm rather glad I decided not to upgrade the front brakes. Now that I think about it I wonder if with me using the HKS pads on the stock front calipers and OEM-ish brake shoes for the drums might be having a similar effect on my brakes since I definitely feel like my rear drums my arent braking as much as I think they ought to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ej20_ftw Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 I don't like the feel of Hawk HPS. I'm using EBC Red Stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 For your intended use (street and autocross) as others have said, I would NOT recommend the Toyota 4x4 upgrade as it will give you too much front brake bias. You will find that even with the prop valve all the way open that your fronts will lock first. The rears will not be doing their fair share of braking. I solved it by going to a rear pad with a higher coefficient of friction, but it's expensive and time consuming to work it out trial and error. Just so we understand the system, what rear calipers are you using with the 4x4 fronts? I find the brake bias to my liking for street/autocross with the vented front 4x4 and rear drums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Just so we understand the system, what rear calipers are you using with the 4x4 fronts?I have the 240sx rear calipers with 300zx rotors in the rear. Once I had the rears properly balanced with the fronts I was pleasantly surprised how much of a difference it made. On the track I was able to brake noticeably later than I had before without front lockup. But on the street where it's rare to threshold brake, I don't think it would matter as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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