Brake pads

[Needboost]

ive been trying to find a good brake pad but not sure what to go with. i have been looking at ebc green and red stuff but im hearing all different kinds of reviews. ill manily be on the streets and the ocassional track use but want real good performance and a good lasting pad. has anyone used ebc? and what type of pads do yall run?

 

[PROJECT N00b]

Are your brakes still stock?

 

[iwannadie]

I use porterfield street pads. Great stopping and no dust or squealing, they have lasted me a long time so far too.

 

[Needboost]

Are your brakes still stock?

well i had bendix on it then i changed them put another set on but not sure what they are

---------- Post added at 03:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:36 PM ----------

could that be used for a lil track use?

 

[Poodles]

I think he means stock setup. If it's a stock setup, you're not going to get much "performance" out of them, there just isn't enough mass to the setup to deal with the heat of track use...

 

[PROJECT N00b]

^^^Thats what I meant. Also he is correct, that was the point I was trying to make. If you want a huge difference over stock look into buying the ARZ big brake kit (BBK)

 

[hvyman]

I have red stuff in the back and had them in the front. There nice pads. I also like the trd carbon ceramic pads and have gone through about 3 sets in front and 1 in back since i got them for free.

If you go to the track make sure you got some new rotors, pads, and fluid so your braking system is in tip top shape and ready to be abused.

 

[gurley0916]

I have the porterfield carbon kevlar pads and they are a very nice pad, little dust, no squeeling and the feeling over regular pads was night and day.

 

[steve1479]

For street use with occaisional tracking I don't think it's necessary to dump $3000 on a big brake kit (provided you'd want to do both front and back), I was considering the same thing but for the amount that I track it's not worth it.

You're best bet would be to do a full brake tune up. Replace your fluid with a DOT5 fluid (higher boiling point) change your rubber brake lines to stainless steel braided ones, get a nice set of slotted / dimpled or drilled rotors (rotora is a nice brand) and get a decent pad ( I also personally like the EBC Red Stuff pads, Yellow Stuff are nice and more suited to tracking, they WILL wear alot faster)

Other than that, there's not much you can do without upgrading to big brakes or retrofitting MK4 calipers, the brakes on the MK3's were the car's downfall, far too underpowered for the car weight & speed the car could attain.

 

[Poodles]

Pads for the street and pads for the track are 2 completely different animals, and can be downright dangerous if used in the wrong environment. Also, DOT5 brake fluid has some flaws...

Read this: http://www.supramania.com/forums/co...ke-Disc-and-Other-Myths-of-the-Braking-System

 

[steve1479]

I've heard that it's prone to foaming or something like that from vibration after a while, but on the plus side it doesn't absorb moisture after X amount of time.

I forgot to add, another thing you can get is a brake stopper (cusco makes them for our cars), basically it bolts to the strut tower and applies pressure to the master cylinder to prevent it & the firewall from flexing out when braking, thus improving the feel of your braking & preventing damage to your firewall.

 

[Poodles]

Master cylinder brace from cusco only works on RHD cars. Someone on the forums makes them for LHD cars though...

Also, yes, DOT5 foams from high vibration, say a motor constantly being reved out like on the track... Absorbing moisture is only an issue if you don't replace the brake fluid (yearly works, or just do it when you change the pads since you're tearing into it anyway). Water in the system is safer than air in the system...

 

[Needboost]

Pads for the street and pads for the track are 2 completely different animals, and can be downright dangerous if used in the wrong environment. Also, DOT5 brake fluid has some flaws...

Read this: http://www.supramania.com/forums/co...ke-Disc-and-Other-Myths-of-the-Braking-System

thanks man this was very informative

---------- Post added at 11:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 PM ----------

^^^Thats what I meant. Also he is correct, that was the point I was trying to make. If you want a huge difference over stock look into buying the ARZ big brake kit (BBK)

oh sorry about that confusion. the only thing i have done is put drilled and slotted rotors. but running a normal pad

---------- Post added at 11:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:49 PM ----------

I use porterfield street pads. Great stopping and no dust or squealing, they have lasted me a long time so far too.

could those be used for a little track use also?

---------- Post added at 11:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 PM ----------

does any one have any pros or cons against EBC greenstuff or the portifiled pads. i looked on horsepowerfraks and read some of the reviews on the portifiled street pads which says good things about them and the price isnt that bad either.

 

[iwannadie]

could those be used for a little track use also?

For all the reason mentioned here, you don't want to use street stuff on the track. Just get a set of track only pads and swap them as needed, only takes a few minutes. Anything could work on the track but if you are going through the trouble of going to a track, do it right.

What's good on the track doesn't mean they are good on the street. Heat is the major factor from my understanding. Everyone I know that puts any vehicle on a track bleeds their brakes after each track day at least.

 

[Poodles]

You also have to swap rotors, not just pads...

 

[YoungGunSupra]

i was doing a little research myself..ive heard good stuff about the ebc green stuff and the porterfield r4 street performance pads. again these are very good pads "supposedly" from what i hear for street use. if your gonna track it..get diff pads..rotors i think im going with the powerslot slotted cryo treated rotors. sorry to thread steal but is cryo treatment worth the extra 20 bucks per rotor?

 

[Poodles]

They're good, but the stock brakes just simply aren't up to the task of handling the heat. It ends up boiling the brake fluid. Depends on the course though...

 

[YoungGunSupra]

They're good, but the stock brakes just simply aren't up to the task of handling the heat. It ends up boiling the brake fluid. Depends on the course though...

? you directing that towards me? what do you mean? the cryo treated rotors = more heat?? and what do you m ean on the course. i just daily drive my car to school..maybe a little bit of spirited driving but all at stock boost..

 

[Needboost]

For all the reason mentioned here, you don't want to use street stuff on the track. Just get a set of track only pads and swap them as needed, only takes a few minutes. Anything could work on the track but if you are going through the trouble of going to a track, do it right.

What's good on the track doesn't mean they are good on the street. Heat is the major factor from my understanding. Everyone I know that puts any vehicle on a track bleeds their brakes after each track day at least.

yeah thats true my may get the portifields rs-4 and get another set for the track. i made the mistake of runnig oem type pads on the track and didnt turn out to be to good. thanks for the advice.

 

[Poodles]

Cryo treated or not, they're still going to overheat. Rotors are supposed to be thermally stable anyway through heating and cooling before they even get to you...