New brake pad compound - street but aggressive

I mounted my new pads and bedded them in this evening. Although I only went on a a short drive and didn't heat them up too much, the braking power is a HUGH improvement. I'll know how bad the dusting is tomorrow and will know how well they perform next Monday at the track.

It's a new compound that Hawk developed for heavy duty trucks and much of the testing was done on the streets of San Francisco. Several months ago, I tried getting a set, but they weren't done testing them.

I hope the dust isn't too bad, because the braking is great!

Here are the details:
Cost: $150 for all four wheels (included tax and shipping). The compound is not as aggresive on the rear. I don't know whether or not they'll make the rear pad with the front pad compound.

Purchased from: Monty Holt, (company name is Bits and Pieces in Long Beach, phone is 562-420-3557). If you call Hawk Brakes and ask for a dealer in California, they'll give you his name and phone.

Rookie install time: 1 - 2 hours including 4 to 5 phone calls to those who have done it.
 
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Spike Engineering said:
I mounted my new pads and bedded them in this evening. Although I only went on a a short drive and didn't heat them up too much, the braking power is a HUGH improvement. I'll know how bad the dusting is tomorrow and will know how well they perform next Monday at the track.

It's a new compound that Hawk developed for heavy duty trucks and much of the testing was done on the streets of San Francisco. Several months ago, I tried getting a set, but they weren't done testing them.

I hope the dust isn't too bad, because the braking is great!

Here are the details:
Cost: $150 for all four wheels (included tax and shipping). The compound is not as aggresive on the rear. I don't know whether or not they'll make the rear pad with the front pad compound.

Purchased from: Monty Hall, (company name is Bits and Pieces in Long Beach, phone is 562-420-3557). If you call Hawk Brakes and ask for a dealer in California, they'll give you his name and phone.

Rookie install time: 1 - 2 hours including 4 to 5 phone calls to those who have done it.

Spike; how would you compare them against the Carbon Metallic's that are out? Those offer a bit more braking over stock (much reduced dusting also). The biggest gain in my book was the lack of fade.

The reason I ask is that I bought the Carbon Metallic's from Autozone, and they had a 'lifetime warranty' <cough>. If the braking capability is similar I may just get a <ahem> warranty replacement set when these are ready. <g>.
 
Sir Speedy:
Direct swap.

Roger - Comparison to Carbon Metallic's from Autozone (dust & fade): Difficult to answer. Although little dust is good, I'd rather have good braking power and ignore the dust during the week, as long as it's easy to remove. As far as the fade is concerned, I don't know yet but I will test them this weekend so I have a rough idea when I can expect fade at the track.

Aside from the above, you know how people will talk about a new engine mod and the grin it brings to their face? Try these pads and maybe your grin will grow when you hit the brakes.

Spike
 
6 days later...

After 6 days of driving:
brakedust1.jpg

brakedust2.jpg
 
Spike; ok, now that you've ran them for a few days, how do you rate the stopping power over say, the carbon metallics?

How is the fade resistance?
Do they take a bit to warm, or are they available immediately (doing double duty on the street)?

The carbon metallics seemed to offer about 10-15% improvement in braking and fade over the stockers. The reduced dusting was just a benefit I wasn't expecting.

How do these pads compare to that? I'm trying to determine if they're worth the upgrade over my CM's.
 
cracks

Those will disappear in a few days of daving like Azeem said.Looks almost like the pad was trying to weld to the rotor.Judging by the one dimple and the trailing edge of it.:eek:
But they are an agressive pad.:tu: Stan
 
captainoblivious said:
Spike - have you had the NAPA ceramic pads? If so how do these new pads compare to those (both daily driving and racing)?
I haven’t tried the Ceramic pads because they are just a street pad. I did run the stock pads at a couple events and they will force you to drive slow mainly because you’ll lose brakes quickly. That actually a good thing because it forces you to learn, drive smooth and efficient . If the Napa pads are similar, that’s how they would perform on a track.
 
pads ordered

Thanks for your help Spike!

Ordered my set from a local distributor (Indy) for $129. :)

The only kicker is it affords another fine excuse to go down to Gasoline Alley... :D

:tu:

Bob
 
thanks Spike. I had Monty overnight me a set for tomorrow's track day. he bent over backwards to make sure i got them in time and he's got an extra set ready to go if anyone is interested.
gonna put them on and try and bed them along hwy 5.
 
Hey Spike,

What's the name/part numbers for these new compound breaks? My rear pads are almost gone and I'd like to replace them with these.

I am currently running the ceramic pads in the front, but I think the autocrossing (and my standard aggressive driving) might be too much for them...they're squeeling a little, and it looks like it may be because the pads are crystalizing (as said by my mechanic) from too much heat.


Daniel
 
rotor wear

So, are those rotors a wash now? I get cracks like that on mine and have been discarding the rotor once the cracks reach 1in from the rotor edge. How much cracking is safe?
 
Re: rotor wear

The cracks in mine were surface "cracks" actually caused by the pad welding itself to the rotor and shearing away. Thus, the surface of the metal was "tearing" and not cracking.

After a couple weeks of driving, the rotor wore down and the cracks disappeared. The rotors were trash because I warped them.
 
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Nathan... it depends on the cracks.

Cracks in the attached pic: uniform, not very deep, not very wide are surface "heat check" cracks caused by heat - these are ok. I got two more track days out of these rotors. BUT if the cracks are "wider" or "deeper" than these, time to toss the rotors. And if there are any cracks on the outside edge of the rotor... time to toss the rotors.
 
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