Techno Duck

Checked the life of the brake pads on my '87 944 today, they are a little past the 50% point. I will be auto-xing the car next season, but will likley not be seeing any DE events for some time. I would prefer low noise, but can live with some squeeling. Dust is not a huge issue as the pads on now are fairly dusty and ive grown used to the anthracite look they give my front wheels . My main concern is that these 'peformance street' pads will be eating through rotors constantly.

Im looking into the Hawk HPS and the Ultimate pads which Paragon sells. Any experience with either? I have read good things in the archives about the KFP Magnum Gold pads, but those seem like overkill for my goals with the car.

Any other recommendations from those more experienced than me?

83na944

I had a set of Hawk HPS street pads on my 83 944 for a year before it was totaled. They put out some dust, but were low noise. The best thing about the Hawk pads was the feel of the brakes. Really well modulated. The Metal Masters felt hard and harsh. And the Hawks had a really good bite. But I can't speak to the rotor wear from the hawks.

I read that the Axxis Ultimates are good, but have no direct experience with them.

I've just installed a set of Akebono ProACT ceramic pads on the front of my BMW. They feel just as goo as the Jurid pads I removed. No squeal. And almost no dust. But I'm not sure they make them for 944s yet.

Porsche-O-Phile

I'm putting on some Mintex tonight; I'll let you know how they are. If they suck, they're coming off and I'm getting OEs, but I've heard a couple of people say they're great (that's why I got them).

83na944

I put a set of Mintex Red on and replaced them within a month. Too much dust and they squealed so much that it was embarassing. Performance wasn't good either.

But opinions vary. I hope they work for you, Jeff.

Porsche-O-Phile

Yea, I got the pads in (I have to say, brake pad replacement on these cars is WICKED EASY!!!) Once you figure out how the caliper assembly moves and a mechanism for spreading it, it's ridiculously simple. I'm pretty confident I could change all four wheels in under two hours - including jacking time now. Chalk one up for the Porsche engineers. Now how they can have brake pads (a normal wear item) be so simple and a clutch (another normal wear item) require disassembly of the entire car except for two screws in the glove compartment and a wiring harness up near the passenger's side sidemarker light, I'll never know.

I've got to do some more things on that car tomorrow so I'll test the new pads out then and let you know how they are. I've got a long list of "little stuff" I want to knock out before I move it.

TheRealLefty

FWIW, I had good luck with Mintex for street and autoX combo, but suffered pretty heavy wear and some late session chattering during DE's on an 85.5 NA with cross drilled fronts. Have since switched to KFP Magnum Gold (F & R) with good results, dust is light enough, stopping in competition is short and without drama. When first installed, they squeaked and squealed very loudly, even sometimes without even applying the brakes Now with about 6 miles of autoX and 500 miles of street under their belts, they're quieter. But, yes, be sure you've got some heat in them before charging down into the big freeway exit on your way work...otherwise you'll get this nice polite stiff pedal, but very little friction!

GlenL

FWIW, I liked Hawk HP Plus pads. Lots of good grab in DE. Dusty and squeal on the street, though. They don't have to be super hot to work well.

I'm planning to try either Hawk Blue or Pagid Orange for DE next year. I expect that the pads will need to be swapped with street pads before/after each event.