Yes Dave,
My "S" has the "winky" calipers!! LOL I am really thinking about trying to upgrade to something a little bigger so I can use the Pagid S pads. I don't know. As always, when I ask a question on here, I get a ton of useful info and I kind of have to sort through it all.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Al P.:
<strong>... are there any differences between the Blue and the Gold?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Other than the color, no.

Skip

 

My experience in order of testing.
Mintex red good street pad, not much dust or squeal, wears and fades when on track does not build confidence. Fronts lasts max 3 days in track.
Hawk HP+: compromise street/track pad. Does not shine in either, better on track than Mintex but friction still changes a bit during 20 minutes session in Road Atlanta. Lasts about 5 track days in front.
Metalmaster seems good street pad similar to Mintex, no track time on these.
I am planning to change Hawk Blues for track events and use Metalmasters on street for now. HP+ is too pricey for compromise solution.
IMHO
hrk

 

For what it's worth, I flog the winky brakes all day at Road America (lots of heavy braking from 110-120 into 2nd and 3rd gear corners) with no problems. Same for Blackhawk, notorious for being hard on brakes. Haven't warped a rotor yet. I'm still running street tires, but I have found that the stock brakes with good (read - non-melting) pads have a lot of capability.

Best advice (and cheapest path) is to try stepping up in aggressive pads (OEM -&gt; MM's -&gt; KFP's or Hawks -&gt; etc.). Once that's just not enough, it is indeed time for bigger brakes. Also, observe pad wear (funny angles and such) as indicators of calipers needing to be pulled off, cleaned, and lubed.

Then, of course, there's the advice I get from club racers in the region when I tell them how quickly I'm going through pads... "In a stock 944 NA, why are you braking so much?" They may have a point.

That said, I love outbraking guys whose pads are bigger than my whole caliper. Long live winky brakes!

 

Z-Man - Do children and women cringe and run away when you pull up? You should see the look on my wife's face when we do some running around. She just sinks into the passenger seat. Hell, that alone is almost worth the cost of the pads.

By the way, you have one of my other favorite cars, that SVX. Before it's time and under-appreciated...

 

Women and children cringe and run when I start popping wheelies with my lawn mower, but that's a different story! See here:
<img src="http://members.rennlist.com/zman/z-wheelie.jpg" alt=" - " />
But yes, people notice my car when I'm stopping. Many a person have said, "Yer brakes need replacing." I've learned just to say, "Yeah, thanks."

Regarding the SVX: it's a wonderful GT car. Handles well despite it weight, and it goes like stink! But nobody back then associated Subaru with performance GT cars. IMHO, it's much better than a WRX.

-Z.

 

I'm surprised to see you guys getting away with the KFP's on street, but that's cool... Personally I like the Metal Masters for my street car (the 931), and the KFP Magnum's for the track. Actually, they're awesome on the track, did 3 seasons on them, including some higher-speed track useage, no backing plates or ducting, and always had more than enough brakes to beat anyone at all into the corners...

 

Vaughan - You're right. MM's are perfect for street. I'm just too lazy to change them out every track event (1-2 per month in season). I've also noticed how the rotors seem to take a while to adjust to different pads (compound on the rotors I guess).

Now that wheelie picture... I'm rolling on the floor.

Also, saw a SVX navigating the 8" snowfall here the other day. He looked pretty happy to cruise comfortably around all the SUV's.

 

I like the Mintex for street/agressive driving.