Yeah, brakes again.

I've searched the archives and I found some info, but not what I'm looking for.

I want a street/track pad that won't fade and wont cost more than $120 for a pair of pads ($240 for the front end). I need them to last more than a few track days. Is the Porterfield R4S what I'm looking for? Or maybe the Hawk HP+ ? Metalmasters? KFP intermediate track pads? What pad does what I'm looking for? I will be driving on the street a decent amount, but squeeling isn't too big a deal. The more important aspect of street driving is cold stopping power.

I dont mind if they eat rotors so long as they'll last me a while. Rotors are $100 a piece, pads are about the same.

FYI I found this thread to have some good info in it: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...d+street+track

 

wow lotta traffic tonight

back to page 1 it goes...

Add the Mintex M144 to the list.

 

Yeah, I have a set of Mintex pads on all four corners. I love them. They need a little heat got start working on the street, but really shine when they are warm, both on the track and on the street.

 

Hang in there. I'm sure the 951 guys will chime in here. I run the KFP Carbon Kevlar ones for street and track. 'Course, I'm running winky little NA brakes.

I will say this... Move up in pad aggressiveness in steps to reach your sweet spot. An example of this progression could be:

Stock Organic
MetalMasters
KFP's or the Pagid Street/track (think they're blue)
Pagid Red and/or Black, Hawk Blues, I'm sure there's a similar Mintex
Then go out and buy Big Red conversion

Hope this helps.

 

Pagid S fits your profile and budget. Here's the blurb:

KFP's stop great but make a bit of noise and dust quite well (cheap way to make your wheels have that new anthracite look ). I'm thinking you're past the MM's by now in that car... right

Good Luck!

 

If you're max budget is $240 for the front axle, then a set of Pagid Blacks or Oranges fit the bill depending on your usage.

A set of Pagid Oranges used to last me an entire season but at the end of last season I was going through a set in 4 days at Watkins Glen.

The Pagid Blacks I'm using now look like they'll last the entire season and have a better coefficient of friction as well. They squeal much worse than the oranges, however.

You might also want to check out SBS pads that TireRack is selling. The track pads have temp range slightly higher than Pagid Blacks but I haven't tried them yet.

 

I cant help but ask, is the Pagid S really another $100 of pad compared to the Porterfield R4S and Hawk HPS? Will it last that much longer? Stop that much better?

The pagid black and orange are too aggressive for me I think, remember the car will be street driven and needs to have good stopping capability when the pads are cold.

Thanks for the responses,

Adrial

 

my mintex are great, but after the first time i really pushed them hard, when i turned off the car to let it cool at the bottom of the canyon run, smoke bellowed from the fronts..... a bit disconcerting.... but they are great cheap pads....

 

Adrial - I'm not sure of the prices on those pads, but I don't think they are $100 less for either axle. Pagid S runs ~$150/axle front or rear. Hawk HPS would be closer to the performance of the PBR/Axxis Metal Master, but Hawk HP+ might be closer in performance to the Pagid S. Porterfield R4S are very similar to the KFP Magnum Carbon/Kevlar - again, ~$150 for front axle, ~$100 for rear axle. With those prices, is the gap a little closer now? I'll let others comment on which is best - my reply was to offer a choice that meets your criteria.

 

I just put in a set of EBC greenstuff pads. I had them in my 944S and loved them, now we'll see how they do with the 951...

First search with google came up with this:
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/ebc/greenpads.jsp

 

Adrial,

I ran the Hawk HP+ on the street and track for a couple of years and just decided this year to switch to separate pads for the street and track. While the HP+ stop way better than stock, I found that as I got faster on the track they just didn't have quite enough bite. I also felt they were too much of a compromise - too noisy and dusty on the street and not aggressive enough on the track. I went to Hawk Blues on the track and love them and am going to go going with MM for the street. Since it only takes about an hour to change pads, I decided it really wasn't worth the compromise to go with the one pad does all route.

 

Adrial: I have the KFP Magnum Gold pads ("intermediate track pads"). As Skip said, they make a lot of noise and dust, but they are very rotor friendly. After some 20 odd track days with KFP's, plus street driving, plus autocrosses, my rotors are still spot on: no warping, no cracking, and still smooth as a baby's....well, you know... I find that the KFP's are good for about a season of combined track/auto/street use.

Some of the other pads you mention can be hard on your rotors. They may cause warpage or more wear. Pads are still cheaper to replace than rotors.

Just my $0.42,
-Z.

 

I'll second Skip Wolfe's comments. I went through same pads and ended with Metalmaster or Mintex Red on street and Hawk Blues on track.
Two pads is the way to go if car has two purposes. Maybe even two sets of discs, but mine is 86 and discs may take too much time to chance on front.
Squeal and dust aside, street pad needs to hook cold, track pad when hot.

hrk

 

I haven't used them on the track, but the Porterfield R4 pads are really nice. Tend to be dusty, but really good bite and little fade when used hard.

By the way, the folks at Stable Energies, where I bought my Porterfields, recommended that I use the R4 pads, not the R4S pads. They said the R4 pads work great on the street (they do) and are better for track use (can't say).

I am using EBC Green Stuffs now and I am not too sure I like them. They don't seem to bite as well and require a lot of pedal effort.

 

I've used both the R4S and the R4 on a stock '86 951. both are noisy and dusty, but have very good pedal feel. I did cook the front R4S's at a lapping day at a track that is known for being very hard on brakes (Bremerton), and I think I was pushing the car pretty hard. The R4 seems to hold up much better for track use, and pedal feel is still very good for street and auto-x, although very noisy when cold. If you have non-S front brakes, prices should be the same front and rear, I pay $109 per axle for the R4.
I did successfully make a brake cooling kit for about $10, I used 2 pieces of 2' x 18" 'pre-heater hose', zip tied it under the nose (with duct tape wrapped around the entry part of the hose, where zip tied) drilled two small holes in the curved 'shield' on the strut, then wired the hose to the strut, I think it helped a bit during the last lapping day.