Wild Weasel

Hey All,

It looks like Hawk offers 3 different pad compounds for the GT3. Does anyone here have experience with them for track use? I've been doing some reading and my impression is that the HPS pads are street-only, so I'm really only including them for completeness. I'd like some opinions on the other two N-HP+ and W-DTC30.

For background... I'm really 100% happy with the OEM pads so if I don't get any conclusive info on these ones, I'm just gonna buy a new set of OEM's.

Here are the descriptions I got:

Front: HBHB848X.646 Rear: HBHB850X.655

B-HPS 5.0 compound, dustless and noiseless
N-HP+ compound, noisy and dusty
W-DTC30 compound, Track pad that has a heat range to do both track and street. Noisy and dusty

Jickel180

I wouldn't recommend their HPS or HP+ compounds. They're old compounds. HPS has all of the bite of a wooden block, but vaporizes under any hard use. The HP+ has high initial bite, but also melts under real track use. I've heard they work for Auto-X applications, but both a big downgrade from OEM Pagids IMO. I haven't tried the DTC30s though.

I do like their DTC60 and 70 compounds on my E46 M3 track car however, but they wear pretty quickly. I would be interested if anyone has ran the DTC60, 70, or 80 compounds on the GT3.

Wild Weasel

You mention DTC60, 70 and 80, but I was only told about DCT30.

I'm getting strong opinions that I should just avoid Hawk altogether. Unless someone comes along and says they're running DCT30's and they're the greatest thing ever, I think I'm going to pass on these.

Jickel180

Caught me before my edit.

I haven't tried the DTC30s but they could be a good OEM street pad, light track replacement. I wouldn't choose them over DTC60+s for a dedicated track pad.

Jake951

Here's a comparison of the different Hawk compounds:

I've used the DTC-60 and DTC-70 for the track. The DTC-60 is easier to modulate as the DTC-70 is quite aggressive. Neither are street pads.

Wild Weasel

Would you buy them again? The consensus seems to be to generally avoid them. I only have pricing for the DTC-30's. I wonder where OEM Porsche pads would fall on that chart? Obviously not the generic grey "OEM" line.

Jake951

I'm using the DTC-70 and DTC-60 as track pads on my Cayman and GT3 and have been for several years. Everyone I know who has tried those pads for the track seems to like them. They do tend to have quite a bit of "bite", especially the DTC-70, so they might not be to everyone's liking. However, a number of people who have driven my cars on the track, including pro coaches, have remarked that the braking is extremely good.

I have not tried any other Hawk pads and I would not recommend the DTC-60 and DTC-70 as "street only" pads. You need to get heat into them for them to start working well, just like other track pads.

montoya

I time trialed my 997.2 GT3 with the DTC-70 Front with DTC-60 rear and had great success. They have great feel on the track with short stopping distances and easy threshold modulation. Wear was OK IIRC.

They dont get love here, but I think they are a great choice,

Bill Lehman

I'm lot running a GT3 but am running a GT4. Same brakes. I've been doing this for a long time and finding the Ferodo DS1.11 excellent as a track and street pad. There is a later version I haven't tried.

the_vetman

Bill, that's DS3 which is what I'm running in GT3. Clark from Apex says that DS3 is much better than DS1. Unfortunately I can't compare directly because I've never run DS1.11.

OP, I run DTC-60 and DTC-30 in my SM race car. DTC-30 has less bite and therefore used in the rear (to prevent locking up - no ABS). Lots of SM racers go DTC-60 all around. I have a feeling DTC-60 would be fine for the GT3. I personally would not use DTC-30 on GT3 (not aggressive enough).

montoya

For the weight and speed Hawk recommends the DTC70/60 combo for the GT3. You need the extra heat capability of the 70's in the front at full track speeds. Totally agree that these are not for the street, never get enough heat in them and they are loud.