wildcatgoal
@sirboom_photography
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On 2/18/17, I went to TGPR ("Little Taladega") with Just Track It. I decided to try out Powerstop's Track Day brake pads. I got a kit that also included new blank (non-drilled, non-slotted) rotors, which is (after I spoke with them) what they recommend. They say these are "platform specific" pads - I asked them about that, and really didn't get an answer that convinced me it wasn't just marketing speak. I couldn't get from them, either, what their compound is.
That said, let's describe the context. TGPR has some fast spots with heavy breaking. We're not talking ultra-super-duper hard on the brakes compared many other faster/harder/more complex courses, but it is apparently known to be a track that is relatively hard on the brakes (and the front passenger tire). I mean, I did see a Corvette's brakes smoking like someone was blowing vap through the wheels after he came off track! At TGPR, you can (relatively) safely get pretty aggressive here since there aren't really any walls you can pancake yourself against if you screw up, just brown grass. Additionally, it was rainy for most of the day, but there were dry-enough spells that I really didn't worry about a "wet track" from a braking-in-a-straight-line perspective.
Onto the review, I have to say, I was really happy with these (especially for the price). We're not talking leaps better than the standard Brembo pads, per say, but they do have a small-to-medium sized additional initial bite "factor" and the braking feel was very progressive, getting stronger and stronger without any sort of inconsistencies. I could tell the front pads wore down a little - but didn't measure. The rear pads, I couldn't tell if they wore at all. The dedicated rotors looked beautiful, but it's just one track day so far. I will be taking these with me again to AMP March 12th to see how they perform there, but I honestly felt I used the brakes harder at TGPR than I did at AMP. I did use the stock Brembo pads at AMP last time, so I'll have a comparison.
I think if you are a Novice or early Intermediate HPDE guy/gal, these aren't a bad choice to run with - certainly a good value and a great "first track day" pad" (if not more). You will find better with your G-Loc and Carbotechs and so on, so forth. I have not run any of the fancier pads yet on this car, so I wouldn't be able to give a comparison, but, honestly, I expected these to be worse than the Brembo pads, and they were better. I never had heat issues with the Brembo pads (and track fluid) yet, but I was MUCH more aggressive braking with these Powerstop Track Day pads and I always had more braking power left by the time I had to let off and get through a turn.
I will say, I think the brake dust MAY BE (total speculation) slightly harmful to your wheel finish if left for too long. I did not clean my wheels for probably a week (work got in the way of even touching my Mustang) and I noticed a slightly "more matte" finish after I finally got the, what seemed like, 1" thick layer of brake dust cleaned off. It was NOT easy cleaning this dust off, but it's a "track pad" and I really didn't expect anything but... dust. I am not willing to experiment to see if it degrades the finish if left for a longer period, but... just keep that in mind. I think some Hawk pads have a similar "effect".
Also worth noting, the brake-in on these requires TEN 60 to 0 stops and then another TEN 80 to 0 stops. Where on earth you can safely do this without being arrested is very limited. I basically found a road that goes to some warehouses and went for it. By the end, I realized I woke up an entire line of truckers sleeping. I did it at like 2AM to be as inconspicuous as possible... well... oops!
I would suspect (and this is just a guess) these start to fumble with a more track-oriented tire (like 200TW or less), especially with a more seasoned driver. I wanted them to bit a little bitter - it was good, but still... little more - and I was using Conti DW tires, which I was not impressed with on a track.
So take it for what it is. I'm not endorsing these, but considering how expensive HPDEs end up being when you factor in all the maintenance, I thought folks might want to know about my experience with these.
That said, let's describe the context. TGPR has some fast spots with heavy breaking. We're not talking ultra-super-duper hard on the brakes compared many other faster/harder/more complex courses, but it is apparently known to be a track that is relatively hard on the brakes (and the front passenger tire). I mean, I did see a Corvette's brakes smoking like someone was blowing vap through the wheels after he came off track! At TGPR, you can (relatively) safely get pretty aggressive here since there aren't really any walls you can pancake yourself against if you screw up, just brown grass. Additionally, it was rainy for most of the day, but there were dry-enough spells that I really didn't worry about a "wet track" from a braking-in-a-straight-line perspective.
Onto the review, I have to say, I was really happy with these (especially for the price). We're not talking leaps better than the standard Brembo pads, per say, but they do have a small-to-medium sized additional initial bite "factor" and the braking feel was very progressive, getting stronger and stronger without any sort of inconsistencies. I could tell the front pads wore down a little - but didn't measure. The rear pads, I couldn't tell if they wore at all. The dedicated rotors looked beautiful, but it's just one track day so far. I will be taking these with me again to AMP March 12th to see how they perform there, but I honestly felt I used the brakes harder at TGPR than I did at AMP. I did use the stock Brembo pads at AMP last time, so I'll have a comparison.
I think if you are a Novice or early Intermediate HPDE guy/gal, these aren't a bad choice to run with - certainly a good value and a great "first track day" pad" (if not more). You will find better with your G-Loc and Carbotechs and so on, so forth. I have not run any of the fancier pads yet on this car, so I wouldn't be able to give a comparison, but, honestly, I expected these to be worse than the Brembo pads, and they were better. I never had heat issues with the Brembo pads (and track fluid) yet, but I was MUCH more aggressive braking with these Powerstop Track Day pads and I always had more braking power left by the time I had to let off and get through a turn.
I will say, I think the brake dust MAY BE (total speculation) slightly harmful to your wheel finish if left for too long. I did not clean my wheels for probably a week (work got in the way of even touching my Mustang) and I noticed a slightly "more matte" finish after I finally got the, what seemed like, 1" thick layer of brake dust cleaned off. It was NOT easy cleaning this dust off, but it's a "track pad" and I really didn't expect anything but... dust. I am not willing to experiment to see if it degrades the finish if left for a longer period, but... just keep that in mind. I think some Hawk pads have a similar "effect".
Also worth noting, the brake-in on these requires TEN 60 to 0 stops and then another TEN 80 to 0 stops. Where on earth you can safely do this without being arrested is very limited. I basically found a road that goes to some warehouses and went for it. By the end, I realized I woke up an entire line of truckers sleeping. I did it at like 2AM to be as inconspicuous as possible... well... oops!
I would suspect (and this is just a guess) these start to fumble with a more track-oriented tire (like 200TW or less), especially with a more seasoned driver. I wanted them to bit a little bitter - it was good, but still... little more - and I was using Conti DW tires, which I was not impressed with on a track.
So take it for what it is. I'm not endorsing these, but considering how expensive HPDEs end up being when you factor in all the maintenance, I thought folks might want to know about my experience with these.
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