LHousePhoto
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So I've been driving on this setup for a couple of weeks now, and decided to finally post my opinions.
I purchased DBA's 5000 Series T3 2-piece front rotors, and the 4000 Series T3 slotted rears through RallySport Direct. I reached out to Hawk Performance and they recommended the HPS 5.0 Pads front and rear as I daily my car, but do the occasional track day. So those were also purchased through RallySport Direct.
After waiting, as patiently as possible, I finally got my rotors
The pads came in staggered, unfortunately. The fronts were back order so I decided to do the rears first. Because they are still a 1 piece rotor, the weight is about the same as stock at 17.44 pounds (with the plastic wrapping on it still)
So Sunday afternoon rolls around, the rears were pretty straight forward, a gentle nudge from a rubber mallet freed the rotors, and it was just as simple as a brake pad change. Be sure you are turning the piston as you compress it, or you'll have a bad time.
I did run in to some other issues, I had to remove the passenger side brake caliper, in order to get enough access to apply a breaker bar to the caliper bracket bolts. Daily driving a car in Utah, through winters, likes to make bolts sticky...
It was worth the effort though I think,as they look much better than stock.
Especially behind the MRR M350 wheels. (Shameless plug, sponsor me MRR!!)
Everyone kept asking me my opinion of them, and since I only had the rears, and even with the bed in procedure, I was hesitant to really comment on them.
That following Tuesday the front pads came in, but my mom also flew in to the town that same night... so it would have to wait.
Visually, stock versus the two piece it's not even a comparison.
Of course, I tortured myself by bringing the rotors in to work for some photos and weight comparisons.
The stock rotor (after instillation of the new one, obviously)
The DBA 5000 Series T3 2-piece (that's annoying to type every time...)
8 Pounds each corner up front, 16.04 pounds total of unsprung, rotational mass. Not bad. My mom flew out that Sunday morning, but being Utah in June...
It would have to wait another week.
So next Sunday rolls around, a full 2 weeks after installing my rears, and I finally go to it. As I mentioned before, daily driving a car through two Utah winters is tough on cars. So what should have been an hour job, turned in to a 5 hour ordeal. No amount of penetrating oil or mallet hammering would loosen the front rotors, so I threaded bolts through the caliper brackets and went to work loosening them up. It was way more work than necessary to even find fully threaded bolts at Lowe's for some reason, and the ones I did buy weren't up to the task.
Had to cut them off with a jig saw, and then go back to Lowe's for the passenger side. Be sure to get higher grade bolts if you have to go this route, and Lowe's has a "full thread" section in the drawers in the hardware section.
It was a huge hassle, but if you are fortunate enough to not have a harsh winter, it will be an hour, hour and a half tops. Pads were more difficult then they should have been on a fixed caliper also, thanks Utah. But again, they look amazing.
And I must say, I was very impressed with how well the factory pads were doing. I've done maybe 15 autocross events, and one track session (about 20 minutes) and daily drove my car for 25,000 miles, they still had plenty of life left in them.
Also, did I mention how great they look behind these MRR M350 wheels? (Sponsor me!)
Now for impressions. After driving on them for about three weeks on the fronts, and 5 on the rears, I feel like the brake engagement is a lot more linear, the grabby nature of the stock pads has gone away. I no longer feel like I'm going to hit my steering wheel if I jab the brakes too hard accidentally. The pads are super quiet, there is no discernible difference between these HPS 5.0's and the factory compound. I briefly considered the HP Plus pads, but everyone told me how noisy they were, and how rough they are on the rotors, and considering the cost of replacement rotors, I'll pass. I will be doing another 20 minute track session in August, and will have to update my opinions, I am looking forward to it for sure.
Full disclosure I do work for RallySport Direct, but these items are paid for out my own pocket, and they did not ask me to write a review or share my opinions. This post is in no way endorsed by, or sponsored by RallySport Direct, DBA Rotors, or Hawk Performance. Just a dude with a Mustang who likes to take photos and pretend to be a race car driver.
I purchased DBA's 5000 Series T3 2-piece front rotors, and the 4000 Series T3 slotted rears through RallySport Direct. I reached out to Hawk Performance and they recommended the HPS 5.0 Pads front and rear as I daily my car, but do the occasional track day. So those were also purchased through RallySport Direct.
After waiting, as patiently as possible, I finally got my rotors
The pads came in staggered, unfortunately. The fronts were back order so I decided to do the rears first. Because they are still a 1 piece rotor, the weight is about the same as stock at 17.44 pounds (with the plastic wrapping on it still)
So Sunday afternoon rolls around, the rears were pretty straight forward, a gentle nudge from a rubber mallet freed the rotors, and it was just as simple as a brake pad change. Be sure you are turning the piston as you compress it, or you'll have a bad time.
I did run in to some other issues, I had to remove the passenger side brake caliper, in order to get enough access to apply a breaker bar to the caliper bracket bolts. Daily driving a car in Utah, through winters, likes to make bolts sticky...
It was worth the effort though I think,as they look much better than stock.
Especially behind the MRR M350 wheels. (Shameless plug, sponsor me MRR!!)
Everyone kept asking me my opinion of them, and since I only had the rears, and even with the bed in procedure, I was hesitant to really comment on them.
That following Tuesday the front pads came in, but my mom also flew in to the town that same night... so it would have to wait.
Visually, stock versus the two piece it's not even a comparison.
Of course, I tortured myself by bringing the rotors in to work for some photos and weight comparisons.
The stock rotor (after instillation of the new one, obviously)
The DBA 5000 Series T3 2-piece (that's annoying to type every time...)
8 Pounds each corner up front, 16.04 pounds total of unsprung, rotational mass. Not bad. My mom flew out that Sunday morning, but being Utah in June...
It would have to wait another week.
So next Sunday rolls around, a full 2 weeks after installing my rears, and I finally go to it. As I mentioned before, daily driving a car through two Utah winters is tough on cars. So what should have been an hour job, turned in to a 5 hour ordeal. No amount of penetrating oil or mallet hammering would loosen the front rotors, so I threaded bolts through the caliper brackets and went to work loosening them up. It was way more work than necessary to even find fully threaded bolts at Lowe's for some reason, and the ones I did buy weren't up to the task.
Had to cut them off with a jig saw, and then go back to Lowe's for the passenger side. Be sure to get higher grade bolts if you have to go this route, and Lowe's has a "full thread" section in the drawers in the hardware section.
It was a huge hassle, but if you are fortunate enough to not have a harsh winter, it will be an hour, hour and a half tops. Pads were more difficult then they should have been on a fixed caliper also, thanks Utah. But again, they look amazing.
And I must say, I was very impressed with how well the factory pads were doing. I've done maybe 15 autocross events, and one track session (about 20 minutes) and daily drove my car for 25,000 miles, they still had plenty of life left in them.
Also, did I mention how great they look behind these MRR M350 wheels? (Sponsor me!)
Now for impressions. After driving on them for about three weeks on the fronts, and 5 on the rears, I feel like the brake engagement is a lot more linear, the grabby nature of the stock pads has gone away. I no longer feel like I'm going to hit my steering wheel if I jab the brakes too hard accidentally. The pads are super quiet, there is no discernible difference between these HPS 5.0's and the factory compound. I briefly considered the HP Plus pads, but everyone told me how noisy they were, and how rough they are on the rotors, and considering the cost of replacement rotors, I'll pass. I will be doing another 20 minute track session in August, and will have to update my opinions, I am looking forward to it for sure.
Full disclosure I do work for RallySport Direct, but these items are paid for out my own pocket, and they did not ask me to write a review or share my opinions. This post is in no way endorsed by, or sponsored by RallySport Direct, DBA Rotors, or Hawk Performance. Just a dude with a Mustang who likes to take photos and pretend to be a race car driver.
Sponsored
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