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Z26 or Z23 powerstop pads

AdamIsAdam

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I just installed Z26 all the way around my 2018 at 6,600 miles. I took the car out without having to use the brakes much until I got to my test area to do the pad bedding. I was able to follow the instructions to the letter (the traffic gods were smiling on me). Then I went for a 30 min ride with mixed highway/city driving. I have two immediate observations:

1. brake pad dust when I got home was pretty significant. I'm assuming this is because they are brand new. If not, they are coming off and going in the trash.
2. stopping power is NOWHERE NEAR as good as OEM pads. Especially initial bite. I did read this critique and was expecting it, so before I cast my final vote, I'll give it a few more days (I only drive the car for fun, not a DD). If I'm not happy with the braking power, the pads are coming off and going in the trash!

So, is anyone in the market for a full set of z26's with under 40 miles on them? LOL

Oh, and a related question: is there any concern about swapping pads back and forth on same rotors? Should I do anything to clean the rotors in between pad swaps?
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AdamIsAdam

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I just installed Z26 all the way around my 2018 at 6,600 miles. I took the car out without having to use the brakes much until I got to my test area to do the pad bedding. I was able to follow the instructions to the letter (the traffic gods were smiling on me). Then I went for a 30 min ride with mixed highway/city driving. I have two immediate observations:

1. brake pad dust when I got home was pretty significant. I'm assuming this is because they are brand new. If not, they are coming off and going in the trash.
2. stopping power is NOWHERE NEAR as good as OEM pads. Especially initial bite. I did read this critique and was expecting it, so before I cast my final vote, I'll give it a few more days (I only drive the car for fun, not a DD). If I'm not happy with the braking power, the pads are coming off and going in the trash!

So, is anyone in the market for a full set of z26's with under 40 miles on them? LOL

Oh, and a related question: is there any concern about swapping pads back and forth on same rotors? Should I do anything to clean the rotors in between pad swaps?

I decided to give PowerStop a call to ask them my questions. I had a very nice woman named Tina on the phone who said that I could certainly try and repeat the bedding in process, that it won't hurt the pads at all, and could only help. She said to give it a week or so of driving and if I'm not satisfied, to give her a call and she'd replace them. I'll report back in about a week.
 

Evil_E

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I decided to give PowerStop a call to ask them my questions. I had a very nice woman named Tina on the phone who said that I could certainly try and repeat the bedding in process, that it won't hurt the pads at all, and could only help. She said to give it a week or so of driving and if I'm not satisfied, to give her a call and she'd replace them. I'll report back in about a week.
Looking forward to your report in a week or so. I have a set sitting on my bench and are now on the fence with installing them.
 

NickZ

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So,, all of you guys swapped all 4 corners'?
Anyone running em on base GT? Reviews?
Thanks! Watching this thread!
 

dpAtlanta

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I installed the Z23's and could not be happier.
I changed them to reduce the brake dust build up rate... got tired of washing my wheels once a week because they really needed it.
I can go for several weeks and the dust is almost non-existent.
I also installed the "Caliperfexion" stud kit as well... very worth while investment and easy to do since you already have the front calipers off the car.
I think the bite is reduced a little, but not enough to make me worry about stopping in traffic of even spirited mountain drives.
I know it still stops better than my OEM Cayman brakes with these Z26's on the GT350.
I believe if I was a track rat, I would see a few tenths per lap reduction in lap time if I was that good and that consistent...aka HoneyBadger.
I just noticed ALL of my sentences begin with "I".
That's odd...!
I can't believe I messed up the parity with that last sentence.
 

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AdamIsAdam

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I just cleaned the wheels as I do after every ride (to me it's a toy as I said and stays in the garage under a cover) and it wasn't as dusty as I first thought. But it was a short ride. I'm going to take it out tomorrow and do the bedding again since they said it will only get better, and I'll report back.
 

AdamIsAdam

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UPDATE LOG: Tonight I took the Shelby out for a ride. My plan was go repeat the bedding process and then go for a drive to a local cruise/show about half our away. As I drove to the highway service road where I could perform the bedding procedure, I realized the brakes felt very good. (thumbs up #1).

I was able to perform the prescribed bedding in process exactly per manufacturer's instructions. And the car felt good. (thumbs up #2).

I drove in highway, then highway traffic (yuk) and then some local driving with a few harder stops to test things out. I got to the show and expected to have to clean the rims but when I got out, they looked almost dust free! (thumbs up #3).

I drove home, making a few pretty hard stops just to test things out, and even one pull down from 100 to 50 pretty hard. Brakes felt excellent. (thumbs up #4).

And for the final test: I parked the car in the garage, let it cool, and came back out to clean the rims like I always do. There was some brake dust for sure, but definitely much less than OEM and also not that red/rust color. Plus, it comes off much more easily than OEM. (thumbs up #5).

So I have bad news for anyone who wanted to buy my used set of Z26 pads because they are no longer for sale.

Overall, they get 5 thumbs up. The initial bite IS reduced from OEM, but when you get on them, I believe they stop with equal or at least very close stopping power. So, as they used to say: "Let the pigeons loose!"
 

Evil_E

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UPDATE LOG: Tonight I took the Shelby out for a ride. My plan was go repeat the bedding process and then go for a drive to a local cruise/show about half our away. As I drove to the highway service road where I could perform the bedding procedure, I realized the brakes felt very good. (thumbs up #1).

I was able to perform the prescribed bedding in process exactly per manufacturer's instructions. And the car felt good. (thumbs up #2).

I drove in highway, then highway traffic (yuk) and then some local driving with a few harder stops to test things out. I got to the show and expected to have to clean the rims but when I got out, they looked almost dust free! (thumbs up #3).

I drove home, making a few pretty hard stops just to test things out, and even one pull down from 100 to 50 pretty hard. Brakes felt excellent. (thumbs up #4).

And for the final test: I parked the car in the garage, let it cool, and came back out to clean the rims like I always do. There was some brake dust for sure, but definitely much less than OEM and also not that red/rust color. Plus, it comes off much more easily than OEM. (thumbs up #5).

So I have bad news for anyone who wanted to buy my used set of Z26 pads because they are no longer for sale.

Overall, they get 5 thumbs up. The initial bite IS reduced from OEM, but when you get on them, I believe they stop with equal or at least very close stopping power. So, as they used to say: "Let the pigeons loose!"
Excellent news.
I will proceed. Your assessment aligns with others that motivated me to buy them. Thanks for sharing your feedback and follow up.
 

AdamIsAdam

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Excellent news.
I will proceed. Your assessment aligns with others that motivated me to buy them. Thanks for sharing your feedback and follow up.
No problem. But be forewarned about the reduced initial bite. I sorta liked that bite.
 

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Evil_E

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I did my install of these pads and bedded them per the instructions. Super easy install and couldn’t be happier with the results. I honestly can’t tell the difference between these and stock except CLEAN WHEELS. I did some triple digit hard stops with zero drama or issue and you guessed it, no dust and clean wheels.
Admittedly I was skeptical about these because the price point was so low I felt they were going to cheap and poor quality. Hardly the case. They come with all the plates, grease, and springs. Everything needed for a solid install. I opted to use new caliper bolts as part of my install.
Little tip to hold the rotor in place with the front caliper off, zip ties. They worked great as temp lug nuts to hold the rotor in place.
 

JR369

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I just installed Z26 all the way around my 2018 at 6,600 miles. I took the car out without having to use the brakes much until I got to my test area to do the pad bedding. I was able to follow the instructions to the letter (the traffic gods were smiling on me). Then I went for a 30 min ride with mixed highway/city driving. I have two immediate observations:

1. brake pad dust when I got home was pretty significant. I'm assuming this is because they are brand new. If not, they are coming off and going in the trash.
2. stopping power is NOWHERE NEAR as good as OEM pads. Especially initial bite. I did read this critique and was expecting it, so before I cast my final vote, I'll give it a few more days (I only drive the car for fun, not a DD). If I'm not happy with the braking power, the pads are coming off and going in the trash!

So, is anyone in the market for a full set of z26's with under 40 miles on them? LOL

Oh, and a related question: is there any concern about swapping pads back and forth on same rotors? Should I do anything to clean the rotors in between pad swaps?
I installed my Z26 pads all around a couple thousand miles back. My experience is the complete opposite of yours. Zero dust. As strong stopping power minus the initial bite of the brembos. As a matter of fact I have swapped my wife's Z51 brembos to the Z26 pads as well. Also swapped out my brembos on the 16 Hellcat I owned to Z26 pads. I have not had any negative issue to report. About the only negative issue was having to take off the front calipers of the R to change the pads. The other two vehicles pads were released by the caliper keepers all around.
 

AdamIsAdam

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I installed my Z26 pads all around a couple thousand miles back. My experience is the complete opposite of yours. Zero dust. As strong stopping power minus the initial bite of the brembos. As a matter of fact I have swapped my wife's Z51 brembos to the Z26 pads as well. Also swapped out my brembos on the 16 Hellcat I owned to Z26 pads. I have not had any negative issue to report. About the only negative issue was having to take off the front calipers of the R to change the pads. The other two vehicles pads were released by the caliper keepers all around.
See my updated post above, and here:

UPDATE LOG: Tonight I took the Shelby out for a ride. My plan was go repeat the bedding process and then go for a drive to a local cruise/show about half our away. As I drove to the highway service road where I could perform the bedding procedure, I realized the brakes felt very good. (thumbs up #1).

I was able to perform the prescribed bedding in process exactly per manufacturer's instructions. And the car felt good. (thumbs up #2).

I drove in highway, then highway traffic (yuk) and then some local driving with a few harder stops to test things out. I got to the show and expected to have to clean the rims but when I got out, they looked almost dust free! (thumbs up #3).

I drove home, making a few pretty hard stops just to test things out, and even one pull down from 100 to 50 pretty hard. Brakes felt excellent. (thumbs up #4).

And for the final test: I parked the car in the garage, let it cool, and came back out to clean the rims like I always do. There was some brake dust for sure, but definitely much less than OEM and also not that red/rust color. Plus, it comes off much more easily than OEM. (thumbs up #5).

So I have bad news for anyone who wanted to buy my used set of Z26 pads because they are no longer for sale.

Overall, they get 5 thumbs up. The initial bite IS reduced from OEM, but when you get on them, I believe they stop with equal or at least very close stopping power. So, as they used to say: "Let the pigeons loose!"
I'll take the car out again this weekend and put some more miles on them, but as you can see, they seem to be good. I miss that initial Brembo-bite, but if overall stopping power is the same and dust is reduced, I'M HAPPY.
 

codereddew

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Just installed Z26 pads and rotors on all 4 corners today and did the bedding procedure outlined.

I’ve only driven for <50 miles but I do have some significant brake noise. It’s not a squeak per say, but more of a light “grind” coming from front passenger side when slowing down to <10mph.

I did not grease the front pads, so I think I’m going to pull them out and grease the back of the pads. Do y’all grease the pins as well on the front brembos? Any other areas? The rear brakes have no issues/noises.
 
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DrZed

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I am running the Z26, I did not notice a bit diff however they seem to have cut down on the dust. Insane how large they are, its funny when you open the box.
EXACTLY what I thought, this made me laugh when I read it. Opened the box and wondered what the !!!! this is for... like ... a Mack truck!

I went with the Z23 and it cut down on brake dust 3/4 at least. Very happy, and man... do they ever stop!
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