Worn brakes

[Walt]

With the CTs and G-locs, rotor wear is far less of an issue than it is with other pad formulations. I got half a dozen events out of XP10's, and this is when I was still running the car's really little OE 12.4" front brakes. Rotor wear rates in street driving with XP12s were much, much lower than with Hawk HP+ pads, closer to rotor wear rates with HPS street-only pads.

I do think that 10's are enough pad . . . though there is the question of whether your car's front rotors feed air into the rotors from the outer (wheel) side or from the inner (strut) side. Strut-side, or back side air inletting is much preferred for tracking, and compatible with the usual methods of adding more brake cooling (where wheel-side air inlets obviously wouldn't be).

If rotor wear isn't too bad, eg more or less the same as regular street wear, I think I might just get one set of XP10's for both the front and rear. My car isn't really DD anymore, more for weekend cruising, longer trips on vacation and some track days. I do about 5 track days a year, atleast less than 10. So I expect to replace those pads once a year, which is something I can live with (if what I'm assuming is correct) and hopefully be able to use the rotors for longer, atleast 2 years or so.

Would this scenario be somewhat correct or would you still suggest to get 2 dedicated sets?

My rotors do feed air from the outer side though, but since I'm having to replace them anyway now, I will have to choose something that feeds from the inner side.

Not really sure what your options are. I wasn't going to sacrifice the fog lights on my '08 either, and cut my own brake cooling inlet holes in the lower radiator inlet pretty much directly under the fog lights. Threw a little spray paint at them and called it good. I'm not a car show guy.

I thought about cutting a hole similar to yours (in a spare lower grille from ebay) but my bigger intercooler is probably in the way. If there's no other option I might have to run without cooling or just go through the hassle of mounting/dismouting the fog hole kit each time.

If you choose to run a two-pad scheme, you'll want to run the street pad from the same mfr as your track pads. In CT, that'd be the Bobncat 1521 pad (though you could possibly use the AX-6 autocross pad), and in G-loc it'd be the GS-1 (possibly the R6). I'm not sure about pad compatibility among other pad mfrs, and what I do know is that mixing formulations/pad mfr products is likely to introduce problems.

Good point, thanks for the heads up.

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[Walt]

Just to double check - OP - you did turn off stability control ? It uses brakes to prevent you from dying (in its own mind of course)...

I didn't during the first few sessions because I'm still learning and I simply did not feel confident enough to turn the nannies of. The track was also a bit wet since it has been raining before. During the last few sessions I had put it in track mode which I think is without SC since the car was sliding a bit more.

 

[kz]

I didn't during the first few sessions because I'm still learning and I simply did not feel confident enough to turn the nannies of. The track was also a bit wet since it has been raining before. During the last few sessions I had put it in track mode which I think is without SC since the car was sliding a bit more.

This may be the reason why you ended up with brakes looking the way they do. Track mode dials stability control (Advancetrac) down but it will still intervene (by using brakes or adjusting throttle input as far as I know). You would have to turn it off completely by holding traction control button for 7 seconds until you see "Advancetrac off" message on the dash or disconnecting the plug under the hood.

 

[Walt]

This may be the reason why you ended up with brakes looking the way they do. Track mode dials stability control (Advancetrac) down but it will still intervene (by using brakes or adjusting throttle input as far as I know). You would have to turn it off completely by holding traction control button for 7 seconds until you see "Advancetrac off" message on the dash or disconnecting the plug under the hood.

I see, but I'm still not comfortable with turning it off completely. In case I spin out I would still prefer the car to assist me a bit, which is why I only used track mode, and even then I didn't feel as confident as in sport mode.

 

[Ewheels]

If you're not a pro driver or don't have the money to replace a crashed car, leave the stability control on. It'll save you

 

[Walt]

If you're not a pro driver or don't have the money to replace a crashed car, leave the stability control on. It'll save you

Yeah this was pretty mutch my mind set too, I just want to have fun I'm not going after lap times and risk whatever it takes to do so. If you do go on a track you always need to keep in mind a potential crash could happen, even when it's not your fault. But that doesn't mean it won't matter if you crash otherwise we would all be driving a 911 GT2 RS on the track

 

[Norm Peterson]

Would this scenario be somewhat correct or would you still suggest to get 2 dedicated sets?

This is kind of up to you. Many people would run two pad sets, but I haven't been (up to and including XP12's). Part of that was because changing the pads on the 2-piston sliding calipers (front) was more work than occasionally dealing with some dust and a little noise. With the 12's I did have to be a bit more careful the first couple of stops when the weather turned cold. 8's and 10's weren't much different from stock.

I thought about cutting a hole similar to yours (in a spare lower grille from ebay) but my bigger intercooler is probably in the way. If there's no other option I might have to run without cooling or just go through the hassle of mounting/dismouting the fog hole kit each time.

Look into ways of scooping air up from underneath the car with air deflectors of some sort. Anything really low hanging would need to be easily removable for street duty, or at least capable of being tied up and out of the way of pavement contact. Otherwise it becomes another consumable.


Norm

 

[Elp_jc]

This is the first time I read about brake pads, and not being PowerStop only. Since street pads are also being discussed here, hope you don't mind my question : Which ceramic street pads do you recommend for a PP1 Bullitt, for minimal dust, no noise, and still good braking performance? Stock pads are a little 'grabbier' than I like, so a good ceramic street-oriented pad should fix that perfectly too. Car won't ever be tracked. I checked the PowerStop website, but they clearly advertise their sets as a KIT, meaning pads and rotors together. Since I only want pads on my 1K-mile Bullitt, not sure if the Z23s (which I'd buy) are the best, which use the same compound as the more expensive Z26s, which also have a shiny metal backing plate I don't like (would be visible at the rear). Both of those pads (Z23 and Z26) need bedding-in, which usually is not the case with street pads, but not an issue. All comments/recommendations welcome . Thank you.

 

[Walt]

This is the first time I read about brake pads, and not being PowerStop only. Since street pads are also being discussed here, hope you don't mind my question : Which ceramic street pads do you recommend for a PP1 Bullitt, for minimal dust, no noise, and still good braking performance? Stock pads are a little 'grabbier' than I like, so a good ceramic street-oriented pad should fix that perfectly too. Car won't ever be tracked. I checked the PowerStop website, but they clearly advertise their sets as a KIT, meaning pads and rotors together. Since I only want pads on my 1K-mile Bullitt, not sure if the Z23s (which I'd buy) are the best, which use the same compound as the more expensive Z26s, which also have a shiny metal backing plate I don't like (would be visible at the rear). Both of those pads (Z23 and Z26) need bedding-in, which usually is not the case with street pads, but not an issue. All comments/recommendations welcome . Thank you.

If I wouldn't track my Mustang I would've chosen the StopTech Posi-Quiet Ceramic pads. They are relatively cheap and are supposed to produce less brake dust and noise. I've read a lot of positive reviews about them on the eu Steeda site

 

[Ewheels]

Maybe someone else can chime in and help you here but seeing as every comment on this thread has been about track performance, you might be better off creating a new thread or searching for street car threads.
Personally, I don't know anything about PowerStop pads since they don't make anything competitive in a motorsports sense. I would suggest OEM but they do dust a lot which sounds like you would not like

 

[Elp_jc]

If I wouldn't track my Mustang I would've chosen the StopTech Posi-Quiet Ceramic pads

Just checked, and unfortunately, they're not made for the front Brembos, so not an option for me. But thanks anyway .

seeing as every comment on this thread has been about track performance

Some of the talk was to have track and street pads, hence my jumping in. But yeah, you're correct. Anyway, I started such a thread, but NOBODY recommended anything other than those PowerStops, and was berated for wanting another alternative. So jumped in here as a last resort. Ha ha. Guess will have to buy those stupid pads then . Thanks anyway guys.

 

[Ewheels]

Some of the talk was to have track and street pads, hence my jumping in. But yeah, you're correct. Anyway, I started such a thread, but NOBODY recommended anything other than those PowerStops, and was berated for wanting another alternative. So jumped in here as a last resort. Ha ha. Guess will have to buy those stupid pads then . Thanks anyway guys.

Sorry we couldn't be of more help sir. Try calling the guys at https://www.knsbrakes.com and see what they recommend. They focus on track pads but they are super knowledgeable on brake pads in general. They might be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

If anyone is interested I could post a little clip of me driving at Spa Francorchamps, I have some pretty fun action of following and eventually passing an Aston Martin Rapide S V12.

Yup, please post. :-)

 

[kz]

Yeah this was pretty mutch my mind set too, I just want to have fun I'm not going after lap times and risk whatever it takes to do so. If you do go on a track you always need to keep in mind a potential crash could happen, even when it's not your fault. But that doesn't mean it won't matter if you crash otherwise we would all be driving a 911 GT2 RS on the track

Completely understandable - however - if you burned your brakes by activating stability control (I am not saying you did - just a hypothesis), you likely were overdriving your car quite a bit. If that was the reason, finding new rotor / pads isn't going to solve your problem.

 

[Norm Peterson]

This is the first time I read about brake pads, and not being PowerStop only. Since street pads are also being discussed here, hope you don't mind my question : Which ceramic street pads do you recommend for a PP1 Bullitt, for minimal dust, no noise, and still good braking performance? Stock pads are a little 'grabbier' than I like, so a good ceramic street-oriented pad should fix that perfectly too. Car won't ever be tracked. I checked the PowerStop website, but they clearly advertise their sets as a KIT, meaning pads and rotors together. Since I only want pads on my 1K-mile Bullitt, not sure if the Z23s (which I'd buy) are the best, which use the same compound as the more expensive Z26s, which also have a shiny metal backing plate I don't like (would be visible at the rear). Both of those pads (Z23 and Z26) need bedding-in, which usually is not the case with street pads, but not an issue. All comments/recommendations welcome . Thank you.

Last few years, the cars I don't track have gotten either Carbotech 1521/Bobcat pads or G-loc GS-1 when they needed pad replacement. Almost no dust at all and zero noise. Bite at least in those cars felt a little stronger than OE, but more predictable and the ability to modulate it seemed to be a good bit better so I never got any feeling that they were 'grabby'. Wife is very picky about no noise, tolerates it in the Mustang (as long as I can minimize it anyway) but would never put up with it otherwise.

KNSbrakes seems to be one of the better places to shop for pads and rotors.


I came close to going with GS-1's for the WRX within a thousand miles of having it (bought new, too), but the OE pads eventually seemed to improve a little. That car will still get them, eventually.


Norm

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