Brake Pad options

[danhuberty]

I just called Porterfield this week to see if they have a backing plate made for the 350 yet. They said they do, and I confirmed with them it is for the 15.5 inch "Shelby" rotor. I did not ask about rears, but I figure they will have those too.

I am going to get some Raybestos ST43s. They quoted me $399 for the fronts. You can also get pads from Porterfield through Van at Revan Racing. I have run many different track pads and these have been the best all around pad for me. Real good bite, amazing longevity, easier than most on rotors, good cold bite, and not all that noisy when cold. I don't daily drive my car and have run these on the street a bit without issue.

My car will be going in the shop for track prep in early March. I will report back in the spring on how my track setup is working out....stay tuned.

Ran the Raybestos ST43's on my GT350 at Road America and at BIR and was not the least bit impressed. Yes they wear well, have great cold bite and not noisy when cold. But when they got hot after two laps they had bite issues causing lock up on initial braking until the ABS caught up. As a result it required a lighter foot on the pedal initially causing me to extend my brake zone to slow the car down which resulted in slower lap times. Granted my braking style from racing is very heavy on the brakes initially and fading off to threshold braking, but the Raybestos ST43s on the GT350 preferred the opposite. :( As a result I will be trying the G-LOC pads in 18/12 compound unless PFC comes out with an 01 compound for the GT350. Fingers crossed that PFC comes out with an 01 Compound for the GT350. And yes it will be expensive, but worth every penny as it has been in racing.

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[CSL]

Wow, interesting to hear. I've never had that experience with them. I wonder if the ST45 would be better? What is your experience with the ST43s on other vehicles? I have run them on my 3800 lb 750hp Griggs GT500 and initial bite was always moderate and consistent. I've also run them endurance racing on the 2600lb fox body, and they behaved exactly the same on that car.

Also, just curious, did you buy them from Porterfield?

 

[Bingo13]

I run the Pagid RSL-29, very good initial bite, excellent modulation and so far wearing much better than the stock pads, which are actually a really good pad except for wear and fading after long track sessions. Friction level is medium, but still better than stock as is fade resistance at the end of a session. I run G-Loc/Carbotech on my other Cobras, but did not care for them on this car. At least based on my braking style (hard initial brake zone then a fairly quick but smooth release) and tires (Cup 2) the Pagids work well, especially for trail braking as modulation and pedal feel is excellent.

That said, I wish the initial bite was just a tad better, but so far everything else about the pads are suited for my driving style and car setup. Pagid does offer the RST-3 pad for our car now, which has improved friction, fade resistance and bite levels over the RSL-29, but at the expense of increase pad wear, noise and reduced rotor life. I do not plan on running slicks or worrying about a few tenths of a second in lap times so for now I will stay away from that pad. Plus, when I do drive the car on the street I enjoy the lack of noise from the stock pads or the RSL-29, the G-LOC/Carbotechs drive me nuts at times. ;)

 

[CSL]

I was going to give the Pagid's a try until I looked into it a bit and got a bad case of sticker shock.

 

[danhuberty]

Wow, interesting to hear. I've never had that experience with them. I wonder if the ST45 would be better? What is your experience with the ST43s on other vehicles? I have run them on my 3800 lb 750hp Griggs GT500 and initial bite was always moderate and consistent. I've also run them endurance racing on the 2600lb fox body, and they behaved exactly the same on that car.

Also, just curious, did you buy them from Porterfield?

Correction: I was running ST45's on the front and ST43's on the rear. My apologies for the getting the compounds mixed up. First time I have used Raybestos pads. For the past 5 years I have ran Performance Friction (PFC) pads on my race and track cars. I sourced the Raybestos pads from Frozen Rotors which my friend owns and I believe he gets the pads directly from Raybestos. As well he rode in the GT350 to diagnose the issue given his knowledge of braking. His belief is that it is a heat induced issue driving the friction level up. Other words the pad is not dissipating heat and the caliper is becoming a heat sink thereby, as I understood it, increasing the friction level due to heat. Suggested solution is to install a backing plate, change to another pad manufacturer, or both. As such I will be doing both. Race pads are like shoes, no one shoe works for everyone.

 

[CSL]

Did you happen to compare the backing plate of the set you got to OEM? It took about a year for Porterfield to get the right one, and I won't believe they are absolutely correct until I get them in my hands. I inquired last year and they sent me a drawing of plates they said would work, but they were different than the OEM backing plate. I stayed away last year and bought a second set of OEM pads instead, but I'm going to give it a go this year. I need some more bite and longevity in a pad.

 

[danhuberty]

Did you happen to compare the backing plate of the set you got to OEM? It took about a year for Porterfield to get the right one, and I won't believe they are absolutely correct until I get them in my hands. I inquired last year and they sent me a drawing of plates they said would work, but they were different than the OEM backing plate. I stayed away last year and bought a second set of OEM pads instead, but I'm going to give it a go this year. I need some more bite and longevity in a pad.

Hmmm.... didn't check, but I will do so this weekend.

 

[Bingo13]

I was going to give the Pagid's a try until I looked into it a bit and got a bad case of sticker shock.

I know. But, I needed to step up to a better pad and if they last 30% longer as I have heard they should, then not a complete money pit. So far, they are in much better condition after two events than the stocks were at the same tracks in the fall.

 

[firestarter2]

I know. But, I needed to step up to a better pad and if they last 30% longer as I have heard they should, then not a complete money pit. So far, they are in much better condition after two events than the stocks were at the same tracks in the fall.

I dont mind spending more for more life.

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