Brake Performance Thread

[TeamGomez]

Relative fresh owner of an '18 here still smiling wider than a teenager in a brothel with a new credit card and a $5,000 limit. I was a bit dismayed by the HAZMAT cloud created by the OEM pads from merely backing out of the garage let alone doing any threshold braking while letting the ponies get some exercise. So I rolled the bones and went with the Z26 Powerstops that cost me a whopping $140 for the entire set of fronts/rears.

Went to school on pad replacement techniques and ordered a couple of the longer bolts to keep me from boogering the caliper finish on the fronts next time should I decide to go to a track day and drop the OEMS back in. But I thought I would gather some real data that quantifies the actual performance difference between the OEMs and the Z26's and thought it might be an interesting exercise to perform for other compounds/tire selections that rids the notion of 'they just feel worse' or vice versa.

Having a bit of a flight test background, I'm data-centric and believe the numbers tell the true story. I have also been impressed by the data logging capability of the 350 so a brake performance test was a no-brainer. To that end, I would offer that we could compose a compendium of data points that qualitatively define pad/tire combo performance. This nullifies the subjective nature of 'they feel this way or that' and help others make compound decisions down the road.

I figure that ambient temp, tire pressure, braking surface, inclination, and pad compound are the most relevant factors though I'm sure there are some factory engineers around these parts that could impart any additional considerations. My test conditions follow:

Test A: 10 Dec 23
Pads: OEM Pads with 17k miles
Temp: 78 deg
Tires: Michelin Pilot Super Sports with approx 500 miles
Tire pressure F/R: 36/35
Stop Distance (60-0): 129'

Test B: 9 Jan 24
Pads: Powerstop Z26 with 200 miles
Temp: 62 deg
Tires: Tires: Michelin Pilot Super Sports with approx 700 miles
Tire Pressure F/R: 35/35
Stop Distance (60-0): 123'

Both tests conducted on the same patch of asphalt on level terrain after a 15 mile drive warmup with the car in Sport mode. So in my case, on a colder day with 1 lb psi less in the fronts, the Z26's outperformed the OEMs by a small margin though the sample size of 1 clearly leaves room for further effort to truly nail down 'the number' (at least 30 efforts before the sample would be considered 'normal' but since Ford isn't sponsoring my effort...well...saving those pennies for a resonator delete). Fastestlaps.com reports a 95' 60-0 distance so it looks like I need to go practice some more lol.

I was a bit surprised by the result given the slight loss of initial bite as many have reported. Would love to see what number others come up with on their 350 with different pad/tire combos.

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[K4fxd]

Are you using the dash track app or a dragy?

 

[TeamGomez]

Are you using the dash track app or a dragy?

The dash track app. No idea about its accuracy.

 

[ZX3ST]

Not terribly surprising results when testing a single cold stop. Get some real heat in those pads and you'll start seeing them diverge.

Another thing to consider - those pad compounds are likely not "compatible" meaning they don't work together well. If you didn't go through the bedding procedure between pads your testing doesn't tell the whole story.

If I were to compare the OEM pads to the Cobalts I run on the track, the OEM pads would handily outperform under this specific situation. Everything is engineered with a use-case in mind. On the track it'd be absolutely no contest in favor of the Cobalts.

 

[honeybadger]

Cool data - just goes to show that the Powerstop are probably a decent street pad. As Mike says - heat is going to cause a much different result. Street pads on the track get hot and stop having bite and lose big stopping power. The big thing about the OEM pads is they can handle lap after lap of 150-30 mph brake zones - they just create a ton of dust and wear quickly. On track, the powerstops would like blow through your second braking zone. Early in my 350 ownership, I used G-Locs GS1 pad (street pad similar to the powerstops) and they were great on the road. I tried autocrossing in them once and they overheated before the end of each run.

The Cobalt race pads I used in the stock calipers had significantly improved track performance over OEM, tho. More bite, better heat resilience, and a bit better friction. Like Mike said - all different use cases

 

[John S]

How critical is pad selection for the rear?

 

[TeamGomez]

Not terribly surprising results when testing a single cold stop. Get some real heat in those pads and you'll start seeing them diverge.

Another thing to consider - those pad compounds are likely not "compatible" meaning they don't work together well. If you didn't go through the bedding procedure between pads your testing doesn't tell the whole story.

If I were to compare the OEM pads to the Cobalts I run on the track, the OEM pads would handily outperform under this specific situation. Everything is engineered with a use-case in mind. On the track it'd be absolutely no contest in favor of the Cobalts.

I should have been clearer on pad objectives being a streetable option. I run Pagids on the GT3 and they suck the hind teat around town when they’re cold and pretty much need a glowing rotor to have any semblance of bite. Unfamiliar with many of the compounds available for the 350 so just learning about Cobalts- thanks for that tipper.

I did bed the Z26’s in per manuf directions and had a canyon run in there as well just to be sure they were fully mated with the 17k mile rotors (that show minimal wear or surface irregularities commensurate with heavy/track use & abuse).

 

[TeamGomez]

How critical is pad selection for the rear?

Using different pad compounds can affect brake bias. I use Pagid yellows up front and Pagid blacks (a bit more bite) on the rear of my other sled to try to add more rear bias.

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