Pad for occasional track use?

[jmn444]

LPI will likely call you tomorrow during west coast business hours IF they aren't available. I love st43 personally, super long life. I've had issues with pulsations over the years, but last year I made an effort to stay out of ABS and added the vorshlag cooling plates and the problem went away.

good luck!!!

They showed as in stock at "LPI Racing", though now I am concerned they are not actually in stock and it will tell me they have not shipped too late for me to do any other options.

Those cobalts look great, but are pretty freaking expensive.

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[brokenblinker]

LPI will likely call you tomorrow during west coast business hours IF they aren't available. I love st43 personally, super long life. I've had issues with pulsations over the years, but last year I made an effort to stay out of ABS and added the vorshlag cooling plates and the problem went away.

good luck!!!

They did indeed cancel my order.

 

[EuroKllr]

I second what HB said ... The Cobalt's are great! I'm running XR2 in front and XR4 in rear, with Girodisc rotors and Falken 660 tires. Ok for street, but excellent for track.

 

[2morrow]

I second what HB said ... The Cobalt's are great! I'm running XR2 in front and XR4 in rear, with Girodisc rotors and Falken 660 tires. Ok for street, but excellent for track.

Side note; How do you like the F 660 tire? How would you compare it to other 200TW tires?

Have you run a tire less than 200 TW? If so, how would your compare? TIA

 

[luc]

I've GLOC- won't ever touch them again. 2/3 sets I ran the pad fell off the backing plate on me. The Cobalts are worth the $$$. They lasted as long as the Raybestos but with tons more bite.

100% agree
Expensive but for race pads they last a long time and the bite is amazing

 

[EuroKllr]

Side note; How do you like the F 660 tire? How would you compare it to other 200TW tires?

Have you run a tire less than 200 TW? If so, how would your compare? TIA

If you want to stay w/in the OEM size specs there's not many tire choices for the 350R that are both street legal and also good for the track. I've run the Michelin PS Cup 2's (180 treadwear, great tire!), Bridgestone Potenza S007A (240 TW, good for street, not good for the track), and the Falken Azenis RT660 (200 TW, feels a lot like the PSC2). Performance wise the RT660 is comparable to the PS Cup 2's, but at a lower price.

I'm a track newbie with novice skills, which means I'm hard on tires. For me, learning to drive smooth is more important than straight line speed. My current tire & brake setup helps with that.

 

[2morrow]

I've run the Michelin PS Cup 2's (180 treadwear, great tire!), Bridgestone Potenza S007A (240 TW, good for street, not good for the track), and the Falken Azenis RT660 (200 TW, feels a lot like the PSC2). Performance wise the RT660 is comparable to the PS Cup 2's, but at a lower price.

This is great feedback and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

I 've been running the SC2 in a 305 square for several seasons now and still have a couple sets left. I love it but operating costs are starting to get up there.

Previous to that I've run several sets of the RE-71R but that is now discontinued. (Another great tire but wears fast with weight and power of these cars).

I've been looking for something that gets me close to the SC2 level of performance for a reduced price and the 200 TW market is super hot now with several good options.

Sorry to thread jack, I'll go back in my hole now lol.

 

[brokenblinker]

This is great feedback and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

I 've been running the SC2 in a 305 square for several seasons now and still have a couple sets left. I love it but operating costs are starting to get up there.

Previous to that I've run several sets of the RE-71R but that is now discontinued. (Another great tire but wears fast with weight and power of these cars).

I've been looking for something that gets me close to the SC2 level of performance for a reduced price and the 200 TW market is super hot now with several good options.

Sorry to thread jack, I'll go back in my hole now lol.

No worries at all, I'm just getting started with tracking, so this kind of information is perfect.

 

[jmn444]

This is great feedback and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

I 've been running the SC2 in a 305 square for several seasons now and still have a couple sets left. I love it but operating costs are starting to get up there.

Previous to that I've run several sets of the RE-71R but that is now discontinued. (Another great tire but wears fast with weight and power of these cars).

I've been looking for something that gets me close to the SC2 level of performance for a reduced price and the 200 TW market is super hot now with several good options.

Sorry to thread jack, I'll go back in my hole now lol.

I found that with cup2's, i got one great day, one good day and somewhere on day 3 swapping to pilot super sports resulted in better grip.

My fav tire so far is a supercar 3 in 305/30/19. lasts about 7 days and is still a ton of fun and fast when they cord. The pricing went up, but still best bang for the buck IMO.

 

[ZX3ST]

If you stock is an issue, I suggest the Cobalts. I run the XR1/XR2 combo, but that would be too much for street tires. XR2/XR3 for cup2s and XR3/XR4 for 200+ TW tires would be good.

I second what HB said ... The Cobalt's are great! I'm running XR2 in front and XR4 in rear, with Girodisc rotors and Falken 660 tires. Ok for street, but excellent for track.

And I'll third the notion!

I've been running XR2 squared, on OEM rotors, and have been pretty happy.

As mentioned - fair warning - it's too much pad for anything with lower grip than a Cup2. I feel that I'm incapable of modulating brake pressure when on Pilot Supersport. It's either too much, or my foot's off the pedal...

EDIT: All that above, take with a grain of salt. XR2 are definitely not a dual purpose pad. XR3/4, maybe, but no direct experience.

Honestly though, at novice level, the OEM pads are pretty great and are also rotor-friendly. I think you'll find they're perfectly suitable until you get to a certain skill level (and the speed that comes with it).

I tracked OEM pads for at least 10 weekends before I felt I was starting to cook them.

Based on what I've heard around the water cooler, Z26 are not a track friendly pad AT ALL.

 

[Hobdul]

Are the ST43s back in stock? I know they were a bit hard to get for a while. Good pad.

If you stock is an issue, I suggest the Cobalts. I run the XR1/XR2 combo, but that would be too much for street tires. XR2/XR3 for cup2s and XR3/XR4 for 200+ TW tires would be good.

@honeybadger, sorry if this info is covered elsewhere already (didn't see it in reading various brake pad threads on the forums), but what's the idea behind running less aggressive pad compounds in the rear versus the front? When do you run different compounds front/rear versus running the same?

For context, I'm an HPDE driver looking to move up from the OEM pads for better pad life, mostly, but would also take other improvements if it doesn't mean killing my rotor life. I'm looking at the Cobalt XR3 as a good starting point, so trying to figure out whether the rear pads should be XR3 or XR4. Tires are Continental ExtremeContact Force 200tw tires. I drive the car on the track (and drive it to the track) and some weekend backroads driving, but not a daily driver.

Thanks!

 

[svttim]

The stock pad is a great pad no matter the tire. I ran a set of Pirelli slicks last time out and had no issues at all. Point being dont go out an replace good pads. When the stock pads are done then look at others. The stock pads are more then up to the task. I did add cooling shields which made a difference as well.AS HB said, GLOC have had issues with drivers I know. I'm not sure of your driving level but dont throw cash looking for something better if you cant exceed the capability of the car as delivered. Some of the older Mustangs required brake work before tracking, this one just needs to be maintained.

 

[Arknsawchuck]

I've been running the Z26 pads for 3 years now and I do autocross and the couple times a year track days. They have held up just fine for what I've been doing. On the track I've had no issues with stopping or fading. For a car that does 75% street and 25% track the Z26 pads work just fine, and they have almost not dust. Even during my autocross weekends they work well. Until I start getting more track time I'm sticking with them since they've given me no reason to upgrade.

 

[Hobdul]

The stock pad is a great pad no matter the tire. I ran a set of Pirelli slicks last time out and had no issues at all. Point being dont go out an replace good pads. When the stock pads are done then look at others. The stock pads are more then up to the task. I did add cooling shields which made a difference as well.AS HB said, GLOC have had issues with drivers I know. I'm not sure of your driving level but dont throw cash looking for something better if you cant exceed the capability of the car as delivered. Some of the older Mustangs required brake work before tracking, this one just needs to be maintained.

Thanks for the thoughts. The stock pads are great, but the pad life is really short for me, so I want something that will last longer.

 

[honeybadger]

@honeybadger, sorry if this info is covered elsewhere already (didn't see it in reading various brake pad threads on the forums), but what's the idea behind running less aggressive pad compounds in the rear versus the front? When do you run different compounds front/rear versus running the same?

For context, I'm an HPDE driver looking to move up from the OEM pads for better pad life, mostly, but would also take other improvements if it doesn't mean killing my rotor life. I'm looking at the Cobalt XR3 as a good starting point, so trying to figure out whether the rear pads should be XR3 or XR4. Tires are Continental ExtremeContact Force 200tw tires. I drive the car on the track (and drive it to the track) and some weekend backroads driving, but not a daily driver.

Thanks!

I can't recall the specific number, but something like 72% of braking is done with the front tires on a Mustang. So if you have an equally bite-y pad in the rear, you risk locking up the rear/getting squirrelly under braking.

Cobalt pads and the similar types for GLOC, Pagid, Hawk, etc. are true race pads - so they aren't prioritizing street manners (cold bite, noise, dust, etc.). They're just a lot less accommodating than something like the stock (which is the best pad I've experienced for combined use).

If I were spec'ing pads for your car, I'd go XR3 front and XR4 rear. You can probably get away with a higher temp pad, but you'll likely just be overloading the front tires.

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