brake pads - recommendations need please

[jam_asian85]

brake pads - recommendations needed please

Its time to replace my brake pads and I'd like to hear from other owners what brand they've replaced their pads with and their opinions on them based on what they've heard and personal experience. I did some search and came up with these results as to which brand offers pads for our cars.

Thanks.

EDIT: - driving habits -

50% highway and 50% local
clamly driven (no need to race to each and every traffic light)
possible auto-x and 1\4 mile events in the future

 

[ericrapp]

I have used Ebc green and the Hawk hp plus. i would recommend both.

 

[AGspeed3]

I have hawk hps. They are fine for nromal street use and produce virtually no dust. I've had them for about 1000 miles. They do not bite as well as the stock pads and, as a result, take more pedal effort for the same amount of braking performance. I haven't noticed any fade when braking hard, but I certainly wouldn't autoX them ( not intended for that anyway ). All in all, a good street pad as advertised....

 

[Wurf]

I have Hawk HPS on a Maxima and don't care for them. As mentioned above, they lack initial bite and take additional braking pressure. If you come off the highway at very high speeds, when they heat up, they will not fade, which is probably their best attribute IMO. They work better as they get hotter but day to day driving I don't care for them. Next set of pads for me will likely be ceramics from somebody like EBC.

 

[fithos]

EBC Red Stuffs. I have it on my car now. I feel they are better than the Hawk HPS. I have tried several brake pads and I think these are closest to the OEM pad's performance.

 

[Nliiitend1]

I didn't vote in the poll, since your original post leaves a lot of unanswered questions that that need to be addressed in order for someone to give a decent recommendation based on what you're looking to get out of your pads...

I'm using the Hawk HPS right now. While they don't provide quite the initial "bite" of the OEM pads, they're just as easy if not easier to modulate at/near the limit and they resist fade substantially better than the OEM pads when the get really hot (e.g., during open-track lapping). I've autocrossed with them and they get the job done.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with them, especially when you factor in their relatively low price. I'll be moving to the HP+ next time, in the hope that they will provide a bit more initial bite and require a little less pressure. Hopefully the noise will be low enough with them that they don't drive me completely nuts around town.

For now, I'm staying away from the ceramic compounds. Maybe I'm just too old-school, but ceramic pads have less heat-handling capability (meaning that they sort of act as an insulator and cause the rotor to retain heat that a semi-metallic would help dissipate) and typically have a lower coefficient of friction, from all that I've seen. (dunno)

 

[jam_asian85]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, I'll update the origional post with the intended use for these pads so that, like nliiitend1 said, I could get a better recommendation.

 

[fithos]

If you drive calmly like that then just go back to the stock pads. For your kind of driving the OEM are by far the best. They are grippy hot or cold. As much as I like my EBC Red Stuffs they will take a stop or two in the morning to be as good or better than OEM pads. They only time when you will see an advantage with these aftermarket performance pads is if you heat them up like mountain driving or track racing.

 

[derspi]

I liked the Hawk HPS on my last car so much, I went with them twice in a row. If you're mostly tootling around town, these pads are a very good choice and have better fade resistance than pretty much most OEM pads can offer. I have yet to run these on my MS3 though as I'm still on my first set of pads so my impressions of them are solely from my previous car ('99 Civic Si).

 

[Hank3]

Where can one purchase the Hawk HPS pads for a good price. I thought I saw them on PG's Web page.

 

[Nliiitend1]

I think I got mine from www.topbrakes.com using the part numbers from the sticky on m a z d a 3 f o r u m s, since TireRack didn't list them for the MS3 (at least at the time).

 

[opt_ms3]

OEM pads ftw

 

[ericrapp]

As mentioned you need to match the pads and rotors to your driving style and demands. Kind of like the motormount upgrade. The reason i use aftermarket bits are to function well under repeated heavy braking from speed. I can trade off cold stopping and more pedal pressure. An excellent point was made about modulation at the limits. The stock brakes are great. And i would recommend them to 90% of folks. But i have had smoke coming off the front rotors last year after driving the hills around here and thought i should get some more high heat tolerant units. I am using ebc Redstuff all around this time and will try yellow next. I think i will get the DBA rear rotors on this week and a Motul fluid change. Good to see this thread has caught on J!

 

[Wurf]

You know I didn't answer the poll because I don't have any experience with EBC but I have heard nothing but positive recommendations from some of my former buddies in the road racing and autocross groups back when I had a Factory Five Racing Roadster.

 

[CHICO2003]

I've got about 20k miles on my MS3 and aren't exactly in 'need' of new pads... but the hour+ I'm spending on cleaning these F'in wheels every F'in weekend has got to stop. The amount of dust these produce is just ridiculous. On top of that, as much as I like the stock MS3 wheels... they are a royal pain in the ass to clean. So... yeah, I'm looking for some new pads as well. The lower the dust the better. Any recommendations?

 

[Wurf]

I agree cleaning the stock wheels is a PITA, but my likely avenue will be new wheels and sticking with stock replacement pads.

I like the way the stock brakes work and don't feel the need to change pad formulas. The dust isn't a big deal and most performance pads are dusty anyway, especially the Hawk HPS.

 

[Hank3]

I thought the Hawk HPS pads dusted less than the stock ones (uhm)

 

[Nliiitend1]

I thought the Hawk HPS pads dusted less than the stock ones (uhm)

They do (slightly), in my experiences...

 

[Hank3]

Hmmm. I was set on getting those when the stockers wore down, but if it's only slightly better in the dust dept., might as well stay with stock. Decisions...

 

[ReNaToMS3]

I agree with how much dust the OEM pads produce, geez!

I had the Hawk HPS on my previous car and they produced way less dust than these pads. I guess it's a bit different for each one.