Buying brakes soon. Got some ?s

[MATT DAMOND]

So, I've already got the rotors picked out. I'm going with some slotted ones, mainly because I've never used slotted before. I've tried out drilled on a previous car(The rotors were great on the track), and drilled+slotted look ricey IMO.

So my concern is focused on brake pads, and I've got it numbered down to two:
EBC greenstuff or Hawk HPS street pads.
My MS6 will see some track time, and I generally brake fairly hard during normal driving. Very little fade would be nice. I've used the greenstuff pads before on my 944, and got mixed results. They had amazing stopping power, but made soo much noise(most likely due to poor caliper design).
I'm leaning towards the Hawks, for if I like them I might use the HP Plus race pads on my spec 944 I'm going to build.

Basically, I'm looking to see if anyone has used these pads, and what your impressions are on them. Do the EBC pads make lots of horrible noises? Or, are the Hawks pretty fade resistant? Any input on these pads would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

p.s. When I do my brakes, I'm going to do a very detailed(lots of pics) how-to, also sorry for the long write up.

 

[Myriad]

I have run Hawk HPS pads and slotted rotors before, not on the ms6 though, and thought they performed well. Far less fade than cheap pads and lower dust, but they still left a little to be desired under heavy use. I was actually considering going with another set of slotted rotors (never liked the idea of holes drilled through something that keeps me from crashing) and giving the EBC Redstuff pads a go. They are a bit pricier but are more closely matched to what this car is rated at and meant for more of a performance situation. Seems like the Greenstuffs were designed with compacts and sports coupes or more tame applications in mind while the Redstuffs are geared more towards mid size to full size performance sedans or light track and auto-x use.

 

[peteh]

I've used both - have the Hawk HPS in my 2005 Mazda6s 5-door right now. I've done three weekend HPDEs/track events at Texas World Speedway with the HPS pads and they hold up fairly well... some fade, but only after really driving the car to the limit for 3 or 4 laps - but, they are not anything like the dedicated racing brake pads I ran in past cars (350Z with Brembos, A4 with Stoptechs). Low dusting, not noisy at all on the street... I think I would buy them again.

I would discourage you from using Greenstuff on the track. Used them in an A4 before going to Stoptechs and feared for my life on the track. In fact, I've used EBC Redstuff at the track and hated them and those ones are supposed to the the track-use pads. Run away from the EBC pads.... EBC rotors, on the other hand, are pretty cool - I had the ones with the slots and "dimples" that looked like a cross-drilled, but the "dimple" didn't go all the way through the rotor.

Much better in my opinion would be anything from the list below:
Carbotech Panther Plus (now called AX6)
http://www.ctbrakes.com/faqs#compounds1

Porterfield R4S
http://porterfield-brakes.com/manufacturers.php?manufId=231

Raybestos ST43 (freaking incredible in the Z's Brembos)
http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/manufacturers.php?manufId=235

Mintex Red Box
not sure where to get them for a Mazda - I used them in my A4 before I put the Stoptechs on it...

 

[MATT DAMOND]

Thanks a lot guys, I think I'm going to go with the hawks then. The HPS pads with some ss brake lines should get the job done for me.
Thanks for letting me know that the greenstuff pads didn't work on your A4 peteh. I've used them before on my 944 as a track pad and the did me well, but my 944 was more than 1000lbs lighter than my MS6 and probably an A4. I guess they only work for smaller cars.

 

[peteh]

I agree 100% with that... my A4 with quattro was about 3300 pounds. A Speed6 is pretty close to that.

Another suggestion - as long as you are swapping out brake lines, you should change out the fluid. Go with something that will withstand heat from the track - Motul600 is what I use, but there's a lot of other good stuff out there.

I've used them before on my 944 as a track pad and the did me well, but my 944 was more than 1000lbs lighter than my MS6 and probably an A4. I guess they only work for smaller cars.

 

[Mistersix]

any aggressive (semi-track) pad i ever used was noisy. guess thats just the trade off for good stoppin.

if you go to aggresive you need to worry about the pads effective operating temp. if they're to cold they wont stop well.

also, the speed6 is closer to 3600 lbs than 3300 hundred. its stoopid heavy.