Brake Pads Users Ratings Guide

[JimmyRickard]

Also, 300ZX Z32 Brakes have the same pad size as the sumitomo's right?

I'm trying some American sites for pads and just wanted to be sure.

[gslrallysport]

Are HC+ the best pad for track work?

Nup. If track work is your primary aim, but you would still like to drive the car on the street, go the Club Racer. Basically the same as the H16-03 (very minor difference) which is the control pad of the V8 Supercars, but in Club Racer spec is alot cheaper. To suit your Sumitomo are $350 for the front and $325 for the rear. They're a bit more expensive to being with than some pads, but they'll last alot lot longer, and in turn pay for themselves. I personally run Club Racer in the Impreza and have no noticeable pad wear after 2 state rounds. Also the winner of the Australian Porsche Cup in 2009 did the whole season on the same set of H16-03 front pads, so it gives you an idea of how long they last.

HC+ is good, but it's more street orientated. Whereas the Club Racer is the start of Project Mu's dedicated competition pads, like H16-03, H21 etc. And a testament to how good the Pmu's are, their dedicated track pads (such as the V8 Supercars spec H16-03) are also used widely in both gravel and tarmac rally, where brakes have to work from dead cold and also work on public roads.

[JimmyRickard]

Thanks for that, where's the best place to buy the Club Racer's from?

[gslrallysport]

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/301204-project-mu-high-performance-brake-pads-disc-rotors-caliper-kits-and-accessories/

[CMS Drifter]

I have had a few different cars with different brake setups..

R33 gtst 280rwhp

Std calipers/ rotors/ lines. Nulon extreme fluid

Std pads- quiet. minimal dust. fade like mofo pushed hard

Hawk Blue- agressive on rotors colds, bit squeaky cold, awesome bite, minimal fade on Collie Motorplex

R33 gtst 330rwhp

Std calipers/ custom steel caliper spacers/ R33gtr Brembo plain rotors (front only)/ air ducts/ Braided lines/ cylinder stopper. Nulon extreme fluid

QFM HP-X pads- Track/ sprint/ hillclimb use. Low dust. No noise when cold (didnt even bed them in like most ppl do). Plenty of bite hot or cold. Withstood 16-20 laps/ session at Collie motorplex (did 4 sessions that day and raced in sprint the following day)

Not too aggressive on rotors, still plenty of meat left after 6 months of track/ sprint work. currently averaging around 53.0s on Collie Motorplex and 57.7s on Barbagallo

R32gtr 300rwhp

std sumi calipers/ factory cross drilled rotors/ lines/ cylinder stopper. Std dot 4 fluid

EBC Green stuff- street use/ touge. These were very average. Dusty (white). Wore on a taper and seized the calipers.

Hawk Blue- Agressive on rotors cold, sqeaky when cold, great bite cold and hot. minimal fade on Barbagallo

R32gtr 300rwhp

std sumitomo calipers/ factory cross drilled rotors/ lines/ cylinder stopper. Std dot 4 fluid

Ferodo DS2500- Street use/ touge. Dusty. Quiet. Dusty. Good bite. Dusty. Pretty good on rotor wear. Oh did I mention they were Dusty??

R32gtr 420rwhp

R33 Brembos f&r/ DBA4000 rotors f&r/ Nismo braided lines/ air ducts/ cylinder stopper. Nulon Extreme fluid

KYB Meta G pads f&r- Awesome. Minimal wear on rotors or pads. Minimal dust even when worked hard on the track. Excellent bite cold or hot. Minimal noise on the street. Comfortably did 51.16s at Collie Motorplex (very hard on brakes)

Pretty happy with both the QFM HP-X and the KYB Meta G pads. If I went to Brembo's on the R33 I would use the Meta G's (I've still got them even tho I sold the gtr)

[ike]

Endless CC-RG. Cant recommend them enough. Expensive yes.... but my god do they work!

Great pad need the harness to stop you going thru the windscreen.

Nice control no suprises,good on discs but a little expensive but worth every yen.

[Phatboy]

Hey just wondering what would be the best brake pads to get for an R34 GTR, 310 awkw. Stock rotors and brembo calipers. Minimal track use. Occasional spirited street driving.

Most important thing to me is that they aren't noisy - can't stand that cold screech. Also prefer not to be dusty. Basically I'd be happy with another set of OEM pads, but have no idea where to get them.

Thanks.

[RB25SEB]

Hey guys!

need major help please! i have a 1994 (was built late 1993) Nissan Skyline GTS25 . Now i need help with getting front brake pads. Im still running standard rotors and calipers. can anyone help me with getting the original replacement pads!!!? And yes i had tried DB1165 pads, and they didn't fit

[gslrallysport]

Yep, we've got a European performance brand called Remsa on the shelf to suit, what we're using to phase out the QFM HPX. Remsa are rated to 650 degrees (versus 550 for the HPX), whilst still being low dust and rotor wear. Also the Remsa come with noise reducing features such as a relief groove and shamfers in the pad material, as well as a soft backing shim, all of which the HPX do not come with. We've been supplying Remsa to high performance street road cars like Porsche and Ferrari for many years, but the pricing has now become such that we're now able to expand it to most road cars.

Remsa to suit the front or your R33 GTS 2.5 are $105 for the set and in stock.

[gslrallysport]

Hey just wondering what would be the best brake pads to get for an R34 GTR, 310 awkw. Stock rotors and brembo calipers. Minimal track use. Occasional spirited street driving.

As above mate, I'd go the Remsa pads. To suit Brembo are $125 for the front, and $105 for the rear. If noise is your primary concern then I'd definitely go these as they're what we supply to alot of cars with opposed pistons calipers (like the Brembo, which are notorious for noise) from factory such as Porsche/Audi etc, and never had a noise issue with them.

[rtune]

I've a question the regulars in this topic should be able to help.

So my R34, with more power than I'm going to reasonably use in anger, is just for the odd sunday and the odd open track day at wakefield or eastern creek.

I'm really not up for swapping between two sets of pads.

The brakes are stoptech ST-40s on the front, and ST-21s on the rear.

what pads should I get that are don't squeal like a garbage truck at every red light ( a bit of noise I don't mind ), and won't fade on an "open track day" and won't eat my rotors up when cold ??

Edited April 19, 2011 by moneypit

[boosted_andy]

Just a bit of feedback on the DB1170HPX QFM HPX brake pad for R33 GTST with PFB601 TRW GP600 Dot 4 Racing Brake Fluid...

Car feels great, stops up fine, hardly any brake dust, perfect street pad so far, very firm pedal feel

overall, very happy!

[gslrallysport]

I've a question the regulars in this topic should be able to help.

So my R34, with more power than I'm going to reasonably use in anger, is just for the odd sunday and the odd open track day at wakefield or eastern creek.

I'm really not up for swapping between two sets of pads.

The brakes are stoptech ST-40s on the front, and ST-21s on the rear.

what pads should I get that are don't squeal like a garbage truck at every red light ( a bit of noise I don't mind ), and won't fade on an "open track day" and won't eat my rotors up when cold ??

Is the car your daily driver, or just a weekend car?

[rtune]

Is the car your daily driver, or just a weekend car?

It is a weekend car. More like, one weekend a month.

More like, one sunday a month.

more time spent on track days (casual) than driving around town.

I don't mind having a pad that isn't too great stone cold, as long as it still stops.

[gslrallysport]

Hi mate,

In that case I'd go QFM A1RM which is a Ferodo DS2500 equivalent and still works from dead cold etc. To suit the front are are $149.

With regards to the rear, do you mean ST22? http://www.stoptech.com/products/img/ST-22.jpg

If so, A1RM are also $149 for the set.

Otherwise if you wanted a dedicated competition only pad we can look at something from Project Mu. Any questions at all just let me know!

Regards,

Greg

[rtune]

Hi mate,

In that case I'd go QFM A1RM which is a Ferodo DS2500 equivalent and still works from dead cold etc. To suit the front are are $149.

With regards to the rear, do you mean ST22? http://www.stoptech.com/products/img/ST-22.jpg

If so, A1RM are also $149 for the set.

Otherwise if you wanted a dedicated competition only pad we can look at something from Project Mu. Any questions at all just let me know!

Regards,

Greg

Thanks, I already have A1RM all round, but what I don't want to do, as this is a heavy car and has 400kw, is find that I pop off the end of that friction curve..

no disrespect to A1RM intended, but I'm not sure it can be a street pad (no issues when cold, not even any squeal) and also cope with hauling the car down from high speed once every 1 minute?

Any comments on the CL Brakes RC6E? perhaps just for the front? it has a flat friction coefficient to 1200c.. i figure the A1RMs on the back wouldn't get the temps of the front so perhaps i keep them, the friction coefficient between the two almost matches at ~0.5

Edited April 27, 2011 by moneypit

[gslrallysport]

Thanks, I already have A1RM all round, but what I don't want to do, as this is a heavy car and has 400kw, is find that I pop off the end of that friction curve..

If you're only doing casual track work as you say, it's definitely where I'd start. I've taken state titles on them, they're a bloody good pad, but I do agree they have a limitation. Don't get carried away with temp ratings. A1RM is rated to 780, rotors RARELY get hotter than mid 600's. There's a reason why the top thermal marking paint on rotors (like DBA 4000 and 5000 series) is only 630 degrees...

but I'm not sure it can be a street pad (no issues when cold, not even any squeal) and also cope with hauling the car down from high speed once every 1 minute?

If you're after a fairly serious pad, then I would go something better than A1RM, but when you said casual track work that's the way I went. With regards to the above comment, it is possible. Probably the best example is the Project Mu H16-03 which is the control pad of the V8 Supercars, yet is also VERY widely used in rallying where brakes are required from dead cold, and require the cars to be driven on public roads between stages etc.

Any comments on the CL Brakes RC6E?

Yep, any pad manufacturer that claims their pads are good for 1200 degrees C is full of the proverbial. Have a look at what temperatures F1 cars develop on their carbon brakes, then try and tell me they've got pads good for 1200 degrees for use on a cast iron rotor...

If you wanted a very serious pad, up from A1RM, but not quite V8 Supercar territory, I'd go the Project Mu Club Racer which is what I personally now run in my competition car, and is the sister formulation to the above mentioned H16-03. To suit Brembo are $379 for the front, and $349 for the rear.

[rtune]

well, rotors don't get fully as hot .. so pad surface temps are going to be much higher than the rotors. The CL pads get good reports from UK users, they used to be prohibitive ($500 per axle) now they are 380 usd... here is a US R35 track day topic on them: http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=41221

well, ok, since the A1RMs are in there, I guess I'll just try them.

Edited April 27, 2011 by moneypit

[SiR_RB]

soo many pages and options

on my old r33 gtst - 200kw, i had standard rotors/brake lines/ bendix ultimates front and rear

seemed to be a great pad for street use but were harsh on the rotors.

now i got an r32 gtr, should be pushing about 290rwkw soon, standard front and rear rotors (machined), standard lines, brake air guides, cusco cylinder brace.

street driven, which pad is recommended for maximum bite both hot and cold, with low noise..not too fussed about dust as i wash my car once a week

[gslrallysport]

The pad we previously would've recommended would've been the QFM HPX, but we're slowly phasing HPX out in favor of a better performance street pad. It's a European performance pad called Remsa, which is rated to 650 degrees (versus 550 for the HPX or something like Bendix Ultimate), whilst still being low dust and rotor wear. Also the Remsa come with noise reducing features such as a relief groove and shamfers in the pad material, as well as a soft backing shim, all of which the HPX do not come with. We've been supplying Remsa to high performance street road cars like Porsche and Ferrari for many years, but the pricing has now become such that we're now able to expand it to most road cars. Remsa to suit non-Brembo GTR are $89 for the front. Rears we'll still do HPX for now, which are $79 for the set.