majustin1

I would like to see about getting some better braking with just some light mods. Mainly what i do is "spirited" street driving. I live near mountains and we have some very curvy and steep roads. Im not fighting brake fade or anything like that. I would just like a little more stopping power to shorten my stopping distance while on the street.
Can this be obtained with just some Hawk Pads?
I dont really wana do SS lines cuz that seems kinda overkill but im gona need pads soon so i thought some Hawks would be a good upgrade (any comments on which ones would be awesome).
Im game for upgrading fluid if i need to but im not sure if i really need to upgrades lines and dot5 fluid at the same time or what?
Dont wana go overkill here, just looking for a little more hard stopping power than stock. Again im not at the track and not fighting brake fade or hot brakes. Just looking for something to stop quicker if i decide to tear it up for about 10 minutes at a time on my way to and from work.
Thanks

Sleeper_08

Per the Road & Track data panel the stock GT brakes are pretty good if you compare stopping distances to other high performance cars.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/d..._rtSummary.pdf

When you are braking hard does the ABS kick in?

If so then your tires are limiting your stopping distances and not the brakes. To stop in a shorter distance requires stickier tires.

nemosgt

Second Sleeper_08.

Your tires are the limiting factor here. Going to larger rotors and/or calipers will only add weight and not improve your stopping distance. Your OEM rotors and pads are fine for your purpose. You might want to flush and bleed the brake fluid more often than normal though. Any of the DOT 3 or DOT 4 exotic fluids will work but so will the Ford HD brake fluid and it's cheaper. Do NOT use DOT 5 fluid. If you insist on different pads, I've had good luck with EBC Yellows, unlike Sleeper, who I believe doesn't like them. Your other choice in your case would be Hawk HPS.

Cheers.

Philostang

Some folks have also liked Hawk's HP+ pads on the street. I've run HPS and really liked them on the street (far better performance over stock pads).

I now run Carbotech's Bobcat pads on the street (love `em), but this is mainly so I can swap to the track pads I run without having to re-surface/re-bed the rotors. The Bobcats don't dust up as much as the HPS pads and they're less aggressive on the rotors than the Hawk line...and they have a matching price tag for all this goodness.

The bottom line is that you'll want to get as much experienced feedback from folks running the different street compounds and make your best choice. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong. I just hate the stock pads; you'll likely be happier with darn near anything else in there. And if you want to experiment yourself, just swap out to a different pad the next time around. You're not going to get something worse than the stock pads.

Best,
-j

dvs4.6

+1 on the Hawk HPS pads. been using them for years on mustangs and imports. never had a problem with them and they do not dust or squeal. great product that will hold up to some real aggressive usage.

majustin1

Thanks for the help guys.
Just made a good run out a cpl backroads and i come to the same feeling that it was probably my tires. Car makes very good power with whipple and my main concerns were stopping after getting out of full power.
Im upgrading to a set of GT500 takeoff wheels and tires and we will see from there. And it looks like i will also be upgrading pads when the time comes shortly.
Thanks for the help and claifications on different pads and fluids.

Sleeper_08

I liked the EBC Yellowstuff on the street as they did not squeal but for me they did not hold up on the track. The rears were down to steel after four events and the material that was left actually looked "melted". The fronts held up better but still showed signs of "melting" at the center groove in the pad. The way my car is set up seems to be hard on rear pads (and I almost always remember to turn the TCS off on the track). This is probably because the fronts operate so much cooler because of the brake cooling and the "massive" GT500 rotors.

I then switched to Hawk HP+ on both ends and they got me through 4 track events with pad left. For me they squeal like crazy on the street but this is probably because I am a very light street braker and they "unbed" themsleves after a while and end up with no material on the rotors. It was so bad that for the winter I had the stock GT500 pads put in.

On the track I'm trying to save my brakes by going through the corners faster

nemosgt

Sleeper, your brakes melted because you let your brother drive your car! LOL.

Cheers.

Argonaut

I agree with the other posts - the tires are the biggest limiting factor here. Bigger, stickier rubber will stop in a shorter distance. But....depending on usage you might then start running into fade issues (stickier tire will heat your brakes up more). If you really want a top notch street setup go with something like Nitto NT05 or Dunlop Direzza star specs, high end street pads and dot 4 fluid.

Personally I like the Carbotech Bobcats on the street but then I save my aggressive driving for the track. If I did have some nice mountain roads near me I'd probably use use the Nittos or Dunlops and the Carbotech XP8. They will dust and might even squeal a bit but overall their street manners are decent and stopping power awesome.

Colin - you really need to upgrade your brake pads. That goes doubly if you do start using R-comps next season. By the way, I hear EBC is coming out with "BlueStuff", a new trackday pad that is supposedly an upgrade/higher temp range to the YellowStuff.

Philostang

Glad to hear the Bobcats have a second. I really love these pads on the street.

One +1 deserves another. I know this is a "street-use" thread, but I have to second Argo's call to upgrade your pads Colin. I'm amazed you've gotten away with HP+ pads and all that power. Once you feel a track pad's bite and consistency, you're not going to want to go back (for track use).

Best,
-j