Brakes Wheels 1st Gen Tires Most liked posts in thread: Which Brake pads do you use ?

EBC Reds, FTW

Hawk = trash IMHO

 

Hawk HPS on the street because they eventually stop the car, they're cheap, and they're relatively low dust. But mostly 'cause they're cheap and fit my BBK. I use track pads on the track. It's like wearing running shoes when I go running and dress shoes at the office - it just works better that way.

 

I don't recommend Yellow stuff for street cars. I have had track guys get them and like them though.
Go with the redstuff they really work best, and if you need rotors we have our WMW rotors that are great quality, but easy on the pocket.

 

Unless you are going to really go nuts with the brakes and compounds (i.e. using red stuff with the occasional "play") stick with decent, reasonably priced, rotors. Nothing fancy.

Me? I goto RockAuto Auto Parts and look for either the "Premium" Raybestos or Centric rotors. Never had any warping issues. Real easy on the wallet and work well with EBC Reds.

Right Now:
RAYBESTOS Advanced Part # 980604 (Rear) $19.44 a rotor. ($38.88 for the pair)
RAYBESTOS Advanced Part # 980605 (Front) $29.89 a rotor. ($59.78 for the pair)

So for $98.66 plus shipping you have have a full set of rotors that will do a yeoman's job for ya.

 

Blue whales:



I run crappy Hawk HPS pads and I stop on a dime. :biggrin5:
Pads matter, but there's two other variables to consider: tires and brake hardware. Bigger calipers and rotors will dissipate more heat, and stickier tires will stop you faster. Pads are just something you match to the expected conditions.

 

Brake pads are a poor place to save money. Just my .02.

 

Oh goody......another CoolCarbon user. Still loving mine.

 

+1 on the red, put them on last year to replace the jcw dustmakers which where fine, but the reds seems better and slightly less dust.

 

Don't overlook the Cool Carbon pads from Bavarian Auto. Been running them hard for a few years now and they are head and shoulders above the Hawk HPS/+'s I had before.

 

What about the EBC yellow stuff?

 

:cornut: Wouldn't work well for street use as they take a lot of hard and repetative braking to warm up and bite well. On the street we just don't use our brakes hard and often enough to keep them functioning well. Stick with 'RedStuff.'

Jason

 

Ok so red stuff. What about rotors, my front ones are getting a lip on the outer edge. What is recommended for a replacement? Maybe brembo rotors?

 

:cornut: I haven't had to replace rotors/discs yet but the info I have says:

1. No Drilled rotors, they crack at the track or autocross.
2. Slotted are okay and clean the pads.
3. Brand ? Wait for some more 'posters' to come along.


Jason

 

What's wrong with OEM stuff?

It's all I've used on any of my MINIs, street, track or otherwise.....

My only complaint is the black dust, but that just encourages me to wash my car a little more ofter.

MINI dealers have kits with all the OEM parts including new screws for the rotors, new sensors and they're competetively priced.

 

It's amazing how the dealer experience can change your perception.....

So many people have this attitude that no matter what happens at their dealer's they're gonna get screwed....makes me wonder how much of that is true and how much is urban legend passed on because it sounds cool. Like using the term "stealership".

No dealer has ever stolen anything from me, and if I think their price is too high I buy elsewhere, but how does that make them the bad guys?

All I can say is, deserved or not, car dealers sure have a bad PR problem.

To answer the question, competetive means commensurate with what the same package would cost from an aftermarket source, except it included the aformentioned screws, anti-squeal grease and sensors, factory rotors and pads.

I don't buy just on price, as much as possbile I buy on quality, and I find that MINI OEM is pretty good stuff.

I don't know how anyone could be harder on brakes than I am (on track days) and I find the OEM stuff to be great - for street use it's way overkill. That's why I never understood why people were spending big money for big brake kits when they never see a race track. To me (my opinion) there's no way a good driver should over use the stock brakes such that they'd need more performance than OEM - for street driving.

Understand that my track driving is strictly HPDE, I'm not racing competetively...... I know in an actual race environment I'd need different stuff.

I do hate the black dust......but like I said, that just makes me more aware that I need to wash my car!

 

I completely agree with the idea of horses for courses, however, running all season street tires limits my cornering speed (unless I only want them to last the weekend! :biggrin5: ) on the track so that's part of why I don't burn my pads up in one weekend. And I can't afford dedicated track rubber, so stock stuff works fine for me, and probably anyone else that runs under those conditions. I also don't see the point of a BBK to run autocross either, given those runs are so short. I also understand people just want to buy stuff for their cars, but for street use a BBK is a big waste of money - to me.

If someone is getting brake fade on the 30 mph limited 11 miles of the dragon, I question whether they are riding the brakes, or driving one hell of a lot faster than 30 mph! Course, if you're gonna do that.....

Getting back to the OP's original question tho, I think stock stuff (pads and rotors) are perfectly fine for the uses he described - street with the occasional event.

But there are some good choices mentioned for alternates......

 

Gents, that's not what this thread is about, it's about brakes, we can take our pontificating out back (near the autocross cones) and settle it like men. :beer: I was using the Dragon runs for comparison purposes only, your mileage may vary, etc... and most of the MOTD vets can certainly vouch for my driving safety and making very public the importance of proper safety on the Dragon and surrounding roads.

 

EBC Red Stuff

 

Hawk HPS pads are indeed crap, but they're low dust and cheap. And they fit everything, BBK, MINI, JCW, whatever, you name it. Besides, if you have a BBK, you don't need fancy pads, you've already got plenty of stopping power.