brake pads for Auto-x worth it?

That may seem redundant, but hear me out.

I'm thinking of going to Hawk HPS pads for autocross/street driving/occasional track day driving. I know the pads would be a benefit in terms of shorter and stronger braking, but are they nessesary for autocross?

Since I moved to some larger regions, especially Chicago, I don't think I use the brakes and hard as I would have thought (alot of lift throttle braking).

I plan to get the bar and shocks (leaning very heavily towards Koni SA, thanks Sam) and then pads, but I'm wondering if they' are ultimately worht it?

Thanks.

as far as autox goes, i think fresh stock replacements would be fine. autox courses are usually so short and you're not having to haul the car down from really high speeds, and so basically stock brakes will be fine.

most guys i know running open tracks opt for better rotors/pads/and quite a few run some sort of brake coolers. cuz open tracking runs the car a lot harder, a lot hotter, and so brakes are more susceptible to fading due to abuse.

i'm unsure if hawk hps pads are the best pad option for both open tracking and autox....you're gonna have to research that or someone else needs to chime in to help on that one.

HP+/HPS with Konis DA/SA here. They work great, very different from your typical f-body. Worth every cent, especially if you buy them from Sam, not only he'll get you great prices, but will talk your ear off (in the most positive, informative manner ever).

I used Hawk Plus pads in the front for about 8 months until I couldn't stand it anymore. You drive 10 miles and your wheels are dark grey, they squeal like 10 stuck pigs. Yes, they'll stop you like no tomorrow but I wouldn't use them on my daily street car again. I went with Hawk HPS pads and I'm still pretty happy. No squeal, no dust.

When you say "no dust" do you mean no dust, or same amount of dust as stock pads? I thought the search for dustless good brake pads on a camaro was futile.

It is very, very little. I could probably go a week now without wiping them off and you'd never know they were dusted.

But NO comparison to the HPS pads.

I would recommend the performance friction pads that they sell at Autozone. I have put them on many different vehicles and never had a problem with them. They have a lifetime warranty too. They will make as much dust as stock though.

If you are looking for low dust, then I would go for a set of the new ceramic pads like the ones they sell at Napa. I had a set of them for a while and the dust is very low. A little bit pricey though. Braking isn't that much better than stock either, but you won't have to clean the wheels nearly as often.

I had to correct my post... I had the Plus and HPS pads swapped. The Plus pads squeal and dust, not the HPS. My mistake. I should have read my own web site... :D

Steve,

I'll be wanting to upgrade my brake pads in the near future. Surprisingly, I have 64,000 on my original stock pads, and still have a good amount of meat on them.

As you can tell, I'm pretty easy on my brakes, but want an improvement over stock. Are you saying that the HPS pads would be a nice jump up in performance vs stock?

Thanks,
Dan

Yes, they are.

They don't stop as well as the Plus pads but the trade off in terms of noise and dust make them more than acceptable. I use them as my daily street pads and hard autocross use. I can get my ABS to kick in with my 315 size race tires which means I have more brake than I have traction. Anytime you can lock the brakes or hit the ABS, you need to upgrade your tires (traction) first.

i had HP+ pads on the front. worked great. but yeah just like steve i couldnt stand the dust or squealing anymore. ive got HPS pads on the front. did an autox couple sundays ago. high speed course with hard breaking at spots. no problems with the pads. worked great. dusting is minimal. squealing is uncommon, but itll happen every now and then. ill be getting them again.

I would stay far away from the Performance Friction pads. I used a number of different sets on different cars (Z rated, carbon metallics, etc) until I tried Hawks. There is absolutely no comparison. the PF's were horrible. HP+'s are incredible pads, amazing stopping power. they squeal and dust to match. I'm very happy w/ the HP+'s, however I'm going to try the Carbotech Panter Plus pads next anyway. I've used HP streets too, I would not recommend them for track days. the HP+'s are a good compromise.

I would stay far away from the Performance Friction pads. I used a number of different sets on different cars (Z rated, carbon metallics, etc) until I tried Hawks. There is absolutely no comparison. the PF's were horrible. HP+'s are incredible pads, amazing stopping power. they squeal and dust to match. I'm very happy w/ the HP+'s, however I'm going to try the Carbotech Panter Plus pads next anyway. I've used HP streets too, I would not recommend them for track days. the HP+'s are a good compromise.


That's strange that you have had such bad luck with the PF pads. I have installed at least a dozen sets of them on vehicles I have owned and for friends and family and they have all are still stopping great. The only bad experience I have had with them was a set of the Z rated pads I installed on the rear of my Camaro; my gripe was that they needed to get too hot for them to work effectively and the back brakes never really got that hot. They also can be bought 24/7 at my local Autozone and they have a lifetime warranty. :)

Granted, they might not be quite as good as the Hawks, but for the money and convienience of getting new ones, I think they are pretty decent.

I liked the Performance Friction for the street, but they absolutely gave up on track days after @ 5 hot laps. That is no fun at all. HP+ on now, living with the mess 'cause I like to stop when I hit the pedal.

my gripe was that they needed to get too hot for them to work effectively

thats why i dont like them. i put them on a customers 94 vette. absolutely hated them the second i took them out. well the car came back for other stuff and i got to driving it again. once the brakes got hot they worked fine. but the Hawk pads are still better. the maint hing is to get them hot i had to stand on the brakes a couple times. i was testing something else anyway, after that they worked. unfortunately you dont stand on the brakes that often on the street or autox course so i dont like them