Brake pad life (front and rear)

#1

Looking for what everyone runs for brake pads. Also, how much life do you get out of them?

I heard that rear rotors last forever, and front rotors last about 3-4 race weekends.

As far as pads, does anyone use Carbotech? If so, which pad type?B)

#2

pfc 06 up front and 01 rears. and any oem quality (centric, brembro, zimmerman etc) blank rotor.

#3

Wow, really, 1 response with 34 views?

Hmm…

#4

The advantage of Carbotech is that they give you lots of interesting pad choices…top quality pads ranging from low bit XP8 to extremely high bite XP16. And 2 choices in between. No one else that I know of makes a range that broad. Hawk makes one decent pad for us, the DTC60 and that’s front only. PFC makes two, the 01 and 06. Ferodo is junk. There’s a couple other outfits that make pads for us that I’ve not experimented with.

The disadvantage is that Carbotech pads are a little pricey and because they use rivets to fasten pad to backing plate, you can’t quite run them quite as thin. I like them, but it would be nice if they lost those rivets.

#5

I’m trying to estimate pad cost for the year along with rotor cost. Was mostly looking to find out how long a set of pads lasted on these cars.

#6

I don’t think Ranger has run that test… yet (please stand by) :laugh:

Pad life has more to do with the driver than the compound (IMO), so you’ll need to start with “how are you on breaks” then go from there.

Rotors are pretty much the same. If you can get your hands on a set of well seasoned rotors, they’ll last you a lot long than a set bedded at the track.

Sorry to not answer your question either. Break life is a tough call…

#7

Using Hawk Blues:

6 events max for rotors… Rotors are anywhere from $26 to $40 each.

Pads - too dependent on your driving skill and style and track to say for sure - 3 to 6 events…

#8

It’s tough to give a definitive answer. I have found that I am typical of most racers. The more I forget about how long stuff lasts or how much I spend to go racing, I am happier.

Also, pad life will depend on factors like:

  • how well you adhere to the mfr’s bedding instructions
  • which tracks you run (CMP is harder on brakes than RA, for example)
  • how fast you are
  • whether you are running brake cooling
  • pad compound

Given all that, I’d guess I use up a set of fronts every 3 weekends and rears every 6. I have changed brake compounds a good bit over the past couple years, so I tend to change rotors when I change pads. I don’t remember ever wearing a set of rotors down to the point where checking was getting bad. As IndyJim says, I am Safety Sally, so I’d rather throw out that last $30-40 in rotor life and run new rotors. Besides, thick rotors = better stopping.

PS - If you race in the Southeast you will spend more $ on hookers and blow than brakes. MidAtlantic? More $ on bodywork. California? More $ on therapists and tanning products.

#9

Well, Steve is softer on the brakes than I am. PFC01s will only go 2 weekends at CMP, and 3 weekends at VIR/RA (more like 2 1/2 so make sure you have a spare). Rotors I only change once or twice a year. Rear pads last about half of season, assuming 11-12 events.

#10

ukrbmw wrote:

my last set of pfc01s lasted the same for both front and rear - maybe four or five weekends (some racing, some hpde). presumably the pfc06 on there now will last longer, and they still have plenty of bite (but don’t modulate as well).

#11

Steve D wrote:

What about people in the midwest? Fixing rust?

I guess I will assume every two weekends to be safe for fronts and every 4-5 for rears.

Thanks guys…looking forward to meeting everyone at some point. I know it will be a while (assuming I do not grow a money tree in the backyard), but actually having a project and goal is finally here.

Might be out for an event this summer to test some things out.

#12

I will happily run on R4S’s (street/track formula from Porterfield), and I find them great until I really need to out brake another driver, then they get a little iffy, but to be honest, on a mild braking track, I can get away with using these comparatively inexpensive pad. Just as long as I don’t need to push hard for more than 2 corners in a row.

There’s an old saying amongst racers… The fastest guys will spend less on brakes than others.

It’s true… (not saying I am one of the faster guys though - please don’t take me wrong!!!)

#13

There’s an old thread around here about spares to bring to the track. On that list is 2 spare front rotors, 1 spare rear, and F/R pads. As long as you have spares, you don’t have to predict pad nor rotor wear with precision.

#14

Sure, I would always have spares like that at the track with me.

With my Civic, it was a new set of pads and rotors for every race, and use the old race pads for practice/qualifying. For the T2 car, it required a new set of pads and rotors every single session on track.

Seems like they will last a while.

Anyone on here use carbotechs? Looking for which ones you would use, like XP(x)…

#15

kgobey wrote:

Do not race on these pads, frankly I wouldn’t want to even do track days on them. They are fine for beginners doing track days but not for advanced students or competition. They are not a proper track pad. You should run the R4 which is a track pad, although I find the longevity of that pad lacking. To the OP I run hawk’s because we get some contingency from them. DTC60 front and HT10 rear. The fronts last roughly 3 weekends, the rears last forever it seems. For the rotors, same kind of deal the front’s will crack in around 3 weekends or so and the rears last forever.

#16

PFC06 is a fantastic budget conscious choice for the E30.

I ran 06 front & rear last year (as 01 is/was not available); got at least 6 events (that’s a practice, qualifying and 2, 3 or 4 races of approx 10-15 miles) out of a set of front pads, which would still be ok for track days or HPDE, but not thick enough to race on (comfortably). Rears barely even looked touched! No problems with modulation or feel, an excellent move away from the POS EBC & Porterfield pads I have used before.

A quick note on spec. I race a 1988 325i in OZ with:
OE ATE brake calipers front and rear
Solid Slide Guides front and rear (BimmerWorld)
Stainless Pistons front and rear (BimmerWorld)
Locally slotted (Australia) rotor front and rear (6 decent sized slots, not all the way to the outer edge)
Goodridge braided lines
Larger E32 735/750 (pre 1988) 25mm master cylinder (which offers more rear BIAS)
Tilton Adjustable Proportioning Valve (replaces factory non-adjustable, trimmed for a little more rear brake at higher pedal pressures)
2" (SCAT-8) ducting to fully enclosed shroud at rear of wheel bearing

Car weight is approx 2550lbs with Driver onboard.

Biggest stop was at Bathurst, from 213kph/132mph (rev limiter in 5th with 3.91 ratio) down to ~90kph/56mph, stopped first time and every other time. Only gripe was that I should have fully blocked the ducts in my night race, I needed more front temp to get the 06 pads to work.

#17

kgobey wrote:

[quote]…until I need to outbrake another driver…
… as long as I don’t need to push hard for more than 2 corners in a row.[/quote]
This is acceptable on track? I thought we were talking about racing?:blink:

foglght wrote:

God I hope that is a typo. Every session? Eff that.

PS - If you really want to push it, do like the top Miata guys and turn your rotors to minimum thickness before you install them. Sure they are only good for a weekend, but think of all that unsprung weight you save.:laugh:

#18

Steve D wrote:

[quote]kgobey wrote:

[quote]God I hope that is a typo. Every session? Eff that.

PS - If you really want to push it, do like the top Miata guys and turn your rotors to minimum thickness before you install them. Sure they are only good for a weekend, but think of all that unsprung weight you save.:laugh:[/quote]

I wish it was. One of the reasons I stopped racing. That car bankrupted me. I had to call a major sponsor of mine and say I wouldn’t be at the runoffs, because I spent an extra $6,000 on brakes that I wasn’t anticipating and didn’t have enough to tow out to Topeka.

That F-body was 3,630 post race with stock brakes (but race pads). I could never actually find a set of pads that would allow 10/10’ths driving for the whole race. I’d either crack rotors, spread the calipers, or just destroy the pad. That also caused premature bearing wear.

All I ever used was Carbotech, so curious if people are using XP8,10,12 or what not.

Seems like this little guy is pretty good with brakes…

#19

Foglght wrote:

Type Carbotech in the Search Forum box and you can read about what people have tried. Frankly, there’s not much Carbotech experience out there because Hawk & PFC have been more aggressive with contingency. I consider Danny Puskar a friend and have run his (CT) brakes on my Miata, but I have mostly run Hawks on the E30. It eliminates one variable between me and the others. Besides, someone always has a spare set for emergencies.

The biggest advantage I have seen with CT’s is modulation at threshhold braking, but if your ABS is operational, that is less of a concern I guess. I think I ran XP12 front and XP10 rear.

#20

Steve D wrote:

yeah abs is kinda nice: http://vimeo.com/10694922