what brake pads & rotors are ideal for me?

[RacerFreakXXX]

what brake pads are ideal for me? I have under 15k miles on my car and I warped my rotors, it was probably due to some heavy mt road driving or those people who slam on the brakes at a yellow light I was thinking of going with the AX6 (Aggressive Street / Autocross) CarboTech brake pads, whats your opinion? (yes I am getting rotors too... I'm not completely retarded)

[cdydjded]

www.placeforbrakes.com

[RacerFreakXXX]

just as expensive or more expensive than what MI sells

[yarrr]

Originally Posted by RacerFreakXXX

just as expensive or more expensive than what MI sells

and pep boys sells EBC stuff, not necessarily super high end racing from my research.

I warped my stock rotors at 15-20k to. Went with R1 rotors and carbotech pads(the cheap street ones) and the pads have lasted past 30k and still going with lots of material left. Better braking, lasts longer, the only decision you gotta make is how much noise you can put up with. The street ones are as quiet as stock, but still a good bump up in braking.

[Loren]

It's highly unlikely that your rotors are warped.
Please read this.

[RacerFreakXXX]

loren... you are probably right but either way both rotors and pads are getting replaced, I don't care about noise but more so cost and longevity, while being able to make hard stops if needed.

[yarrr]

Originally Posted by Loren

It's highly unlikely that your rotors are warped.
Please read this.

no, its not.

I'll take advice from a site that can use a spell checker.. exessive.. ugh And when my rotors warped, I tried sanding them to make sure that it wasn't just "deposits." You can sand pads flat so it should be no problem getting deposits off another surface. But after the METAL was still wavy. I'm also pretty sure the machine shop I took it to would have noticed if they were taking brake pad down, and not METAL(along with the 30 other rotors they do on a daily basis, that's a lot of "TV removal")

[RacerFreakXXX]

lol... well either way i'm replacing my pads and rotors. Has anyone used the street/ track pads? do they warm up decently in cold temps?

[Loren]

Originally Posted by yarrr

no, its not.

I'll take advice from a site that can use a spell checker.. exessive.. ugh And when my rotors warped, I tried sanding them to make sure that it wasn't just "deposits." You can sand pads flat so it should be no problem getting deposits off another surface. But after the METAL was still wavy. I'm also pretty sure the machine shop I took it to would have noticed if they were taking brake pad down, and not METAL(along with the 30 other rotors they do on a daily basis, that's a lot of "TV removal")

You obviously let a couple typos get in the way of reading and understanding the article. Of particular relevance is the bit about "cementite", which is harder than iron, and is the cause of most "warped rotor" complaints. It can't be removed with sandpaper.

And I'll take my advice from experienced brake system engineers. Follow their advice exactly and you might see better results. For example, you claim to have "sanded" your rotors, did you do so with the specific type of paper recommended in the article? Or did you use the specific type that they recommended AGAINST using?

You're not a brake system engineer. Neither am I. Neither is the HS grad who turns your rotors at your local machine shop. 'nuff said.

[Loren]

Originally Posted by RacerFreakXXX

lol... well either way i'm replacing my pads and rotors. Has anyone used the street/ track pads? do they warm up decently in cold temps?

In general, any pad that is rated for "street" use will be fine for that purpose. You won't run into cold-braking issues until you get to a full-race pad. Race pads will also have the side effect of being EXTREMELY abrasive when they're not at full operating temp, thus destroying your rotors (and themselves) very quickly in a street driving environment. They're also very noisy in that condition. But, get them up to operating temp on the track and they're magical!

Get whatever Garm has that he recommends for street use. Be happy.

[LtNoogie]

I love the combination of R1 Concepts slotted rotors Carbotech 1521 brake pads that are on my Yaris. You have to take the time to bed the pad material into the rotor as soon as you put them on. The initial bite is perfect and I can feel exactly how much breaking is needed. I like to drive with my right foot bare or just with a sock.

[RacerFreakXXX]

So street pads it is, now do I want plain, slotted, or slotted & drilled rotors? I read that slotted gives it a bit more bite but wears the pad faster and drilled dispenses heat faster but is easier to crack the rotor with. I'm thinking plain may be the best for price and will give me more longevity with the pads. what have you guys experienced?

[Loren]

Plain stock-style rotors are all you really need.

Another good article

(edit: Author is another brake system engineer, used to work for GM/Saturn. Used to race Saturns, hence the website.)

[06silveryaris]

Originally Posted by RacerFreakXXX

lol... well either way i'm replacing my pads and rotors. Has anyone used the street/ track pads? do they warm up decently in cold temps?

I have used ebc green stuff and have no complaints. One was on a dd EP3 that did its ocasional track day and the other was on a track only integra and I never had any temp issues

[06silveryaris]

Originally Posted by Loren

Plain stock-style rotors are all you really need.

Another good article

(edit: Author is another brake system engineer, used to work for GM/Saturn. Used to race Saturns, hence the website.)

+1

[Bluevitz-rs]

I ran the stock pads and rotors on my echo for over 70,000km including 9 track days. Never faded or warped, and all through canadian winters to boot.

I don't understand how you can have warped rotors on a street driven car and less than 15,000Mi.

[djct_watt]

Originally Posted by Bluevitz-rs

I ran the stock pads and rotors on my echo for over 70,000km including 9 track days. Never faded or warped, and all through canadian winters to boot.

I don't understand how you can have warped rotors on a street driven car and less than 15,000Mi.

Driving habits, plain and simple. . . riding the brakes. . . waiting till the last moment to brake, etc. True it's all deceleration from the same speed, but slowing gradually vs stopping quickly wears on the brakes a helluva lot more. Also, keeping the car stopped by holding the brakes after a hot slow down can warp the rotors, since you leave the pads on the same part of the disc, without a chance to vent the heat. If you are heavy on the brakes, it can be good to shift to neutral and use the parking brake. Also, engine braking (a la MT) also helps reduce brake wear.

[RacerFreakXXX]

I've had longer lasting brakes on used cars, idk why they are warped or if the pad is wearing wrong. I know it was something recent, but I've also stopped caring about my braking habits recently too. Normally I come to an almost stop and let the car go forward a bit and then apply brakes. Normally will let off after a minute or if a light just turned red I will pull the e-brake, but i never have with AT cars and never had this problem.