First thoughts: Carbotech XP8 pads and slotted rotors - Toyota Yaris Forums

jkuchta · 11-05-2008, 03:41 PM

Hello everyone,

I’m not sure if this should be under wheels and tires or performance or what, but here goes:

Last week I had the opportunity to upgrade the brakes and rotors on my 07' liftback. I had looked into bigger front rotors, though larger wheels were out of the question. Instead, I decided to install uprated slotted rotors and Carbotech pads from Cali Yaris.
I (like a dumbass) forgot to take any pics, but the install was pretty straightforward for both the front discs and pads, as well as the rear drum shoes. One of the front rotors was stuck, though with a pair of M8 bolts screwed through the threaded holes in the rotor, the problem was easily overcome, and a thin layer of anti-seize should prevent another stuck rotor. The rear shoes were a problem for me, if only because it was the first drum brake work I'd ever done. The left side took like 45 min., while the right side took about 10 (after I had figured out some of the tricks to removing and reinstalling the top spring).
Bleeding the entire brake system took all of about 15 min. (thanks again Garm

), and the extra insurance provided by Ate Super Blue DOT4 race fluid is a nice addition to a basically new brake setup for this little car.

Now for my impressions on the new brakes:

Without really working the brakes over really hard yet, I'd say these things are amazing. Initial bite is phenomenal, and modulation is better that OEM by a great deal. With the OEM pads and rotors, once you reach a certain point in terms of braking force, there is nothing more you can get in terms of braking ability. It's like the OEM system is always on the verge of brake fade. With the Carbotech XP8 pads, braking force in relation to pedal force is linear all the way to lockup. My wife's yaris HB is still stock, and I've actually found myself braking a little too late due to the fact that I'm now used to the superior performance of the XP8 pads. As a note, I had the XP8 pads installed for a week on the OEM rotors before I was able to swap in the slotted rotors, and the braking performance was about 8-9 tenths as good with the OEM rotors.
Now to the downsides of the Carbotech pads (there are no downsides to the rotors):

As Carbotech warns, these pads to produce a fair amount of dust. It's pretty easy to wash off (a day driving in the rain took most of it off for me), though it is quite a bit more dust than OEM. Also, with the OEM rotors, there is a fair amount of noise. With the new slotted rotors the noise has dropped quite a bit, but I'll keep everyone posted.

In summary, instead of buying a big brake kit, I think the pads and new rotors are a better buy, and offer a huge improvement in braking capacity. I'll be running at Cal. Speedway in a couple of weeks, and I'll report back on how these pads behave under really serious braking.

Thanks again to Cali Yaris for making these products available to the yaris community, as well as giving me a flat piece of concrete on which to do the brake work

.

11-05-2008, 03:41 PM	#1
jkuchta View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris hatch (red) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: L.A. Posts: 557	First thoughts: Carbotech XP8 pads and slotted rotors Hello everyone, I’m not sure if this should be under wheels and tires or performance or what, but here goes: Last week I had the opportunity to upgrade the brakes and rotors on my 07' liftback. I had looked into bigger front rotors, though larger wheels were out of the question. Instead, I decided to install uprated slotted rotors and Carbotech pads from Cali Yaris. I (like a dumbass) forgot to take any pics, but the install was pretty straightforward for both the front discs and pads, as well as the rear drum shoes. One of the front rotors was stuck, though with a pair of M8 bolts screwed through the threaded holes in the rotor, the problem was easily overcome, and a thin layer of anti-seize should prevent another stuck rotor. The rear shoes were a problem for me, if only because it was the first drum brake work I'd ever done. The left side took like 45 min., while the right side took about 10 (after I had figured out some of the tricks to removing and reinstalling the top spring). Bleeding the entire brake system took all of about 15 min. (thanks again Garm), and the extra insurance provided by Ate Super Blue DOT4 race fluid is a nice addition to a basically new brake setup for this little car. Now for my impressions on the new brakes: Without really working the brakes over really hard yet, I'd say these things are amazing. Initial bite is phenomenal, and modulation is better that OEM by a great deal. With the OEM pads and rotors, once you reach a certain point in terms of braking force, there is nothing more you can get in terms of braking ability. It's like the OEM system is always on the verge of brake fade. With the Carbotech XP8 pads, braking force in relation to pedal force is linear all the way to lockup. My wife's yaris HB is still stock, and I've actually found myself braking a little too late due to the fact that I'm now used to the superior performance of the XP8 pads. As a note, I had the XP8 pads installed for a week on the OEM rotors before I was able to swap in the slotted rotors, and the braking performance was about 8-9 tenths as good with the OEM rotors. Now to the downsides of the Carbotech pads (there are no downsides to the rotors): As Carbotech warns, these pads to produce a fair amount of dust. It's pretty easy to wash off (a day driving in the rain took most of it off for me), though it is quite a bit more dust than OEM. Also, with the OEM rotors, there is a fair amount of noise. With the new slotted rotors the noise has dropped quite a bit, but I'll keep everyone posted. In summary, instead of buying a big brake kit, I think the pads and new rotors are a better buy, and offer a huge improvement in braking capacity. I'll be running at Cal. Speedway in a couple of weeks, and I'll report back on how these pads behave under really serious braking. Thanks again to Cali Yaris for making these products available to the yaris community, as well as giving me a flat piece of concrete on which to do the brake work.