Ceramic brake pads

[Vet Guru]

How many of you use Ceramic brake pads? And how many miles are you getting out of them?
They seem to be really good at stopping brake dust, But I have heard they can be hard wearing on the discs.

[Kneetrembler]

I have them on my Corvette but so far only 3k on them, but as you say they certainly keep the dust at bay.

Ian Goss reccomended them to me when I was discussing how to up rate the braking with him.

[Ron Fellows]

They are nice and quiet and ok for street use.
I tried them at the track and they were knackered in 15mins.
I tried a second set and with in one day of mountain driving they were a bit iffy!

I now use the HP Plus hawk pads. Give much better braking, had them on the track loads and not too bad with the dust. Get a bit noisey after a good track session but I take them out and clean them and the're fine again!

But if you dont track it and your not expecting any driving that will require you to be on them for long periods then they're great.

[G4HKS]

I have Hawk plus pads fitted to my Z06 but they still kick up a bit of dust but no where near as much as the originals.

[Kneetrembler]

Ron Fellows said:

They are nice and quiet and ok for street use.
I tried them at the track and they were knackered in 15mins.
I tried a second set and with in one day of mountain driving they were a bit iffy!

I now use the HP Plus hawk pads. Give much better braking, had them on the track loads and not too bad with the dust. Get a bit noisey after a good track session but I take them out and clean them and the're fine again!

But if you dont track it and your not expecting any driving that will require you to be on them for long periods then they're great.

I am going down to see the Mille Miglia end of April and driving the Stelvio Pass, are you saying that I need to think my brakes again ?

Advice appreciated

[C6NL]

Ceramic is good for dust free braking, not so good for fading. If you use your car the way it was intended, I wouldn't use ceramic pads, it's OK to cruise American style, going downhill on the Stelvio pass in a spirited way I guarantee they will fade within 4 or 5 hairpins. There is no way around it, good pads will produce dust because of the softness of the pad material. I go to northern Italy every year and drive mountain passes for two weeks, up hill is not the problem, downhill is very demanding on the brakes. BMW and others use the Stelvio and Timmelsjoch as test-tracks for their brakes. I spoke to an Italian owner of a Subaru Impreza with water cooled front calipers, even they start to fade if you push the car really hard. If you want to have fun, go with good non ceramic pads, otherwise take it easy. If you know how to handle the car put it into Competitive driving mode, that way you can powerslide the car out of the hairpins, LOADS of fun, and cooler for the brakes.

Fred

[Ron Fellows]

Kneetrembler said:

Ron Fellows said:

They are nice and quiet and ok for street use.
I tried them at the track and they were knackered in 15mins.
I tried a second set and with in one day of mountain driving they were a bit iffy!

I now use the HP Plus hawk pads. Give much better braking, had them on the track loads and not too bad with the dust. Get a bit noisey after a good track session but I take them out and clean them and the're fine again!

But if you dont track it and your not expecting any driving that will require you to be on them for long periods then they're great.

I am going down to see the Mille Miglia end of April and driving the Stelvio Pass, are you saying that I need to think my brakes again ?

Advice appreciated

All I know is that after 3/4 of a run down Jebel Hafeet my ceramics were st. My stock pads held up better with several runs up and down the mountain. On track there are useless after a few laps.

If you have stock pads then you should be ok as long as your not driving it hard. If your taking your time and enjoying it with a few busts then keep them stock. If you want to be able to really stop I'd use the HP Plus pads. I use these on the streets and track days and the DTC70/60 combo on the sprints. Also it helps to have a decent fluid and the brake lines upgraded. This is pretty cheap to do too. Just my 2 pennies worth from what I've experienced!

Have fun either way I'm sure it'll be a great run

[Kneetrembler]

Thanks very much for the replies, it is a very interesting topic how and what brake material that you use, as there are so many variations and the best to have fitted to your car is not the easiest to find, especially here in Spain.

I thank you and will be looking at your recommendations.

[Ron Fellows]

Kneetrembler said:

Thanks very much for the replies, it is a very interesting topic how and what brake material that you use, as there are so many variations and the best to have fitted to your car is not the easiest to find, especially here in Spain.

I thank you and will be looking at your recommendations.

I buy from here www.hawkpadsdirect.com I think the owners name is Garry King or something similar. He's very helpful and will ship overseas for not a lot of money. My HP Plus pads front and rear plus brake lines delivered was about £340 for the lot.

[Kneetrembler]

Ron Fellows said:

Kneetrembler said:

Thanks very much for the replies, it is a very interesting topic how and what brake material that you use, as there are so many variations and the best to have fitted to your car is not the easiest to find, especially here in Spain.

I thank you and will be looking at your recommendations.

I buy from here www.hawkpadsdirect.com I think the owners name is Garry King or something similar. He's very helpful and will ship overseas for not a lot of money. My HP Plus pads front and rear plus brake lines delivered was about £340 for the lot.

Thanks very much for the website address and the other info attached.

[vetteheadracer]

I just ordered some new rear pads for the C6 Z06 from www.racingbrake.com will let you know if they arrive swiftly!

[frankowvette]

I would never go that route again.

I had new brembo drilled discs on my C5 with ceramic pads and within 18 months the discs were heavily cracked, totally shot.


It's cheaper to clean your wheels than replace your discs.