Best endurance pads?

[TREMAiNE]

A friend and I bought EBC Yellowstuff pads for our Suzuki Swift Sport track car.

Given that the car weighs less than 1,000KG, and Yellowstuff being quality pads we expected to get 5 or 6 track days out of them, however, our second track day came to an abrupt end earlier in the week as we'd completely exhausted our front pads after just 320 track miles - around 290 laps of Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.

While I appreciate the extra toll the brakes take on the track, I did expect more out of them, especially as when I was racing, a set of pads would last most of a season and that was with testing and track days as well as actual races.


I'm looking at Ferodo DS1.11 Brake Pads at the moment but thought I'd check here to see what everyone else would recommend?
I guess paying more for endurance pads is the way to go.

[Paul_M3]

Pagid RS29.

Not cheap, but probably work out just as cost effective due to their longevity.

(And my experience of them is on heavy cars such as BMW's and Porsches).

[Caddyshack]

I have tried EBC many times and never felt them to be much good, certainly not on a track car. Use something decent like pagid.

[davidif]

Don't the Ring Rental Swifts use Endless Pads?

[thebraketester]

Project mu are good as are endless. I believe they used endless pads on the Lamborghini gt cars but I might be wrong.

[nickfrog]

davidif said:

Don't the Ring Rental Swifts use Endless Pads?

Yes and they're amazing but probably an overkill although for rental purposes they probably make sense. Problem is they're expensive if you pay retail.

OP, I am very impressed with the retardation and endurance of DS1. 11 on the 1500kgs M2 so I would imagine they would be great on the SSS. They cost £170 for my front calipers so probably less in your case.

[motorhole]

Running Pagid RS29 right now, really impressed. Think I have 4 trackdays on them now, less than half worn.

Found Carbon Lorraine RC5+ to wear as well but bite and feel isn't as good as the Pagids and didn't come with anti-rattle clips in my application.

For the money, EBC Bluestuff are actually okay. I found them to wear fairly well and be quite effective. Felt a bit wooden after the first heat cycle but then fine. Again, not as good as the Pagids but then they are much cheaper. I would still use them if cash was tight.

[E-bmw]

I have used Pagid RS29, DS1.11, & PBS pro race, all will last a year on a TD car & have excellent bite & don't wear the discs too badly either.

Depending on your brake set up they all come in at similar money.

[iguana]

E-bmw said:

I have used Pagid RS29, DS1.11, & PBS pro race, all will last a year on a TD car & have excellent bite & don't wear the discs too badly either.

Depending on your brake set up they all come in at similar money.

Can't agree on the pbs Pro race, I've killed a set in a day & they were pretty hopeless during the day too, the others tho yes of course, Ds1.11 I particularly rate, near rs29 good, half the price (depending on application)

However pad choice is hugely hugely dependent on not just braking style, but braking hardware, particularly disc size, on the BMW with big discs, AP Calipers, good cooling and not particularly heavy, pads do well, my mx5 turbo however I've cooked pads that should be OK & were for me in other cars, Inc the pbs as mentioned.

It's fairly light but reasonable power but it's stock single pot calipers & are small discs & so far no additional cooling & I think any pad is going to struggle, but also because I'm a tight wad & can't face £500 on pads for an mx5 on tiny discs & buy cheaper than the best, plus no Ds1.11 in that application unfortunately.

[PJ_Parsons]

You are a bit stuck with a small number of pad options with the Swift. I pay £60 for Yellow Stuff, they are at least cheap. The Endless, ones are very expensive. I've never used DS2500, but perhaps they are up to the job at about £110, for fronts. I did buy a set of EBC Bluestuff, that were made as a one off for the Swift. I've not used them yet but hope they will last 500 miles+. Most of the pads mentioned here are simply not available for this car.

Edited by PJ_Parsons on Saturday 3rd July 21:33

[HustleRussell]

290 laps is a lot of laps.

[Steve H]

Mintex F4R compound is the answer you are looking for.

I’ve used them in various endurance race cars, they don’t fade and they last extremely well.

[Wh00sher]

It's also worth ensuring you have adequate cooling to the brakes. Usually wear is accelerated the hotter they run, so if you have no ducting and they are baking, they'll wear out faster regardless of the pad choice

[Tommie38]

EBC are not quality pads.

Sorry OP, but their price reflects their quality. None of the great brands are cheap. They do last longer, particularly something like an RS29 and even time to swap has a value.

[Maxdecel]

Are these the pads ? - https://ebcbrakesdirect.com/automotive/suzuki/swif... Scroll down

0.48 stable friction once bedded
Strong initial bite ,work from cold
Zero rotor damage
Short to medium race lifetime
Copper free for ECO compliance

To be fair to EBC They do state a short to medium life expectancy (how long is a piece of string?) however .. "can be safely and legally used on worlds roads being R90 approved UK are a high friction upgrade pad for all fast street use and can also be used on the track"
R90 approval means that part no. has been tested and approved to be retailed for replacing the OE Pad and can only at best be 15% Higher in friction. So yes you can use the equivalent of standard pads on the track ! Who'd have thunked it.
...."With a stable friction coefficient of 0.42μ.... I would imagine that µ level isn't far off the OE level either
So at best you've installed a material that performs similarly to the OE when the car was new and 450°C is small fry when you compare what the Automotive industry achieve on OE Pads testing on the various descents in Europe !
Hopefully this helps to explain your disappointment assuming I've looked at the correct pad !