Bill Dearborn

When I ran my 97 and 03Z with stock brakes I used stock pads, PF 01s, and 99s. The stock C5 pads would last 2 days at the Glen and give me several months of street driving afterward. Rotors went three seasons or about 15 track days at the time. When I moved up to the PF compounds the pads wore much longer and gave me much more brake torque but rotor life dropped to the 3 day range for both front and rear rotors. Even after I switched to the LG G Stop front BBK on my 03Z and started using Wilwood H pads front and rear I still cracked rotors about every 3 track days. Other than the stock pads the Wilwood H pads were the cheapest. However, they performed well on the track and I never ran into an issue where they faded on me.

You are not going to solve the rotor cracking issue unless you use stock or comparable pads. There just isn't enough heat capacity in the stock rotors.

One combination of pads you can run is PFC 01s in front and 99s in the rear. Not the cheapest pad selection but they will work fine. Rears will wear well but you will have to flip the fronts from one side of the car to other (passenger side outer pad becomes driver side inner pad) at the end of each track day. That will help reduce the pad tapering effects that are common with the C5 front calipers.

If you decide on the Wilwood pads run H compound front and rear. The E compound will work in the rear but it is more of an autocross compound than a track compound.

There are some similarities between the Raybestos and Wilwood compounds and Porterfield can advise you on those. For instance on my 08Z with Wilwood W6A front and W4A rear calipers they recommended a machined Raybestos ST47 pad for the front and a Wilwood H pad in the rear calipers. That turned out to be a great combination although the front pads cost me about $100 more than if I had chosen a standard Wilwood pad. When I came into the Bus Stop at the Glen at 150+ mph the car just slowed no fuss no muss. Same for braking from 140- down hill into T1. Did this time after time for 6 track days. For the first time in 5 seasons with the car I didn't have brake problems. Made me very happy.

Bill

sleeperstyle

good info bill, thanks. once i burn up these pads i will also look into those compounds

carrying spare rotors isn't a huge issue its just a lot of extra weight on my 250 mile trip to the glen or 200 miles to summit point. as of now i always carry 4 rotors. i don't want to miss track time, so i guess it is just part of the sport.

brkntrxn

Driving a pad BELOW its operating temp will do more than just shorten its life a little bit. A LOT of bit. It will also wear abnormal/weird patterns into your rotors. I have done it with PFCs and Carbotechs.

Bill Dearborn

If you want to resurface your rotors cold Hawk Blues will do a good job of that. I drove on a 20 mile round trip in village traffic and deposited quite a bit of my new rotors on the wheels. Nice grey color powder until it rained the next day and the powder turned red.

Bill

RedLS1GTO

Absolutely.

0Todd TCE

Had a customer run some Wilwood J pads on a truck for AX use one time. Had to claybar the entire white truck the next week to get the particulates off it after driving home in the rain...and he needed new rotors not long after. Best I could say was "told ya not to do that" but he was impressed how well it worked.

FASTFATBOY

I was searching/reading and ran across this post.

This product is amazing, it also comes in paste.

I bought a set of track C5 Zo6 wheels with metal embedded into the clear coat, this stuff took it out, it eats/oxidizes metal without harming paint.

http://www.autogeek.net/carpro-iron-...FewDOgod6jQAyg

If the metal is heavy, use the paste.



Also works on paint

JeremyGSU

The only time I've had an issue with Carbotech brake dust is when I didn't clean my wheels for almost two months after a track day. Then it was harder to get off but with a brillow pad it still came off.

Normally if I wash them when I get home it comes off pretty easy.

Never tried Hawks but my buddy runs them on his M3 and it comes right off for him.

TKOGTO

Ray - what tires do you use with the H's?

RDnomorecobra

Continental GT-R scrubs from Todd @ GT Racing Tires. pretty good combo. I really liked the Carbotech xp12/10 combination when I tried it. They just don't last long enough for me.

FASTFATBOY

How long are your rotor rings lasting with the H pad(ST43)?

RDnomorecobra

I am on stock rotors and calipers. 03z. Probably avg 6 track days.

Quickshift_C5

I am running Carbotech XP12/10's on the street. They work phenomenally, but create tons of dust. The side of my car is always dirty from the front brakes. I've learned to live with it.

However, I didn't realize they were that bad for the rotors and pad life/wear when using them on the street. Is this something I should be concerned about? What does Carbotech say about it? Any truth to it?

brkntrxn

Concerned with it? Depends on your budget for prematurely wearing out a set of pads and/or rotors.

If you don't trust my opinion from personal experience, I can ask Danny (his family owns Carbotech) tonight when we go to the TORC race.

LateBreak

How hours on-track would you guess over those 6 track days? I've got ST43's for my coupe and I've heard they're durable but I'll be going into a 12 hour race with only 1 trackday worth of testing

RDnomorecobra

2 hrs per day. 12 hrs.

brkntrxn

You will need to plan on changing pads a couple of times.

Last summer, we ran a four hour enduro at Road Atlanta with my car. At that time, it was in non-aero ST3 trim with stock calipers and two piece DBA rotors up front with brake ducts AND brake fans. We started on brand new Carbotech XP20s and at the 3.5 hour mark my codriver brought the car in on backing plates and a ruined front caliper.

I had checked them at the 2.5 hour mark and thought they would make the entire race. I was wrong.

I should have changed pads at the 3 hour mark OR ran a less aggressive pad like an XP10 or RP2.

brkntrxn

For the record, I asked Danny and Chris tonight about running pads UNDER their range of operating temps and they echoed my exact statements about prematurely wearing the pads and rotors.

RDnomorecobra

Agree with everyone else, those are race pads. Not engineered for the street. Stop great, yes. Especially those, other race pads not so much at lower temps. But they will eat your rotors faster than a street pad. PFC Z-rated is a decent street pad. I used to use them and for some early track days as well. Held up good until I got a bit faster.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

Yes, why don't you use the 1521 compound for the street? All Carbotech compounds are compatible so, you can use the same rotors all you have to do is swap pads.

The Carbotech™ 1521™ is our high performance street compound. The 1521™ compound is known for its release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. 1521™ is also a very low dusting and low noise compound with an excellent initial bite. This compound's excellent linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Carbotech™ 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 800°F (426°C+). 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle or fleet vehicle. Carbotech™ 1521™ is NOT recommended for ANY track use.