Alex D

I need to get a set of new brake pads for my 96 LT1 C4 to mount with my drilled Power Stop rotors in the front (rear will come later).
PowerStop recommends the 9-1-1 pads for these rotors.
I have heard much good about the HAWK pads here.
EBC has a good following. Green stuff would be for me.
Ford Cobra pads are identical to the GM OEM pads, but half the price.

I am not racing this Vette. Regular street use only.

What is your recommendation for the best, relatively dust free street pad???

Thanks!!! :cheers:

Mr Mojo

None are dust free, just finer dust particles so they are harder to see.

I'm currently using NAPA's Ceramix pads, but I'm going to try the EBC Green Stuff based on what people here have said about them.

The Ceramix are great pads, but they are hard on the rotors. I have about 40,000 miles on them and they are starting to go away.

So I'm putting a vote for the Green Stuff.

GusBustamanteJr

Do search, you will get results much faster, this topic has been beaten to death

I would try the Mustang pads. From what i have heard, they are the same, and cheaper.

Davemc1963-87conv

Use EBC Greenstuff, you won't see the brake dust, it just dosen't seem to stick and they work very well on the street. my .02 worth. :steering:

92PoloVette

I just had this discussion with my mechanic. Here is what he had to say about this subject:

" For the most part, the more expensive brake pads require more time to heat up and give proper stopping for street driving". I have a cost is no problem history with him with this car, so he has no financial reason to steer me towards cheaper pads. He feels that the OEM or the F??D replacement pads are probably best for everyday street driving. Best cost to performance ratio etc. When I asked about any type of brake system upgrades, he says Grand Sport is probably best for MY style of driving.
(All street, sometimes a little agressive) that's his opinion. Again this is for my style of driving. He has known me for a number of years and understands that money is no object for this little toy. He has worked on all my vettes and I NEVER have had to get a single thing redone. I guess the biggest gripe I have against him is: It always takes me a week to clean my car up when I get it back. He keeps it in a Secured yard overnight and he is next door to an Incinerator factility. Hard to get all that crazy dust and stuff that settles out of the air on to the car off. Sorry for rambling!!

:D

GusBustamanteJr

Sounds like a good mechanic, but unfortunately, most of them are a few years behind, which may or may not be a fault for you. He recommended GS upgrade, when we all know that right now the best upgrade is the C5 brakes. The GS brakes may have been the best before, but the cost doesnt justify the means, whereas a C5 setup does.

He is right about the pads though, for aggressive street driving you should be fine with those.

Us that race in Auto-x, Solo, or Road courses need brakes that do not fade as much though. I hardly get my brakes to fade on the street, because I am a mature, safe, father of 2, and if I do run a little, they cool off by the next light.

91mongoose

I run performance friction Z-rated pads. They stop very well (much better than stock, even when cold) and you can get them with a lifetime warranty at autozone. I don't have dust problems street driving, and they stand up to DE at the track for about 2 weekends. Check the video in my sig to see what they handle easily (for 25 minutes at a time)...

I can't seem to get my sig to work???? Here's the link: http://www.bcvettes.org/videos/


[Modified by 91mongoose, 11:30 AM 4/18/2003]

Alex D

I guess I just get the stock replacement pads for the Cobra.......$43 something at our Ford dealer............

Dominic Sorresso

I just did a C5 brake upgrade on my 84 Xfire. I put the EBC Greenstuff pads on front and rear. One of the reasons I did this is because I couldn't find many other pads with the same compound for both the C5 calipers and the stock C4 rear calipers. They look neat against a red brake caliper too. Bought them from TireRack. :thumbs:

rcolling

I am agreeing with Mr Mojo on this one.

I was running the NAPA Ceramix and I really liked them. Stopped well for street driving and dust was low impact.

Just a couple of weeks ago I put new pads on the front. Because of the people on this forum I put the $79 EBC Greenstuff rather than the $149 Ceramix. So far they seem great. Stop great and very low dusting. So far I am happy with the switch...


btw - I also bought them from Tire Rack.

Mr Mojo

I will never buy from Tire Rack again. I found another place online that sells them for teh same price. Tire Rack will never get my business ever again.

tuband

:iagree:

The only time(s) that I've encountered dusting is with spirited driving. LOTS of dusting when I went to Track Days at Road Atlanta :D

Plus the lifetime warranty is great.

chucks88

I bought these from Tirerack ($79 fronts, $69 rears) and put them on last night. I haven't really tested these that much but they seem to grip just fine.

SSLT1KID

i put the Raybstos Brutestop Semi-metalics on all my cars. they stop so much better than a stock pad, and they come with a lifetime gaurantee.

SOVAIN1

same here :thumbs:

91mongoose

FWIW I will never use EBC pads. I saw a guy with a Viper GTS at a DE event use a complete set of EBC reds in one session. He then puts his greens on and destroyed them the next session. He managed to find some stock pads to use for the rest of the event and those worked fine for him.

Then again that is at the track. On the street they may work fine; but I'd rather have a pad I can flog w/o worrying about it disentigrating (sp?).

Dominic Sorresso

I think Tirerack and EBC are pretty specific in their recommendations for both the Green and Red stuff. The Greenstuff is only recommended for street performance, not track. They have a higher Coefficient of Friction than the Reds and they are a "softer" compound for that reason. The reviews I have read suggest the Greenstuff is pretty good for exactly what its intended for.

91mongoose

My point was he wore a brand new set of REDs down in one session, then he put the greens on as that's all he had left. The greens did not fare any better.

Bottom line is buy what you want; I don't have stock in any of those companies so it doesn't matter to me :)

Alex D

Just bought another set of PowerStop drilled, cadmium plated rotors for the rear axle of my Vette to match my front set from http://www.brakewarehouse.com $93 per rotor....that's $33 less than http://www.precisionbrakes.com SUPER DEAL !!

These guys also have good prices on various C4 pads:
EBC Green front - $79
EBC Red front - $109
Perf. Friction Carbon Metallic front - $63
Perf. Friction Silent Ceramic front - $68
plus several MAXXIS and Kelsey-Hayes pads for the C4

Mr Mojo

That's where I'll be getting mine.