CodeBlack

Can anyone supply any info regarding the performance of cobalt GTS pads on a C6Z06?

greendot

Ran them at GingerMan and Grattan this past weekend on front only with DBA 4000 rotors (Tire Rack, $147). Stopping power very good but it's been too long ago running stock pads there for me to say they were noticeably better than stock. And just like stock, when they were fully heated up the pedal was a little spongy. Dust was very light for the use. Much lighter than stock.
Also, the price for the fronts is $369, not the $275 as posted in this thread
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2099448
I was given a song and dance that it was because the $275 set was the padlet that they don't make any more. Funny that the picture in the first post shows them to be one piece.
I use the brakes hard as reflected by lap times.
http://michcorvette.org/grtrack06.pdf
NCCC lap records at Grattan, I ran a 1:28.435 on street tires with stock brakes in 2005. This weekend I was 1:24.364 on Hoosiers and 10.5" front wheels with the above brake setup. Next fastest car was a carbon fiber RP C4 at 1:25.937. Fastest time previously at these NCCC series events was 1:24.601 in an RP C5 road race car. These are flying lap times.
YMMV
Bruce

JeremyGSU

I ran Cobalt pads on the Civic for a long time but I finally quit using them. First, I could never get them to mate with the rotors properly. But the big decision to quit using them came when a set I was using came completely apart at the track. The front end had a horrible shaking when I was hitting the brakes so I pulled the brakes to find the brake pad in pieces. The backing had come completely off the plate and the rest of the pad just crumbled in my hands.

A guy I know who runs Spec Miata had the exact same problem with his one time and he had warned me of this but I kept on running them.

I'm not saying they are all like this but something to keep in the back of your mind. A lot of cars I see running at DE events are running Carbotech pads.

Just FYI.

greendot

Oh great

JeremyGSU

Haha, again I don't own a Vette and was just speaking of Cobalt in general. Many people have run their pads with no problems, I just won't personally run them again.

Zee0hh6ix

I've run the Cobalt in my last three track events and they are very good. No signs of any issues. I have about 1-2 more events on the fronts and 3-4 (maybe more) events on the rears. Previous brands would be shot after 2 events. I'm looking forward to the single pad design for future events.

Lan.Jet

I just started running the GTS one piece pad for the Z06. I chose this because I wanted a semi quiet pad to use on the street and track. I used to run Carbotech XP10’s
The Cobalts don’t have as much bite as the XP10’s but are a lot easier on the rotors and quiet. I will probably keep running them the only problem is the price. I also had to drill out the holes in the pad they were too small to fit over the pins.

CodeBlack

Drill out the holes in the pads? I thought the new one piece pads were a direct replacement. I hope LG motorsports reads this as they are a dealer for Cobalt.

Zee0hh6ix

I called LG today and asked about this issue. The person I spoke with said no way. Then again, I asked if the spring/retaining clip would need to be removed and he didn't know. The tech that has all the answers wasn't available at the time. They are not cheap and come in two compounds GTS and XR2. I'm very pleased with the current XR2’s, so I have to imagine the one piece design is better.

Lan.Jet

I thought for that much money they would be perfect. But they are slightly under sized. That is one of the reasons I may stay using Cobalt but go back to multi pads. I never had trouble installing the stock pads. It actually seemed more of a project to install the one piece.

Lan.Jet

I actually bought new calipers at the same time for the switch. So it’s not like the pins were bent. And you do have to bend the spring clips for the pads to fit.
The GTS seems fine for street tires but yes I think the XR2 would be better for R compound.

greendot

I don't see how you could get the one piece pads in with the spring clips in place.
The spring clips popped out easily and the new pads went right on the pins, no problem.

CodeBlack

Although I haven't used this pad with my OEM rotors yet I will have them on at the next event. I just got off the phone with the tech rep for Cobalt who was very helpful. Glen stated that the GTS compound can be used with OEM rotors on the track, meaning they won't chew up the rotors. They can also be used to and from the track if you decide not to trailer your car. When switching from OEM pads to GTS you don't have to resurface the rotors but remember to bed them in. This pad is not designed to be used on the street as a daily pad.

96CollectorSport

You have to bend the spring clips so they clear the pad, not a big deal you can do it by hand but a plyers comes in handy.

Zee0hh6ix

Does this ruin the spring clips? What if I want to go back to stock pads for the street?

Fisch

No you can re bend them - I bought an extra set of new springs for my street pads just to be safe though because eventually
I would bet they will weaken and break.

greendot

Drove my car on the street for the first time since tracking with these pads. They squeel just before coming to a complete stop virtually every stop. Not a pad that I'd recommend, although I am pleased with the low dusting.

0Vector Vette

I did an install at the shop last week and ran across 1 pad that had some type of flashing in the whole and wouldn't go on. I ran a 1/2" drill thru the whole by hand and fixed the problem. I have made Cobalt Friction aware of the problem and they will check all future orders. I went through ours that we have in stock and have corrected any that had this problem.

Cobalt Friction is a race pad and is not intended to be driven on the street. The GTS compound is meant for track cars on street tires. It can be driven to and from the track, but is not designed for daily street use. The XR2 compound is a full race pad for cars with R compound tires. It should not be driven on the street at all. The new single piece pad was designed with input from GM and is the only pad recommended by GM. The spring clip does need to be bent down by hand to install the pad. It is then bent back to install the stock padlets. You could simply remove it when tracking with the single piece pad.

Cobalt Friction is a little more money then the competition, but they out perform them on the track by a longshot. As an example, I tested a popular competitors pads on my car last summer. My initial reaction was that they stop the car quite well. However, they were completely worn down in 1 weekend and trashed my rotors in 2 weekends. By contrast, I have run 5 weekends on the Cobalt Friction pads this year before I had to change them, and my rotors are still as smooth as can be. This is where Cobalt Friction far outshines the competition. Many of our competitors have a compound with high initial torque. How long will they last? What do your rotors look like? Which pad is realy costing more? There is no comparison to Cobalt Friction.

If you are interested in trying Cobalt Friction out, we have them in stock. We have them for the C4, C5, C6, and the C6 Z06. Give us a call at 630-844-0089.
Thanks
Robert Finlayson
Performance AFX Motorsports

John Shiels

Steve you can used Irish Spring soap!

CodeBlack

That's a better idea for the gasket that you have been waiting for