I am currently using the Hawk Hp+ and need to replace them soon. They stop on a dime, but I am not happy with the brake dust and longevity of the brake pad (I've only used them for 20,000 miles with moderate braking). Is there a brake pad out there that can give me the same or better performance as the Hawks and with less dust and wear? After all, I am tired of scubbing my chrome 3 piece wheels that take me longer to clean than my whole car. However, if nobody knows of such a brake pad, can some one suggest as really good wheel cleaner that is safe for my wheels or something I can put on my wheel that creates a barrier from the brake dust. I am not willing to sacrifice my safety and my car for clean wheels.

 

Low Dust EBCs, I guess.

 

EBC GreenStuff or HAWK HPS - Both will dust less and will have almost the same braking grip as the HP+ on the street. as to Wear, 20,000mi is good for ANY High Perf brake pad. I burned through a set of EBC Greens in 1 track day & 6,000 street miles. My HPS's have given me about 30,000 on the street
But MOST of my miles are put on during my 80mi/day FREEWAY commute w/ very little braking.

FWIW My old 65 MBZ 220s would run through front pads in 6-7,000mi!
and my current 73 MBZ 280sel 4.5 only gets 12-15,000mi on a set of semi-metalic (f) pads, but the rear pads are the same ones that were on the car when I bought it 6 years and 3 sets of front pads ago!

 

get project mu, they are very nice, leave very little dust, and stop extremely well

 

I just got my self some Porterfield pads
I will tell you later how they turn out.

 

So far Im very pleased w/ my HP+'s. They stop the car LOADS better than what were on there. Its a Sunday car and I usually hose her down after a drive so the dust complaint Ive read about wasnt an issue for me.....So far tho, I havent noticed any increased dusting or any squeeks like Ive read about here.

 

Project-mu is my big race sponsor to me.
Check their English page and ask me the price.
I can offer you at the lowest price in the world, may be.
http://www.project-mu.co.jp/e/product.html

 

Inukai,

In US we have a project Mu distributor. Same company who brings Volk RAcing. I will show you pricing when you come. Then you can really get us the good deal. hehe.

Rishie

 

I have the Porterfield Carbon/Kevlar pads and they are awesome, but dust like crazy-I swear you can see the dust cloud in your rear view mirror when braking hard! Why do you think I bought dark bronze rims.

 

Finally tried the EBC Greenstuffs on track @ Mid Ohio Thur/Fri May 8/9 2003. In short...highly recommended for street/track use. Street, Greenstuffs are very low dust, silent, and have good cold brake bite. Track, Greenstuffs (all around with FD Type RS calipers/rotors, Motul RBF600) haul my FD R1 down from 135 mph to 60 mph lap after lap with no fade down the back straight @ Mid Ohio. Of course they dust heavily under hard use. Surprisingly the Greenstuffs held up well, and I have plenty of pad thickness left for more street miles, and a couple more track events. Pricewise, EBC Greenstuffs are quite reasonable. Greenstuff pad performance matches well with stock FD Type RS/RZ Sumitomo brake pads; both are very similar in road/track performance.

 

Greenstuffs have very good bite when hot, so you don't need as much brake pedal pressure to engage ABS....out on track. One note of caution. The Greenstuffs need a good cooldown, so avoid braking during your cooldown lap. When pulling into th pit or paddock to park, don't enage the e-brake. When you're ready to go back out, pump the brake pedal a couple of times to be sure the brake pedal is high. Sometimes the fluid localized at the caliper gets very hot and vaporizes slightly. Pumping allows some of the cool brake fluid to mix with the hot localized brake fluid to bring the pedal pressure back to a nice hard feel.

 

THanks for the update

STEPHEN

 

IMO, Porterfield R4S for street. R4 for track.

 

Only if you have the energy to swap pads. If you don't, then the EBC Greenstuffs or Mazda FD Type RS/RZ pads work well for both street and track. BTW, R4Es are better open lapping pads than R4s. The R4s wear more quickly under hard use.

 

RainX makes soem wheel protector that suppose to cut down on the maount of brake dust that stays on the wheels.

 

Don't know if this helps but we just got our stocking order of Porterfield R4S pads. I can hook it up right now if interested.

Thanks, rishie

 

How does the R4S pads compare to the EBC greens at the track and on the street? Have you driven both of them both on the street?

STEPHEN

 

Stephen, the R4-Ses and Greenstuffs are close in track performance. The Greenstuffs bite slightly harder when hot (track temp use), and thus require less brake pedal effort when hot.

For the street, the choice is a no-brainer--Greenstuffs. You'll have virtually no detectable dust with the Greenstuffs, while the R4-Ses dust way too much. Both have good cold braking bite. I just like how clean the wheels are with the Greenstuffs.

I highly recommend the EBC Greenstuffs for those of us track hounds who still drive our FDs on the street daily.

The only other pad that's just as good with regard to track and street performance is the stock Sumitomo Type RS/RZ brake pads, but they are only available through Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development. The EBC Greenstuffs are easily available through Tire Rack.

Interestingly enough, the EBC Greenstuffs are about the same price as Sumitomo FD Type RS/RZ pads fr/rr.

One note of caution. You should run the same pad brands front and rear. Don't mix pad brands between fr/rr axles. You will note get maximum performance by mixing brands.

 

Qualifying comments.

I run street tires on the track these days. If you drive harder using race tires, you might consider using a dedicated track pad like the Porterfield R4Es. These are streetable pads, that will perform maximally under track driving conditions. The idea would be to swap pads at home. Mount your Kumho V700s or Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Comps. Drive to the track. Have fun and kill a few Z06es. Drive back home. Change back to street pads and tires.