I am looking to upgrade my factory brakes ie rotors and pads for occasional track use. I am not happy with my current system as it has a hard peddle and no bite. Currently running SS brake lines, Hawk street pads and cheap slotted and drilled rotors.

The two options I am looking at are the Power Slot cryo treated or the Racing Brake treated rotors both around the same price range with hawk hp Plus pads.

 

The problem sounds like your pads more than the rotors. The rotors just serve as a heat-sink. You could have good performance with good pads and OEM rotors or blanks for all it matters. I would trust blanks over drilled rotors for any sort of hard driving.

Try some other better pads.

 

put on oem rotors from napa or whatever and get some good pads. drilled+slotted is a downgrade!

no streetable pad is gonna be good enough for an FD on track. Hawk HP+ is probably as good as it gets for dual purpose, but they're marginal at best if you have some power. they may be able to last a whole session with good ducting, but i dunno (mine overheat after ~10min with 315whp and 2800lbs, no ducting)

i'd recommend stock crap on street, and carbotech XP10 or XP12 on track. swap pads at the track (or the night before)

EDIT: last time i tried to find carbotechs they were on backorder everywhere... Hawk HT-10 is fine too if you cant find them. the XP's are nicer on rotors and the dust is less corrosive, so they're preferred.

 

The Hawk street pads is the cause of your issue. I also felt like the brakes didn't have any bite when I was running the Hawk HPS pads. For some stupid reason I still have them on my Miata. That will change soon.

Both rotor options you mentioned are good. Also think about the Centric rotors w/o the slots. They are awesome and cheap! Here is one source for them:
http://store.zeckhausen.com/catalog/...th=144_371_372
They also have the StopTech street pads for the stock caliper which I hear are pretty nice. Another option is the Carbotech pads which I hear a lot of good things about but have never used them.

If you go RacingBrake, their ET700 pads are real nice for aggressive street use, autox and beginner track days.

Don't go crazy trying to run a track pad on the street and a street pad on the track. Get a good street pad and get entry level track pads that are easy to learn on. Track pads take some getting used to if you aren't experienced with them. The HT10s are brutal on track. I have had a hard time getting used to them.

 

There are a lot of good dual purpose pads out on the market if you are willing to pay for quality. Good pads aren't cheap, and you do get what you pay for. Crappy pads will always be cheap, eat rotors, work good when new but will develop a horrible pedal feel after some use, dust + make noise, and not to mention will wear out fast.

Just to list a few:

Endless MX72
Ferodo DS2500
CL Brakes RC5+

Which one would I recommend, and use after various testing done? Of course the MX72. I might come off as sounding biased, but various 3rd party tests done by some major brake manufacturers have proven the same thing that I just said. If you want something on a budget, the DS2500 isn't a bad option too but I am not sure if they make that pad for the FD anymore.

The FD is a primarily front biased car and while it is always best to run same compound front and rear, you can get away with running MX72s in the front, and running a lesser compound in the rear. The pads are not cheap though.

 

I'm new with this brake pad thing. What exactly do you mean buy getting use too? Like what are you experiencing?

 

I mean how aggressive the bite is. The HT10, the Hawk Blues are much more aggressive than regular or even aggressive street pads. When you hit the brakes, it BITES HARD. This requires you to change how you depress and modulate the brake pedal, also requires adjustment to your braking points. This also causes more weight transfer so you also need to be more careful at turn in and modulation with trail brake.

I'm referring to track driving here. You don't want to use these types of pads on the street.

A while back, I started using the RacingBrake ET800 pads. These have more bite than regular street pads, closer to track pads but not up to the HT10s, but are much easier to modulate and aren't as aggressive. Just easier to drive if you aren't pushing your street car 100%.

 

Wow was not expecting this much information... So here is the breakdown I drive my car about 2-3 times a week max around 500 miles a month on Nitto NT01's soon switching to Hankook RS3's Tein HR 8k-6k Suspension Tech rear sway Bar, Cusco front sway bar, SS brake lines, Greddy strut bar, traling arms. I will be at 400whp as soon as I finish installing the meth kit right now 350whp single gt35r with all supporting mods.

My current issue is my brakes suck plain and simple had a ABS issue since I bought the car but fixed the bad wheel sensor. I dont know the fluid or the pads that are in there only what the guys said when I bought it. I have not touched the brakes at this point. I know the fd has one of the best stock braking systems around I am just trying to get them working before I consider a BBk.

So before I take it to the track for the first time I want to make sure it is ready. Next thing on my list to do is the brakes and redo the suspension bushings thinking poly bushings.

 

I love the idea of switching out the pads, but I guess Iwont know what I need until I take the fd to the track. I have an Evo X so it gives me an idea where I want to be

 

If you were to go CarboTech, the XP8 sound ideal for you:
http://www.ctbrakes.com/brake-compounds.asp

Carbotech XP8™ (1108™)

A high torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range (200°F-1350°F+). Carbotech XP8™ is the first of our racing compounds. Outstanding initial bite at race temperatures, high coefficient of friction, excellent modulation and release characteristics. Extremely high fade resistance, very rotor friendly with 100% non-corrosive dust. Excellent as a front brake pad for lighter ITA, ITB, ITC, SRF, H4, H5, and other cars that weigh less than 2,400lbs. Perfect for novice, intermediate and advanced track day (HPDE) use with any tire, and can still be driven safely to and from the track. There are several vehicles that use XP8™ on the street, autocross, and at track day (HPDE) events. Carbotech does NOT recommended XP8™ as a daily driven street pad due to elevated levels of dust and noise.

Add some Centric Rotors or get the CarboTech rotors and you should have a nice setup to get you started. If you get hooked and as your skills progress, you will eventually want a BBK.

 

Thank you gracer for your help and knowledge. I also wanted to ask about the BBK kit I hear most dont work with your existing hand brake is this corrrect?

 

The stock hand brake operates the stock rear caliper. So long as you maintain the stock rear caliper, your hand brake will work.

Most aftermarket BBKs focus on the front setup only. The RB provides a new bracket that will place the stock US 93-95 caliper further outward so that you can run a larger diameter rear rotor - this is similar to the 99+ rear brake setup except the RB setup is just a little larger to change the bias slightly to the rear compared to other setups. Read howard coleman's thread on the development of that BBK for more info.

Cheers

 

I'm also currently running ET800s on my Racing Brake BBK and find them to work very well on the street and they've also performed adequately on the track..... decent bite, no fade.

Be careful with the HP+..... only pads I've ever removed from my FD when they were almost new. Installed properly, with brake quiet on the proper surfaces etc, and they made so much damn noise I got rid of them. In general I don't mind Hawk pads, but I've stayed away since that experience.