Mr. Belvi

I need new brake pads and rotors for both of my cars and I was trying to decide on which one to get, the green stuff or the red stuff. All the info that I've read about the red stuff seems tp imply that they are mainly for track use, which I don't need them for. I was wondering about which pad lasts longer and which one would be better for street use. I'm really not interested in changing my pads every few months.

SleepR1

Green Stuff...

Jerk_Racer

In Grassroots Motorsports magazine, their E30 M3 project car used Green Stuff and then Red Stuff pads. They liked the Red Stuff every bit as much. I put a set of the Green Stuff pads on my car with slotted rotors a few weeks ago, so I have yet to be able to gauge how soon they'll wear out. I figure if brake pads aren't wearing then they aren't working. So far I'm am very pleased with my choice. I don't mind changing the pads out more often as need be. On the other hand, I don't put very many miles on my car every year. About 6k miles a year on my daily driver (my commute to work is less than one mile).

jerk_racer@hotmail.com

Mr. Belvi

Any problems with braking from high speeds often, say from 100mph down to 30mph?

Silver7

I thought my reds kicked *** till I tried a set of Hawk HP+. The hawks bite so much better. I also tried the yellows for the track and was not impressed. I'm going with Hawk blues next time.

SleepR1

EBC Red Stuffs SUK!

PaulyDee

The story I heard about Red stuff pads are that they were designed for track use on cars weighing less than 2000lbs, so obviously if your car weighs more than 2000 you will burn them up pretty quickly. If you don't mind the dust and the occasional noise, Hawk HP+ pads do well as a street/mild track pad. If you want a full out track pad, Blues are the pad to use.

SleepR1

That's wierd, as Tire Rack's website says, they're (the Red Stuffs) made for cars over 3000 lbs...someone's going to have to get the story straight!

No matter...Porterfield R4Es for the track now...

Gene

iTrader: (1)

The reds are inappropriate for street use because they have a much lower cold friction that the greens, though they begin to bite a bit harder after they hit 1000 deg F, so for track use when they can't get cool, they ought to be ok. (this is conjecture, I haven't used them, just read about them) The greens bite pretty hard when cold, and once you heat them up they grip like mad.

I used them (the greens) at MADS at VIR, after a nice 500 mile bedding in driving down there, once they had a couple good stomps and were warm, they HAULED the car down. It was like dropping anchor. (This is in a 1990 T2 with the ABS removed) Yanked me down from ~120 to ~40 setting up for turn one like nobody's business. I didn't get to fade them, but I wasn't driving that hard. I did overtake my buddy in his 3rd gen and he was driving hard enough that he cooked his (stock) brakes though. Overall I give them the thumbs up. I did burn a lot of surface off them, my brake fluid went down 1/2 inch over the weekend from the additional piston volume occupied in the calipers.

Driving on the street is a little disconcerting though because I have memory of the bite when hot and I don't get it on the street because they're cold most of the time...

maxcooper

My impression from reading the Red Stuff pad compound description was that they are track pads for light cars, or STREET PADS for heavier cars. The FD is closer to the heavier car specs from the description, so they might be decent street pads. I know that SleepR1 found them severely lacking for heavy track use. However, SleepR1 is pretty experienced and probably uses the brakes much harder than an inexperienced driver would use them for their first few events. So, they might be reasonable for street use and light track use on the FD.

I've heard good things about the Porterfield pads from several sources. R4S should be decent street pads, but I don't know how much they dust. N-Tech has a variety of pads that sound interesting, too, but I haven't tried them.

-Max

SleepR1

Well Tire Rack will have to change their website, as it seems from their description that Green Stuffs are inappropriate for track use, and Red Stuffs are the stuff (NOT!)...

I will give the Green Stuffs the knod for the least amount of dust during street stop-n-go driving...

Yeah...I get most of braking done in the first 50 to 75 feet, which means I press FIRMLY on the brake pedal, and lighten the pedal pressure as I turn-in...works beautifully for me, but does a number on my brake pads

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

I used them on my Honda CRX. The car is pretty light, so I couldn't use the red stuff. My front rotars are both cross drilled and slotted by ZSpeed and the warped the **** out of them!

SleepR1

So far I've been happy with the Green Stuffs for public road driving...the car stops well when brakes are dead cold, and there is virtually no dust--really!

redrotorR1

just got done with an auto-x this weekend using the Hawk HP+. they are killer ... and from looking at the prices on tirerack, i think it's kind of a no-brainer: $108/set vs. $138/set (hey man, $30 is a lot of beer!)

SleepR1

$30 is a full tank of 94 octane Sunoco, dude!

nocab72

SleepR1 - rumor has it we have a Sunoco that sells 100 octane unleaded here in town (Columbus). I'm sure it is about $2.49/gal if the rumor is true. I'll be cruising down hamilton rd tonight where it is rumor'd to be and checking it out!

Want me to send you some in the mail? hahah, j/k

K

Gene

iTrader: (1)

http://www.racegas.com/Racegas/gt100locals/default.asp

awe yeah

SleepR1

Dang...none in Indiana...figures...

SleepR1

Kyle,

I just got my MOR PCA Mid Ohio drivers ed acceptance letter today...If you have time, check out the Mid Ohio DE May 9/10 (Thurs/Fri)...there will be a a club race on the follow-on weekend...

I believe Mid Ohio offers Cam2 race fuel...gotta bring plenty cash to burn...

1FooknTiteFD

My friend uses the Red stuff in his daily driven FD, they seem to work very well. Low noise, no rotor damage, they are pretty good pads. have the green stuff on my audi a4, and like them a lot too, they stop very well and leave very little brake dust. By the way, which car will you be putting this pad on Mr. Belvi? These pads are pretty expensive (like $100 per front, $100 per rear, if I remember correctly), so if you're not going to race or do any autocrossing maybe you can save a few bucks by just getting Axis Metal Masters which are ok for commuting and stop pretty well also.

RrrracerX7

Please note that the information and descriptions used on Tire Rack's website concerning EBC pads is not an isolated incident; they are the same as used on just about any other company's website that sells them. It's the marketing info that they are provided with as an EBC dealer.

The problem is with EBC and the way the pads are being marketed by that company, not the Tire Rack (although I agree that it is misinformation, regardless). It's my understanding that EBC is supposedly aware of the problem and will be making changes to their marketing information to reflect the actual applications.

It seems to me that EBC, a longtime premier supplier of racing pads for motorcycles and cars in Europe, has a few bugs that need sorting out in their venture into the US market. I'd like to see them get there, since it's good to have choices!

Shane

SleepR1

Shane,

Well that explains my being able to melt the Red Stuff fronts (Carbotech Panther rears were fine) in less than a day of hotlapping at Putnam Park...

Never again...Porterfield R4E track pads for me, with the "bad boy" Mazda '99 FD Type RS brakes!

Will test at Putnam Park 26, 27, 28-April CIR PCA DE

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

The green stuff warped my ZSpeed slotted/drilled front rotors and I had them turned three times before I switched back to stock and I have never turned my rotors since (and never turned them beforehand either).

SleepR1

I haven't tried the Green Stuffs on track yet, only regular stop'n'go, and interestate driving...they seem to work fine for that....Low noise, and virtually no dusting...For those of you who have intricate mesh-style wheels, like Fikse FM-10, or Volk SE/LE-37Ks...the EBC Green Stuff pads are for you!

ntech

N-Tech has a three pad line-up, and I can tell you from MUCH experience, that no one would be disappointed with them in their intended applications. The street pad is just that. A wonderful, non dusting, no noise street pad that works very well for high performance street driving. Then there is the lap day pad that several people have used with great results. This pad will get you to the track and back home (rotor friendly), while giving plenty of brake for 90% of people doing lapping days. It needs one regular stop to get to an effective working temperature. It is fairly grippy, though not at all 'grabby'. Nice modulation, and release is also linear. Then there is the competition pad, which can still get you to and from the track, but it needs a bit of heat to be a very effective stopper. This is the pad for my 3rd gen race car, as well as my lapping day GSL-SE. This pad is phenominal. It is a new compound that went through a lot of testing. Effort is a bit higher to really brake hard, but the more you push, the more stop you get. They are tremendously easy to modulate, and their release is linear in the other direction. They are not grabby at all, and they don't fade, even when the rotors begin to glow.
I have done my homework to arrive at the compounds I am now offering. I hope I get the opportunity to let the rest of you guys enjoy them as well.

Nick
www.ntechengineering.com