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Brembo Wear and Tear or Problem?

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Hello all

I run a 13 GT with the GT500 brembos. The calipers have about 8 track days on them and 7,000 miles. I started brawling everything down since the season is over me for. I am running carbotech XP20 pads and they only lasted three days which is short for me. I honestly am running harder than I used to though.

Either way the inside pad on the drivers side has about 2-3mm less pad left than the others in the front. What do you guys think. Also I noticed the rubber seals aren't looking great.

So I ask do these calipers need rebuilt? What do you attribute the uneven wear? And lastly how long do pads like the carbotech XP20 normally last for you?

Thanks

Jake

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Based on my experiences, I consider all these as normal wear and tear.
You can use titanium shims to prolong the life of your piston seals. To me, your seals look ok... mine look worst than yours at the moment :p
You can also swap inside/outside pads to get more even wear.

If you like carbotech's pad characteristics, try the XP24's next. They should last quite a bit longer.
 
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Thanks for the insight. I have two questions for your response. First how do you know when the piston seals need replaced and second what do you like about the XP24s over the 20s. I was thinking I'd like a little more initial bite anyway.


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My plan was to replace the seals once chunks of rubber were burnt off or missing, exposing the parts of the piston.That's my approach, hopefully others will chime in and share their experience.

As for the XP20 vs XP24s, I've never ran XP20s. Based on a fellow owner's advice, once I started wearing down the XP12s within a single weekend, I jumped straight to the XP24s. The most notable differences between the XP12 and the XP24s were longer pad life and a little more aggressive bite during mid-to-heavy pedal pressure. If you're looking for aggressive initial bite, I'd recommend you try a different brand (e.g. hawks, Pagid).

The reason I like XP24s is because the pads last me 3-4 weekends and they're easy on the rotors. I replace rotors other season. Usually, pads with aggressive initial bite wear down the rotors a little faster.
 
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I'm happy with the carbotech and like I can swap to the 1521 between events without rotor issues so I'll probably try the XP 20.

I would love to hear others thoughts on when to replace the dust seals.


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I believe the main purpose of the seals are to keep moisture out. If you're DD your car in the rain I'd replace them if they are cracked or missing. Most race car calipers omit the outer seals. The Ti brake shields help keep the seals from getting fried.
 
VoodooBOSS said:
I believe the main purpose of the seals are to keep moisture out. If you're DD your car in the rain I'd replace them if they are cracked or missing. Most race car calipers omit the outer seals. The Ti brake shields help keep the seals from getting fried.

+1 on the seals. Ti shims make a big difference.

XP24's have great initial bite. Best pads I've found for the S197. I'd recommend their pre-bedding option too.
 
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Black Boss said:
+1 on the seals. Ti shims make a big difference.

XP24's have great initial bite. Best pads I've found for the S197. I'd recommend their pre-bedding option too.

Agreed!! I love the prebedding option. Just putting them on and knowing I'm good is helpful. I'm def try the 24s



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Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
VoodooBOSS said:
I believe the main purpose of the seals are to keep moisture out. If you're DD your car in the rain I'd replace them if they are cracked or missing. Most race car calipers omit the outer seals. The Ti brake shields help keep the seals from getting fried.

The main purpose of the seal is for dust and abrasive action that would groove the bore. Race cars don't need them since the calipers are presumably rebuilt or cleaned or replaced before that would be an issue. They're also more of a liability at race temps.

+1 on the Ti shims. No issues with cooking seals since I've been using them.

jpt3 said:
Hello all

I run a 13 GT with the GT500 brembos. The calipers have about 8 track days on them and 7,000 miles. I started brawling everything down since the season is over me for. I am running carbotech XP20 pads and they only lasted three days which is short for me. I honestly am running harder than I used to though.

Either way the inside pad on the drivers side has about 2-3mm less pad left than the others in the front. What do you guys think. Also I noticed the rubber seals aren't looking great.

So I ask do these calipers need rebuilt? What do you attribute the uneven wear? And lastly how long do pads like the carbotech XP20 normally last for you?

Thanks

Jake

I think there are normal differences in wear between inside and outside pads. I've suspected temp differential to be the main cause, but I'm not so certain. Could be small differences in knock-back or passive drag. Swap pads inside/outside if you want to maximize wear.

I don't think the calipers need rebuilding. I would replace the seals and run Ti shims if the car sees much street time. Just Ti shims if mostly track use.
 
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Thanks for all the advice. Where do you buy these titanium shims? I was emailing carbotech today (great customer service) and was told that with our heavy cars on the tracks I ran on he wasn't surprised I got three days and theres still some life left in the pads. He was not surprised to hear about the inner pad wearing more sighting some of the same things you guys mentioned.

Anyone interested in the XP24 he said they will last longer than the 20s but won't have the same initial bite. I think for now I'll get some new dust boots as the car is driven to and from track and a coupe thousand miles a year for fun and go to XP24 next year. Hate it's going to be wither five months still I'm on track again...


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Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
K&S might have them for the '13 GT500 brakes. These are for the Boss/14" Brembo
http://www.knsbrakes.com/c/car-series/337_2012+Ford+Mustang+Boss+302/311_Titanium+Shims+-+.5mm+Thick

This is where I got mine. I didn't see them here either:
https://hardbrakes.com/
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
I have to admit that I am a die hard Pagid fan. I have used the rs29 and RST-2 and love them, will try the rst-3 next. The last about three times longer then a Hawk DTC 60. I drive them on the street to and form the track with out any problems.

Am getting over 10 track days out of a set of fronts and more in the back (no TC)

I guess pads are very much a personal preference!
 
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Mad Hatter that sounds really good. The XP 20s were fine for the street except the dust and occasional noise. What I really liked about the carbotech is if I was going to take the car on a trip or something I could swap the pads to the carbotech street pads without changing rotors.

How do the pagids work in that respect. I mean I do about ten days a season anyway. That's a whole year for me!!


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