Bill Pemberton
0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
I have been acquainted with EBC Brake Pads for 2 decades because Woodhouse Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram ( their big Ford Store is across the street ) used them on many Vipers whose owners wanted a low dust pad. That said, we did not commonly recommend them for track use, since the speed and weight of the Viper seemed to task even their highest temp pad. Early Vipers, through 2002, had no ducting and the aerodynamics of the car did not give good laminar flow of air to the rotors/calipers, and many pads could not take the heat. So when I was lucky enough to win the first set of pads offered by the newest Sponsor on TMO I went in with some knowledge, but also a little bit of skepticism. I knew their Worldwide reputation for Motorcycle pads was stellar, and I had a friend who had run their Orange pads on his Mustang with solid success, so I rationally knew even experience of a decade ago would not really tell the tale of the current offerings. What was exciting, for me, was I would be testing out the pads on a car completely new to me, one that I had never had on track , and the heaviest vehicle I had ever put on a road course. This made it an interesting situation and what was even more enlightening was the parameters EBC gave me in doing the test on both of their " Sintered " pads - test them and list your results on TMO , no holds barred! Do look up the explanation of " Sintered" if unaware as I don't want to delve into a long paragraph explaining that process also.
One of the things about this Forum, which I find helpful, is there are often numerous responses to folks when they ask a question and when it comes to brakes, brake pads , etc. we often get many recommendations because of a couple of factors. One is how are the pads being used ( i.e. full race, Time Trials , HPDE's , autocross, street & track ) along with one other key factor in my mind, driver's level of experience, help many members give their views on the subject. The other two areas I feel we often fail to ask is what tracks does the driver frequent and what is their driving style. A Mustang ripping around Road America needs a certain level of pad , in my mind, than one attacking the " Streets of Willow." To make this objective, I will list a few of my personal feelings on what I like in a pad/brakes since in discussing with other racers it is quickly obvious that there is often a difference in style or comfort. So, to begin, I will list a brief note on my learned style ( over decades ) and where my comfort zone has lain. Since many of my competitive track years were with earlier Vipers ( stock, modded and full race versions ) ABS was not available or allowed in many Classes, so I wanted a progressive feeling pad, that could take the heat but would give me wonderful feel to avoid locking up the brakes. Going over to Spec Miata I again was running non-ABS braking systems, again I wanted a progressive pad for similar reasons , and also as a late braker, I felt more comfortable with this type of pad for trail braking in fast corners. To this end I favored Brakeman, Carbotech and then G-Loc pads over ones like Hawks. Though, because Woodhouse Dodge sold a ton of Vipers and there was a Motorsports Division, I was also able to test a ton of different pads, but I always came back to the ones above , even though, now, many of the cars I would be running had ABS --- it seemed I seldom engaged the system with these pads. So, this is what Mr. Willy the P went into testing the new EBC pads and as I will explain, this old dog needed to learn new tricks, and I have often felt doing this has been part of what has made my life fun and challenging. Life changes, change is good, change is exciting, change makes old concepts into new, and often in our hobby it makes one faster and even more aware.
In noting that the Mach 1 weighed in at 4010 lbs with a full tank of fuel , subtracting my 190 lbs and the 93 lbs of fuel in the 15.5 gallon tank, that means the Silver Stang comes in at a dry weight of 3727 ( GT 350R is listed from 3702 to 3760 depending on who is offering the data ). Sure the brake rotors are a bit smaller ( 380mm ) than the 350s , but all in all this is a good comparison for many folks running S550s and GT 350s and I am confident the pads will carry over to the GT 500. Since EBC gave me free reign here goes , I will be as subjective as possible since there are some areas that one needs to be aware of once putting these powerful pads on your Pony! Listed below are some areas to be aware of both in strengths and perceived weaknesses;
1. The initial bite on both pads is so abrupt it is yesterday. Some feel the newer Mustangs are heavily or over boosted and if you just wave your foot and inch in front of the brake pedal the SR21s, especially, will stop you in a millisecond. EBC says these pads have excellent initial bite and I would redo their marketing data to read " Superhuman " initial bite. This is not something I have looked for in a pad, likely due to my years of running non ABS track cars, but this was where the old dog began to accept new tricks , though not sure he has completely learned them yet.
These pads are super touchy, on the street and when you get on track, but after a session or two they modulate down. This is more apparent with the SR11s and I would probably recommend this to Trackrats of moderate skill levels over the SR21s.
2. Simple statement --- having autocrossed, raced W2W, or done Time Trials since 1981 in so many cars I could not list them all, I can firmly state I have never used a pad with such intriguing and powerful initial bite as the EBC SR21. Honestly, go into using this pad with an open mind as it is very, very touchy at first, will loosen up on track, but it may even make you feel uncomfortable at first , since it feels like you could be going 100 mph and stop on a pin head in 10 feet.......it is way more dramatic than stopping on a dime! Now this means the pad may be a bit of a challenge and the other mental note you have to make is it makes you feel overconfident. Crazy, but I felt I could outbrake one of my old Spec Miatas, and I knew I could not wait till the absolute last minute to jump on the binders, with close to 2 tons to haul down, but damn if the pads did not make me feel that way.
3. So , SR21s will make you feel invincible , but also you will have to accept a new learning process as I felt I had not conquered or found my braking limits in one day on track. Keep in mind I knew I was relearning what I am used to in a pad ( very progressive ) and going to one that slammed me into a brick wall before turning. Weird to say this, but it was exciting, though I knew I had to temper my enthusiasm as I was having to adapt my style. I figure it will take one or two more weekends to get really comfortable , but to me that is an exciting challenge.
4. The SR11s have insane initial bite also , but they much more quickly get into a more progressive mode, though still not what I am used to. I found that after a session, I could begin to trail brake in one section, yet they still had high initial bite and I found big confidence in hauling down the heavy horse!
5. The reason I hit on the weight of the Mustang is these pads stopped me with such aplomb , and the car handled so well with the Hoosier R7s, I actually felt like I had the same control, cornering ability , and stopping power as my 2013 Boss 302S ( which weighed 500 lbs. less ) . So I made a constant mental note this Silver Steed was a big boy and as it was my first time on track and I was getting assimilated to the car, the new Hoosier R7s, and the EBC pads, I wanted to stay rationale amidst the adrenaline rush I was having.
6. The absolute best trait I found is these pads need virtually no bedding ( other than maybe the first yellow flag lap ), and considering how often one finds out the pads are gone right in the middle of a track day, slapping on a new set of these is comforting.
Finally, to try and sum things up in a brief note, the following is listed :
Pros
1. The most initial grip of any pad I have ever used.
2. No need to bed these brake beasts.
3. Can create over confidence as they will stop you yesterday.
4. Great ability to haul down a heavy car.
Cons
1. Initial bite is almost unnerving at first if not aware of how touchy they are.
2. Overconfidence in their extreme ability means one has to use their head and learn the real braking limits
3. They will take getting used to with drivers who like a progressive pad, but for those who want strong initial bite these may be the new " Gold " standard.
Also , shout out to Vorshlag ( another TMO Sponsor ) as I installed their brake ducting system with high hopes as I was tired of crumpled up hoses on my many track cars over the year. The crazy things held up great, no issue with fluids, no soft pedal , etc., they are a great compliment to the EBC pads.
The RP pads and the Orange pads were not tested , but they are other good options and hopefully in the future someone else on here will be able to post a review.
One of the things about this Forum, which I find helpful, is there are often numerous responses to folks when they ask a question and when it comes to brakes, brake pads , etc. we often get many recommendations because of a couple of factors. One is how are the pads being used ( i.e. full race, Time Trials , HPDE's , autocross, street & track ) along with one other key factor in my mind, driver's level of experience, help many members give their views on the subject. The other two areas I feel we often fail to ask is what tracks does the driver frequent and what is their driving style. A Mustang ripping around Road America needs a certain level of pad , in my mind, than one attacking the " Streets of Willow." To make this objective, I will list a few of my personal feelings on what I like in a pad/brakes since in discussing with other racers it is quickly obvious that there is often a difference in style or comfort. So, to begin, I will list a brief note on my learned style ( over decades ) and where my comfort zone has lain. Since many of my competitive track years were with earlier Vipers ( stock, modded and full race versions ) ABS was not available or allowed in many Classes, so I wanted a progressive feeling pad, that could take the heat but would give me wonderful feel to avoid locking up the brakes. Going over to Spec Miata I again was running non-ABS braking systems, again I wanted a progressive pad for similar reasons , and also as a late braker, I felt more comfortable with this type of pad for trail braking in fast corners. To this end I favored Brakeman, Carbotech and then G-Loc pads over ones like Hawks. Though, because Woodhouse Dodge sold a ton of Vipers and there was a Motorsports Division, I was also able to test a ton of different pads, but I always came back to the ones above , even though, now, many of the cars I would be running had ABS --- it seemed I seldom engaged the system with these pads. So, this is what Mr. Willy the P went into testing the new EBC pads and as I will explain, this old dog needed to learn new tricks, and I have often felt doing this has been part of what has made my life fun and challenging. Life changes, change is good, change is exciting, change makes old concepts into new, and often in our hobby it makes one faster and even more aware.
In noting that the Mach 1 weighed in at 4010 lbs with a full tank of fuel , subtracting my 190 lbs and the 93 lbs of fuel in the 15.5 gallon tank, that means the Silver Stang comes in at a dry weight of 3727 ( GT 350R is listed from 3702 to 3760 depending on who is offering the data ). Sure the brake rotors are a bit smaller ( 380mm ) than the 350s , but all in all this is a good comparison for many folks running S550s and GT 350s and I am confident the pads will carry over to the GT 500. Since EBC gave me free reign here goes , I will be as subjective as possible since there are some areas that one needs to be aware of once putting these powerful pads on your Pony! Listed below are some areas to be aware of both in strengths and perceived weaknesses;
1. The initial bite on both pads is so abrupt it is yesterday. Some feel the newer Mustangs are heavily or over boosted and if you just wave your foot and inch in front of the brake pedal the SR21s, especially, will stop you in a millisecond. EBC says these pads have excellent initial bite and I would redo their marketing data to read " Superhuman " initial bite. This is not something I have looked for in a pad, likely due to my years of running non ABS track cars, but this was where the old dog began to accept new tricks , though not sure he has completely learned them yet.
These pads are super touchy, on the street and when you get on track, but after a session or two they modulate down. This is more apparent with the SR11s and I would probably recommend this to Trackrats of moderate skill levels over the SR21s.
2. Simple statement --- having autocrossed, raced W2W, or done Time Trials since 1981 in so many cars I could not list them all, I can firmly state I have never used a pad with such intriguing and powerful initial bite as the EBC SR21. Honestly, go into using this pad with an open mind as it is very, very touchy at first, will loosen up on track, but it may even make you feel uncomfortable at first , since it feels like you could be going 100 mph and stop on a pin head in 10 feet.......it is way more dramatic than stopping on a dime! Now this means the pad may be a bit of a challenge and the other mental note you have to make is it makes you feel overconfident. Crazy, but I felt I could outbrake one of my old Spec Miatas, and I knew I could not wait till the absolute last minute to jump on the binders, with close to 2 tons to haul down, but damn if the pads did not make me feel that way.
3. So , SR21s will make you feel invincible , but also you will have to accept a new learning process as I felt I had not conquered or found my braking limits in one day on track. Keep in mind I knew I was relearning what I am used to in a pad ( very progressive ) and going to one that slammed me into a brick wall before turning. Weird to say this, but it was exciting, though I knew I had to temper my enthusiasm as I was having to adapt my style. I figure it will take one or two more weekends to get really comfortable , but to me that is an exciting challenge.
4. The SR11s have insane initial bite also , but they much more quickly get into a more progressive mode, though still not what I am used to. I found that after a session, I could begin to trail brake in one section, yet they still had high initial bite and I found big confidence in hauling down the heavy horse!
5. The reason I hit on the weight of the Mustang is these pads stopped me with such aplomb , and the car handled so well with the Hoosier R7s, I actually felt like I had the same control, cornering ability , and stopping power as my 2013 Boss 302S ( which weighed 500 lbs. less ) . So I made a constant mental note this Silver Steed was a big boy and as it was my first time on track and I was getting assimilated to the car, the new Hoosier R7s, and the EBC pads, I wanted to stay rationale amidst the adrenaline rush I was having.
6. The absolute best trait I found is these pads need virtually no bedding ( other than maybe the first yellow flag lap ), and considering how often one finds out the pads are gone right in the middle of a track day, slapping on a new set of these is comforting.
Finally, to try and sum things up in a brief note, the following is listed :
Pros
1. The most initial grip of any pad I have ever used.
2. No need to bed these brake beasts.
3. Can create over confidence as they will stop you yesterday.
4. Great ability to haul down a heavy car.
Cons
1. Initial bite is almost unnerving at first if not aware of how touchy they are.
2. Overconfidence in their extreme ability means one has to use their head and learn the real braking limits
3. They will take getting used to with drivers who like a progressive pad, but for those who want strong initial bite these may be the new " Gold " standard.
Also , shout out to Vorshlag ( another TMO Sponsor ) as I installed their brake ducting system with high hopes as I was tired of crumpled up hoses on my many track cars over the year. The crazy things held up great, no issue with fluids, no soft pedal , etc., they are a great compliment to the EBC pads.
The RP pads and the Orange pads were not tested , but they are other good options and hopefully in the future someone else on here will be able to post a review.
