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G-Loc R12 Feedback

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167
218
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Irvine, CA
Just installed the G-Loc R12 pads on the front of my Boss on Saturday and tracked them on Sunday at Big Willow (pads came pre-bed from @OPMustang Tim and I did some driving Saturday to get some pad transfer).
The pads were perfectly quiet on the way to the track with plenty of stopping power when cold/street temps.
On the track they got up to temp very quickly (not much braking on warm up lap into heaving braking for turn 1) and never faded at all (unfortunately I have not yet installed cooling ducts).
Initial bite on the track is plenty and not too much, there is still plenty of modulation available.
I was very confident braking from 135-85 lap after lap after the main straight, and almost more importantly 110-60ish for T3.
On the way home the pads were pretty loud on the highway and around town, we'll see if they are quieter on my next drive.
Obviously they generate a lot of dust on the track but duh, it's a track pad.
Overall very happy with the performance!
 
215
210
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
SoCal
That's good to hear. I just switched today to GS-1's for the street. I also received R16's for the front and R12's for the rear for use on track days based on Tim's recommendations. The plan is to swap them in the day before I drive to an event. T1 and T3 seems to be where I do my heaviest braking as well.
 
I've got these pads as well and they're just awesome. They took a bit of getting used to on the street because of how much more sensitive they are to pedal pressure than street pads. But once you get used to them, you will NOT want to go back to street pads despite the horrible screeching sound they make on the street (which WILL wake all your neighbors, but see below).

These pads make it easy to hit ABS while heel and toe downshifting, but they're not excessively sensitive. The end result is that they are very easily controlled once you adjust to them, even if you want to just brush the brakes.

But the noise! Wow. Fortunately, there is a way around that. It turns out that the noise only occurs within a range of pedal pressures, ranging from a bit more than just brushing the brakes up to medium braking. The end result is that if you want to avoid squealing the brakes, you have to brake more aggressively! At least until you're almost stopped, and then you can transition to light braking.

The end result for me is that I have gotten used to much heavier braking than I used to do, and this has done good things for me on the track, because maximum braking is now almost routine (I don't brake that heavily on the street, but the difference is not enough to be uncomfortable).

So: VERY highly recommended as long as you always keep awareness of who is behind you on the street, because they almost certainly aren't going to be expecting you to brake so aggressively.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
167
218
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Irvine, CA
Thanks for the input @kcbrown, I have noticed the range of noise in braking as well, and have also adjusted to heavy braking to avoid the noise as much as possible. It is crazy how much more braking force there is even on the street, which takes additional consideration/planning when braking heavily on the street since they bleed speed so quickly!
Also good to know that this is normal and that I didn't do anything wrong with installation/break-in since I just hand sanded my rotors and only used a little regular grease rather than hi-temp brake grease on the backs.
 
Can't wait for my G-loc's to arrive. First track day last weekend with street pads and no cooling was interesting to say the least. Had to really take it easy coming off the straights.

I'm also thinking of GS-1's for street, since my car is driven every day.
My understanding is that switching between GS-1's to R compounds I don't have to swap or sand rotors. Correct?
 

Norm Peterson

Corner Barstool Sitter
939
712
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
a few miles east of Philly
Shouldn't have to do anything to the rotors, but you might want to run an abbreviated re-bedding when you swap the track pads back in.

What I've found so far with Carbotechs up to XP10 and G-locs up to R10 is that if you can live with the dust (you will get this) and a little noise (not always present), rotor wear rates aren't much worse than running Hawk HPS (and way better than HP+). 12's are a little more abrasive in street driving, but still nowhere near HP+.


Norm
 
167
218
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Irvine, CA
So far I have 3 full track days on the R12s with mixed results. 1 day at Big Willow and 2 consecutive days at Laguna Seca, so I have about 300 minutes of track time on them. The braking was was great for the first day and half of the second day. The second half of day 2 and day 3 the shaking under hard braking was so bad I had to start backing up my braking zones. The brakes still worked it was just unsettling, mentally for me (and my passengers) and physically for the car. I tried to re-bed the pads yesterday with no luck, but that was mostly an experiment since the pads are already worn past the point of being usable at another track day.

Laguna Seca is tough on brakes for a powerful, front heavy car, and if I had been able to install the cooling ducts the results may have been different.
My conclusion is that for my driving style I need more compound, at least R16 or R18, and obviously the cooling ducts.
To those considering G-Loc compounds I would just make sure you get the right compound and install those cooling ducts!
I was able to pick up a set of barely used StopTech rotors and Hawk DTC-60 pads from a past Boss owner so I will try those out next, with the cooling ducts installed of course.
 
215
210
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
SoCal
I ran the R16 front R12 rear setup on my S550 yesterday at Streets of Willow. I'm very happy with the way they performed. Track temps in the morning was a chilly 36* so I didn't pull the plugs on my brake cooling kit until later in the morning. Two events at Button Willow are coming up so I will get a better idea of how they do over time. I do concur that they are very noisy driving back home!
 
The biggest issue with the R compound pads is to chase the latest braking zone possible. It sounds like some of you are either running a very good tire vs. Compound or spending too much time on the brake pedal. Any R compound will create noise. If you are getting a pulsation it is likely due to overheating the compound. This is caused by either lack of cooling or too much pedal riding. They have a ton of bite, so brake hard and late. Every driver is different so a compound for one driver will not be the compound for the other. G-LOC captures a good bit of data from tests with Pro Drivers and those results can vary considerably. We have Customers that are faster on an R12 than Customers on R18's. The best advice is to pick a braking zone with run-off and push the compound until the point you need to run off to see what they can do on your tire and set-up and adjust your braking points based on that. If you do not run cooling on a Mustang you will run into problems at some point. These are heavy cars that can create massive amounts of heat. Please pay attention to the Checkered flag at the end of your sessions and allow the last lap as a true cool down lap. Stay off the brakes. The way G-LOC compounds these pads to have this level of bite requires some seat time to understand how to utilize them. We go through this with most Customers. I am also the guy that will ask a ton of questions when you call me. Despite what what Kelly say's, I'm a good listener LOL. I say all of this not to come off as pointing to the person behind the wheel but...HPDE; learning all.the.time If you have a concern I welcome you to email me or call me and we can dissect your specific issue. Any R compound will present you with new challenges in the car and the driver. The responses from how they feel are very common, it is a very impressive experience, once you adapt to what they are capable of you will really maximize your lap times and pad life.
 
So far I have 3 full track days on the R12s with mixed results. 1 day at Big Willow and 2 consecutive days at Laguna Seca, so I have about 300 minutes of track time on them. The braking was was great for the first day and half of the second day. The second half of day 2 and day 3 the shaking under hard braking was so bad I had to start backing up my braking zones. The brakes still worked it was just unsettling, mentally for me (and my passengers) and physically for the car. I tried to re-bed the pads yesterday with no luck, but that was mostly an experiment since the pads are already worn past the point of being usable at another track day.

Laguna Seca is tough on brakes for a powerful, front heavy car, and if I had been able to install the cooling ducts the results may have been different.
My conclusion is that for my driving style I need more compound, at least R16 or R18, and obviously the cooling ducts.
To those considering G-Loc compounds I would just make sure you get the right compound and install those cooling ducts!
I was able to pick up a set of barely used StopTech rotors and Hawk DTC-60 pads from a past Boss owner so I will try those out next, with the cooling ducts installed of course.
DTC60 is closer to an R16 than an R12. Cooling will help with any track compound.
 
Shouldn't have to do anything to the rotors, but you might want to run an abbreviated re-bedding when you swap the track pads back in.

What I've found so far with Carbotechs up to XP10 and G-locs up to R10 is that if you can live with the dust (you will get this) and a little noise (not always present), rotor wear rates aren't much worse than running Hawk HPS (and way better than HP+). 12's are a little more abrasive in street driving, but still nowhere near HP+.


Norm
I run R10's all the time but I do not DD. Likely going to R16's on a 340 tire to see how it works. S550 has too much grip even on basic suspension for tracks like Sebring.
 

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