Hawk Plus back to stock pads

[TDL]

Swapped back to the OEM pp pads, had Hawk+ track pads on for 2 years. There was so much flake & build up in the caliper I couldn't get the pads out and had to remove the caliper. Rotors are... not great. This is 4 or 5 track days. 4k total miles track and street. Doing a road trip and probably won't put the Hawks back on after.

ANYWAY after being used to instant bite, my stock pads feel like they only nibble and I need noticeably more brake pressure. I honestly cannot recall how the stock set up felt - possible I need to adjust something? Did my best to clean the pads and rotors. Stock pads had maybe 4k easy miles on them and 0 track days.

 

[blacksheep-1]

when you run cars on racetracks, you must maintain them as such, if this was an actual race car those brakes would've been taken apart and inspected at the end of every event and also during the event. The brakes would've been bled after each on track session. Every decent track pad will do the same thing, they will create debris, the Padgids make the inside of the wheel look like it has been sandblasted, all that is normal.

 

[TDL]

when you run cars on racetracks, you must maintain them as such, if this was an actual race car thos ebrakes would've been taken apart and inspected at the end of every event and also during the event. The brakes would've been bled after each on track session. Every decent track pad will do the same thing, they will create debris, the Padgets make the inside of the wheel look like it has been sandblasted, all that is normal.

Brake fluid has been kept fresh for every event. Same w engine oil. I should be much quicker on the pads after working thru it this first time. Also discovered passenger front Hawk brake pad didn't have a backing plate on it and has hairline cracks in the pad... which proves your point!

And stock pads are working just fine- not sure if they had to bed in or what but tested them again today on an empty straight road and almost made myself puke

 

[jchady]

Brake fluid has been kept fresh for every event. Same w engine oil. I should be much quicker on the pads after working thru it this first time. Also discovered passenger front Hawk brake pad didn't have a backing plate on it and has hairline cracks in the pad... which proves your point!

And stock pads are working just fine- not sure if they had to bed in or what but tested them again today on an empty straight road and almost made myself puke

I sent a measage to Hawk on their website and someone got back to me and was real helpful in selecting a new pad as the Blues weren't working for me.

Looking at the various compounds if you were doing Track Days, the +'s are the wrong pad, they were designed for more autocross type scenarios where the brake temps aren't as high.

You should message them, they'll ask about your car and driving style and will recommend a pad that will hold up for what you are doing.

 

[Apexpny]

BS1 is spot on. Even though I'm only doing hpde, I still tear down the brakes, inspect, clean, then bleed them after every event. Self preservation will not allow me to skip this step.

 

[TDL]

Overheating / boiling fluid I've always taken seriously & don't cheap out on fluid (motul 660) but it makes sense to inspect the pads with them out of the caliper.

What's your check list? Cracks, misaligned backing pads, general cleanliness of the system & pad thickness?

 

[Apexpny]

Overheating / boiling fluid I've always taken seriously & don't cheap out on fluid (motul 660) but it makes sense to inspect the pads with them out of the caliper.

What's your check list? Cracks, misaligned backing pads, general cleanliness of the system & pad thickness?

Everything you listed should be checked in addition to inspecting your pistons to make sure the seals aren't leaking and inspect the rotors for cracks. After several events, the rotors will start to get micro cracking which is fine but when a crack starts spreading toward the edge of the rotor, it's time to replace them. I also check torque on caliper bolts and suspension while I'm in there. Finish it off with corner bleeding the system.

Note: Your pads may look to have some uneven wear but that is normal if you're running solid rotors.

 

[Apexpny]

Everything you listed should be checked in addition to inspecting your pistons to make sure the seals aren't leaking and inspect the rotors for cracks. After several events, the rotors will start to get micro cracking which is fine but when a crack starts spreading toward the edge of the rotor, it's time to replace them. I also check torque on caliper bolts and suspension while I'm in there. Finish it off with corner bleeding the system.

Note: Your pads may look to have some uneven wear but that is normal if you're running solid rotors.

I'd also like to add my experience with using street pads. My first season running hpde I used HP Plus and they seemed to work ok but as I got faster, I started really pushing the heat range limits of that compound. During one of my post event inspections I discovered severe cracking in the pad material and it was even starting to delaminate from the backing plate. I overheated these pads so bad it was literally falling apart as I pulled them out of the caliper. If I didn't do my post inspection, I might not have caught this before putting the car back on track.