Thoughts on the new EBC RPX pads

[EF1]

This write up is long over due. I was planning on trying these pads back in March and due to some personal issues I had to cancel a trip to NCM for my birthday. I didn’t get on track until late July.

Okay, first for a little back ground on the car. It is my 2011 Mustang GT with S550 6 piston Brembo calipers and 15” GiroDisks on the front and factory S197 calipers with 13.8” inch EBC rotors spec’d for the 2014 Shelby GT 500. The car puts down ~450 rwhp through a Mantic Twin Disk clutch and a close ratio Tremec T56 Magnum XL to a Ford 8.84” rear end with a Detroit TrueTrac and Ford Performance 4:10 ring and pinion. It is a dual use car(street/track), but primarily track driven at present.

Previous pads were GLoc R16 front and R12 rears. I have always run less rear pad than front, but this time decided to try the same pad compound all the way around. I had a set of EBC BlueStuff pads for the year in case I needed to move to something with a little less bite but have not tried that combination yet.

The first thing you notice while unboxing is that the RPX pads are a quality piece. The backing plates are cut from stainless steel plate. Stainless steel conducts less heat than conventional steel resulting in less heat being transferred to the brake fluid. There may be other pads out there that use stainless backing plates, but this is the first I have come across for the Mustang.

I put 4 track days on the EBC RPX pads. The first two were on the Full Grand Course at The National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park. The second two at Gingerman Raceway a couple of weeks later.

Now for my thoughts after some seat time with them. The feel of the RPX pads was really good. The pads inspire confidence from start to finish on 20-30 minute track sessions. I didn’t have any trouble with over heating. The stopping power is a little better than the previous GLoc pads used. Modulation and feel were very good. The pads were also very quiet without any screeching under light braking when coming back into the paddock. The rears felt stronger than previous set ups, but didn’t feel like they were over powering the fronts. Overall I really like the feel of these pads.

I did manage to wear through the pads on at least the rear passenger side and chewed up a new EBC rotor. The rear rotors and pads were put on when I did a gear swap and have about 1,000 street miles (to break in the gears) and 4 track days. The fronts were put on just before going to NCM in July, so no street miles. The GiroDisks were in good shape so I just cleaned them and installed the pads. I have not had a chance to pull the wheels and check all the pads for wear yet so I am not sure if I had a caliper stick or not yet. I will post an update after pulling the wheels.

 

[biggsy]

Great review and thank you. Seems great for the price! I really would like to try the SR-11 but it seems like not much info on those being released .

 

[EF1]

The SR compounds are available for the S197 cars and the RPX is available for the S550 cars which makes finding pads a challenge for those running calipers from both generations. EBC makes two rear pad shapes for the S197 cars. One for early cars and one for the later cars. The RPX is only available for the earlier cars but does seem to fit the later ones. I just couldn’t find it looking for pads to fit my 2011 rear calipers. I have the part #’s if anyone needs them. Bluestuff rear pads are available For the later S197 cars bI have a set and will try them next.

 

[EF1]

One more thing. The price is pretty good but if they wear fast they aren’t a bargain. I need to pull wheels and inspect wear. I have at least one back that is gone already. I need to determine the cause before coming to a conclusion on pad life.

 

[KazarS197]

One more thing. The price is pretty good but if they wear fast they aren’t a bargain. I need to pull wheels and inspect wear. I have at least one back that is gone already. I need to determine the cause before coming to a conclusion on pad life.

Thanks for the write up. I have the EP-1s (f) and blue stuff (r) ready to as backups or start if next year. R12s are definitely not cutting it for the front. Curious about that one sided rear wear.

 

[EF1]

Not sure if the wear is one sided yet or not. I can see fairly deep grooves in the outside face of the rear passenger side rotor. I haven’t checked the other wheels yet. An old back injury has flared up keeping me from working on the car. Hopefully the MRI tomorrow will give some hope.

 

[KazarS197]

Not sure if the wear is one sided yet or not. I can see fairly deep grooves in the outside face of the rear passenger side rotor. I haven’t checked the other wheels yet. An old back injury has flared up keeping me from working on the car. Hopefully the MRI tomorrow will give some hope.

No rush buddy. Take care of yourself. Good luck with the MRI! I hope it's nothing serious that can be worked out without major intervention. I worked rehab and brain injury along with getting pulled to ortho for many years. Back stuff is no fun. I tech my car a week or 2 before a track weekend knowing that the leaning over inside the engine bay and crawling underneath jacks up my lumbar, not the same day , usually a day or 2 later I'm messed up for about 4 or 5 days. Mine finally released Thursday night before Saturday.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Hope your scan goes well! I have a set of these pads in my track bag for a while now. Wanted to try them out, but never got around to it. In for any news.

 

[EF1]

Scan results aren't good, waiting on a neurologist referral. The only good things is with a new prescription I can move a little better. I started pulling the rear brakes and neither side looks good after 4 track days and 1,000 street miles. Pictures to come.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Sorry to hear that and hope it works out ok. Maybe stay away from anything physical for a bit!!?? When on the track are you using TC?

 

[EF1]

I am taking it as easy as I can. Car is sitting on the lift just swapping brakes and wheels so I can drop it off for some custom brake ducting on the front. Doing a little at a time and resting in between. A local shop is going to 3d scan the front end and 3d print me some hard connectors ducts from the air inlet holes back into the wheel wells out of carbon infused material. It should make changing the corrugated hoses much easier. I keep munching them on my tires and have to pull the front end each time I change them. This will smooth out the air flow and allow me to use much shorter hoses that can be changed by just taking a wheel off.

I run traction control full off and it looks like all four rear pads are completely gone. I ran my last session at Gingerman last month on the stainless backing plates.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Hmm... I have a set of Pagid RSL 29 pads on the rear and they must have at least 10 track days on them and are about 50% worn. Only difference is that I still run the stock disks in the rear. Do have a set of Gt500 rears that I have not had time to installing yet.

like the idea of the 3D scanning for the brake ducts.

 

[EF1]

GT500 rear rotors. First time trying these pads. GLocs last 10+ days.

 

[EF1]

Pad life life increased after going to bigger rotors. I think lower brake temps helped.

 

[KazarS197]

Scan results aren't good, waiting on a neurologist referral. The only good things is with a new prescription I can move a little better. I started pulling the rear brakes and neither side looks good after 4 track days and 1,000 street miles. Pictures to come.

Good luck with the neuro referral. Thanks for the rear brake update.

 

[EF1]

Okay here are the pads and rotors at install:

Pads next to a new set of GLocs prior to install. New EBC rotors at install. These looked really good.



After 1,000 street miles and 4 track days. The pads are left side top and right side bottom. There is absolutely no pad left on the left and only 1 mm or so on the right. I should've checked the pads more throughout the event, but they were so new I didn't think I had to. I am accustomed to rear pads lasting at least 10 track days, so I didn't think about it, but still my fault I'm buying rotors again.



The guide pins were free on both calipers and with wear this even I don't see a caliper issue. I have not pulled the fronts, but I do see more rotor wear than I an accustomed to when looking through the wheel. I really liked the feel of these pads, but I can't live with the pad life and rotor wear. I know you need to try new things, but I don't think another pair of these are in my future. I'll provide an update after pulling the fronts.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Thanks for the update... that's a bit of a disappointment though, in for news on the fronts.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I will be interested to see your fronts and I had just the opposite situation, my rotors all looked phenomenal and the pads wore super well, but I was on SR11s, their sintered pad, so not apples to apples. I do wonder about running a lower temp pad in the rear as I was going to try RP1s in front and Blues in the rear, but you have peaked my interest as I have used G-Locs for years and they have been my go to pad. One thing I did not see you mention was whether you were going faster on the EBCs. One of the nuances of track life is once you start really going quickly consumables wear sooner and one has a tendency to question the life of some items. Just a thought, and likely not the case ,but a good friend of mine ( who was also a student ) is going through this because his pads ( not EBCs ) are almost worn out, whereas last year they went all Spring , Summer and Fall. He is noticeably quicker and that contributes a lot to his wear.

 

[EF1]

I will be interested to see your fronts and I had just the opposite situation, my rotors all looked phenomenal and the pads wore super well, but I was on SR11s, their sintered pad, so not apples to apples. I do wonder about running a lower temp pad in the rear as I was going to try RP1s in front and Blues in the rear, but you have peaked my interest as I have used G-Locs for years and they have been my go to pad. One thing I did not see you mention was whether you were going faster on the EBCs. One of the nuances of track life is once you start really going quickly consumables wear sooner and one has a tendency to question the life of some items. Just a thought, and likely not the case ,but a good friend of mine ( who was also a student ) is going through this because his pads ( not EBCs ) are almost worn out, whereas last year they went all Spring , Summer and Fall. He is noticeably quicker and that contributes a lot to his wear.

Good point on on speeds increasing wear. Lap times were not much different on these tracks from before. It was the first two outings this year and the car only saw 3 track days last year due to transmission issues and getting hit in October. Just getting back out there and relearning the car with the new gearing.

 

[EF1]

Okay, I changed the front wheels out and took a closer look at the brakes. Front pads look to be a little less than half worn after 4 track days. I put the pads on my previously used GiroDisks just before putting it on the trailer to go the NCM, so no street miles on the front. The fronts faired far better than the rears. I am wondering if not getting enough heat in the rears caused the accelerated wear? The street miles to break in the gear set were easy miles around town and the rears do not get as hot as the fronts on track. Anyone have any ideas?