Cool Carbon Brake Pad Set

[Richard135i]

Hiya Fellow 1ers,

I've read the post on here from a few days ago in regards to brake dust on alloys. I'm really not a fan of having to clean my wheels all the time. I use my own product which works a treat but I have been doing some research into how to prevent it in the 1st place.

What I have come across is Cool Carbon Brake Pads, they seem to reduce brake dust quite noticeable. But before I take the $275US (incl. delivery) plunger I wanna hear if any other 1ers in Australia have tried these or know of someone running the set.

Love to hear feedback and if anyone wants to jump on my order the guys I've been dealing with seem pretty reliable (Auto Individual).

[05C4R]

just to not answer your question directly, i switched to a low dust semi ceramic Hawk pad and they work really well, however, you still get dust just not as much. they are available in Australia for similar or less money fitted. they brake hard too.

[timhatimay]

I just installed a set of cool carbon pads this weekend. I have about 500 mi on them so far, and they are great! I have definitely noticed a decrease in brake dust. I haven't gotten to test their fading and performance benefits yet, so I can't comment on that...but they are actually better driving than the stock set. My OEM pads squealed all of the time, and these are very quiet so far. They are also much more linear and less grabby than stock, so I find it more predictable and easy to drive on the street. Also, when you look at the pad, they are shaped and contain all backing plates/shims just like the oem, and they really seem like a quality piece!

In short, I really like the pads so far, and while improving the dust, they also drive great. I've heard tons of praise for their actual performance, so hopefully they do that as well.

Tim

[takahashi]

I just worry about other pads with the brittle ceramic cap on the piston.

It was proven easy to crack under heat, brought on easier with a high temp pad.

[timhatimay]

Originally Posted by takahashi

I just worry about other pads with the brittle ceramic cap on the piston.

It was proven easy to crack under heat, brought on easier with a high temp pad.

I was concerned about this too, but it may not be that "easy" to crack. Almost all of those that experienced cracking were doing full racing events for the most part, not just a weekend HPDE (berk, scott-retro, etc.). Also, the cracking for almost all of them were when using modified pads I believe. I think all except one that reported it on the stocks, were using pads with no backing plates, or modified backing plates that didn't line up perfectly. I could be wrong if there were a few others. My mind was eased much more to see that these backplates, shims, and pads are shaped and look exactly like the stock. I also think the heat should similar, as the car is still generating the heat, just that the pads will keep their properties for higher temperatures. Maybe the pad fade might convince you to stop the session though and save the brakes if you are still on the OEM! I could be wrong though, and this is my non-expert opinion, so hopefully I don't ruin my pistons and inserts at a HPDE or auto-x!

Tim

[takahashi]

pad temp of over 400 degree is very easy to achieve in Australia in a non competitive track days. Just 10 laps at Sandown WAY has cracked his pistons. It is a modified pad alright but it is made to fit perfectly. I am not sure but shim is there too - don't know if that makes the difference.

You may be right. And I hope you are right. I just don't want to spend $5K to find out.

[adrian@vishnu]

Originally Posted by takahashi

pad temp of over 400 degree is very easy to achieve in Australia in a non competitive track days. Just 10 laps at Sandown WAY has cracked his pistons. It is a modified pad alright but it is made to fit perfectly. I am not sure but shim is there too - don't know if that makes the difference.

You may be right. And I hope you are right. I just don't want to spend $5K to find out.

You would have to be driving harder than I am willing to on public roads to crack the pistons. Track is entirely different. I have another car I use at the track with race brakes, and I do not plan to use my 135i at the track. Therefore I would be willing to try different pads to reduce dust. Dust is painful int he 135i with standard pads... I can have black wheels in a day after a wash.

Also, the actual amount of heat getting intot he piston is more depednant on driving style than actual pads used. The heat is set by the amount of braking done to the car (converting kinetic energy to heat). The difference between race pads and street pads is that street pads will fade at higher temps (losing friction properties), and race pads continue to work at high temps. So you have chance of damaging pistons with race pads, but that is only because you would have given up driving hard with the street pads as they would have stopped working.... but race pads driven in the same way as street pads will have no more heat than street pads.

Also, the shims/plates will prevent heat from getting from the pad to the piston. I personally prefer to run no shims in my race car, as it reduces sponginess in the pedal and reduces pedal travel, but only if the caliper/piston is up to the extra heat it will get by removing them. I believe they are put there in cars normally to reduce squealing.

Adrian

[bradford]

Originally Posted by timhatimay

I was concerned about this too, but it may not be that "easy" to crack. Almost all of those that experienced cracking were doing full racing events for the most part, not just a weekend HPDE (berk, scott-retro, etc.). Also, the cracking for almost all of them were when using modified pads I believe. I think all except one that reported it on the stocks, were using pads with no backing plates, or modified backing plates that didn't line up perfectly. I could be wrong if there were a few others. My mind was eased much more to see that these backplates, shims, and pads are shaped and look exactly like the stock. I also think the heat should similar, as the car is still generating the heat, just that the pads will keep their properties for higher temperatures. Maybe the pad fade might convince you to stop the session though and save the brakes if you are still on the OEM! I could be wrong though, and this is my non-expert opinion, so hopefully I don't ruin my pistons and inserts at a HPDE or auto-x!

Tim

To clear up confusion: I destroyed the entire front braking system during 3 days of HPDE only. I did not use modified brake pads, I used off the shelf, purpose-designed Hawk DTC-70 pads with the correct backing plate. It's strictly a question of heat. There's insufficient cooling and/or thermal mass in the rotors to effectively dissipate the heat generated.

My ceramic piston inserts cracked, the whole calipers turned brown and the enamel began to flake off.

Caveat: I brake only when I can see the whites of God's eyes.

[timhatimay]

Originally Posted by bradford

To clear up confusion: I destroyed the entire front braking system during 3 days of HPDE only. I did not use modified brake pads, I used off the shelf, purpose-designed Hawk DTC-70 pads with the correct backing plate. It's strictly a question of heat. There's insufficient cooling and/or thermal mass in the rotors to effectively dissipate the heat generated.

My ceramic piston inserts cracked, the whole calipers turned brown and the enamel began to flake off.

Caveat: I brake only when I can see the whites of God's eyes.

I think this is a good point, and really the problem with the 135 is the lack of cooling and rotor size for such a heavy car. This is what I meant by the car generating the heat (during braking), not the different style of pad so much. If this is true however, the type of pad will make less difference in saving your pistons aside from the fact that the OEM's may fade sooner indicating a problem. I wasn't confused however, because the initial members that reported and experienced this problem were racing teams, that used modified pads, but it seems there have been some stock and now others (including you on the Hawks) that are experiencing the problem too. So maybe it is easier to crack than I give credit for.

Maybe it will make a difference for the OP, whether or not he/she will be attending auto-x, HPDE, or racing events where this possibility of damaging the brakes is more important. If not, I think there would be much less the chance of a problem with any properly fitting street or S/T pad, but I guess there is always a chance.

Tim