Track Pads

[Ruffan]

Hey everyone. I'm looking to get some feedback on brake pads for weekend track events. I've used Carbotech pads to this point, but they were mixed use (street/track) and were only marginally better than stock on the track (still overheated).

I'm trying to decide between the HT-10 or DTC-60 compounds. Also, does anyone have any experience using track pads on the front and stock on the rear? On the track it feels like the rears are barely contributing to braking performance, and I question the need to upgrade those pads. It's really just a matter of spending an extra $200 because it's clearly not difficult to replace the rear pads.

Lastly, how annoying is it to get to the track early and replace street pads with track pads on the front prior to an event?

Thanks everyone.

[SV Concepts II]

I don't have any personal experience with track pads, but you should check out the Porterfield Race compound pads, they are a super high performance pad, but the price reflects that.

You shouldn't have too much trouble running track pads in the front with street pads in the rear. Most of the load is taken care of in the fronts so...

[Groundpilot]

In my experience, you can drive your car to the event with track pads , but drive slow and bed them in at the track, not on the street.

[bradford]

I have have used HT-10s for years. In the 135i I am going to be using DTC-70s based on the recommendation of a bunch of friends who converted from the HT-10s. Apparently they're as good as the HT-10s (which are incredible) but easier on rotors and have better modulation characteristics.

[bradford]

Originally Posted by M3 09 AND135I 11

In my experience, you can drive your car to the event with track pads , but drive slow and bed them in at the track, not on the street.

You can't really bed track pads in on the track if there are other cars on track. In order to get track pads smoking, you've got to do like ten 20-80-20-80-20-etc threshold braking decelerations The corners and traffic get in the way of doing this effectively.

I find that the rural road which usually surround racetracks in the US are perfect for this sort of exercise. =)

[///M1]

I wouldn't bed track pads on the track. See this write-up, I would repeat it (after the brakes have fully cooled off) as you are bedding them in an old rotor.

http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm

[Ruffan]

I think I'm going to buy a second set of front rotors which will be my track set, and use them exclusively with track pads. This will eliminate the need to re-bed the brakes each time I go to the track. I guess I'll just swap out the rotors/pads prior to driving to an event.

So nobody has any input on DTC-60 vs. DTC-70?

[m3bs]

Originally Posted by Ruffan

I think I'm going to buy a second set of front rotors which will be my track set, and use them exclusively with track pads. This will eliminate the need to re-bed the brakes each time I go to the track. I guess I'll just swap out the rotors/pads prior to driving to an event.

So nobody has any input on DTC-60 vs. DTC-70?

That's really the way to do it if you don't have a dedicated track car. Bedding pads/rotors is a real pain unless you have an open track to play on with no traffic.

I didn't have good luck with Porterfield on my M3. I managed to kill a set of R4 pads in a single 30 min. track session.

I tried DTC-70 one time. I didn't feel like they worked any better than the HT-10, but DTC's were more expensive and didn't last as long. HT-14 had too much bite for my car, so I went back to HT-10.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by Ruffan

Hey everyone. I'm looking to get some feedback on brake pads for weekend track events. I've used Carbotech pads to this point, but they were mixed use (street/track) and were only marginally better than stock on the track (still overheated).

I'm trying to decide between the HT-10 or DTC-60 compounds. Also, does anyone have any experience using track pads on the front and stock on the rear? On the track it feels like the rears are barely contributing to braking performance, and I question the need to upgrade those pads. It's really just a matter of spending an extra $200 because it's clearly not difficult to replace the rear pads.

Lastly, how annoying is it to get to the track early and replace street pads with track pads on the front prior to an event?

Thanks everyone.

DTC-60 or 70, you will love them!

[Spec Volcanic]

I use Blue 9012 on my race car and love them, If I was try out aftermarket pads for my 135i I would be trying the HT-10 first...

It the end I will come down to feel and personal preference

[Ruffan]

Thanks Spec. I assume you race a Miata?

I went ahead and bought the DTC-70/60 combo after numerous discussions (Harold, I'll buy the next set from you). It sounds like they should perform similarly if not a bit better, be a bit nicer to my rotors, but may wear out a bit faster than the HT-10s. I also got a second set of stock front rotors to pair with the track pads. Despite all of the talk, I think the stock rotors will probably perform just as well as the BMW Performance rotors or any other stock-size slotted or drilled rotor. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

3 Track days coming up in April: Lime Rock, NJMP & Monticello

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by Ruffan

Thanks Spec. I assume you race a Miata?

I went ahead and bought the DTC-70/60 combo after numerous discussions (Harold, I'll buy the next set from you). It sounds like they should perform similarly if not a bit better, be a bit nicer to my rotors, but may wear out a bit faster than the HT-10s. I also got a second set of stock front rotors to pair with the track pads. Despite all of the talk, I think the stock rotors will probably perform just as well as the BMW Performance rotors or any other stock-size slotted or drilled rotor. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

3 Track days coming up in April: Lime Rock, NJMP & Monticello

You will love the above combo. Good cold bit, easy on rotors, much lower noise level comparing to the blue and HT compounds, and very good modulation and release.

[Ruffan]

I wanted to give some feedback on my first 2 track days on the Hawk DTC pads. I was at Lime Rock park a few weeks ago, and spent a day at Monticello this past weekend. Lime Rock was rainy and not hard on the brakes at all, so that wasn't much of a test. Monticello on the other hand was.

I was there with Trackacardia (a new club which put on a wonderful event) and the advanced run groups were given a LOT of time on the track. Each of my four runs lasted for at least 35 minutes, with a couple being about 40 mintues. The track is very long with many corners, and many of those are slow corners. This was definitely a great test of braking performance, and I can't say how happy I am with the Hawk pads and STOCK rotors.

I am using a second set of stock rotors which are matched to the Hawk pads. I experienced almost no brake fade which was such a change from the stock setup, or from the use of Carbotech AX6 mixed use pads. I was not being light on the brakes either. They were smoking after one session and I managed to melt the paint from the pad backing plate on both front sets. I think that those who are spending dollars for the BMW performance rotors should know that they probably won't work any better than the stock rotors. They look cool though, if that's what you're going for.

Cooling is obviously an issue as the brakes get hot and stay hot, but the Hawk pads worked really well at the elevated temps. My fluid must have still had some air in it because the pedal did give a bit after one particularly intense session, but the ATE Super Blue that I use did well overall.

I can't compare the DTC-70s to HT-10s as I never used the HT-10s, but I would recomend these pads for those who want real braking performance at the track and don't mind swapping pads prior to driving events.

EDIT: I wanted to add some comments on the performance of the pad. I actually kept the race pads on for the 2 weeks between Lime Rock and Monticello and drove the car a few times with them on. They definitely are not as grabby as the stock pads when cold, but they work just fine and actually didn't make any noise (I assume because they were bedded correctly). I felt absolutely fine driving the 2 hours each way to the tracks with these pads on. On the track the pads seem to have great bite, but they aren't on/off like some race pads. They were pretty easy to modulate and when I wanted to I could easily induce the ABS to test the threshold braking level.

[Ruffan]

**Limp Mode - Engine Cooldown**

[techS54]

Hey folks, I just read your thread and after a few track events with overheated stock brakes I think I'll be switching to HT-10's. I'm currently running ATE super blue fluid but I still get a mushy pedal after 3-4 laps in a session so I have to hold back and be conservative and that's just not cool. Did you see a big improvement in braking with the pads? Was there a big change in feel? Do any of you run brake cooling ducts/hose out to the wheels? What works to keep from getting soft pedal? I'm thinking about building brake cooling duct kit if I have too. Any info would help, thanks in advance.

[Ruffan]

I am not running any extra cooling ducts as of now. The improvement from stock pads to the DTC-70/60 combo was awesome. I really didn't experience any brake fade. The fluid did still get hot and may have boiled a bit, but at their hottest, the pedal only was very slightly softer than usual.

I'd suggest going one step at a time to see what works. I feel confident sticking with what I have now which is the Hawk race pads, ATE Super Blue and a set of stock rotors matched to the pads.

[techS54]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot. Running Streets of Willow this weekend, we'll see how it improves.