My Camaro is my daily driver and my weekend racer. Last season I switched from stock to Hawk HP+ to NAPA dura stops. Stock didn't have enough. Hawks worked good but really dusty and they squiled like crazy. The NAPA are just like stock maybe better can't really tell. I need a pad that would work really good on the track and have good stopping power but I don't want it to sound like crap. I don't care about the dust. I don't know much about pads or brakes.

 

Maybe the Hawk HPS?

Id like to know myslef.

Kyle

 

HPS will do. I'm curious to hear if anyone has tried the Carbotech Bobcat pads though. Supposed to cater to the same crowd as HPS buyers.

 

Carbotech Panther Plus are a damned good pad.

 

If he thought the HP+ dusted too much, I don't think he's going to be much/any happier with the Panther Plus

 

You know as well as I that you can't have a performance pad without dust.

Nature of the beast ...

A pad that doesn't dust, isn't very aggressive.

 

I have the hps and they work GREAT!! They surprised the hell out of me the first time i slammed on them after the install.

 

Oops, I thought he was complaining about the dust from HP+, missed the last line.

The title says auto-x, the message says track, and what works best for one is not necessarily right for the other. Have you considered a set of pads & rotors for the track, and one set for street/auto-x?

 

www.carbotecheng.com/prod-ct-compounds.htm

CARBOTECH PANTHER PLUS (1106): A high torque brake compound delivering reliable and consistent performance over a very wide operating temperature range (150F to 1250F). Advanced compound matrix provides an excellent initial "bite", high coefficient of friction (0.54-0.56), and very progressive brake modulation and release characteristics. Panther Plus offers high fade resistance, rotor friendliness at all temperatures, and excellent cold stopping power. As a result, Panther Plus is an excellent choice for beginner-novice lapping day and high performance driver's schools on street driven cars using street or R-compound tires, eliminating the need to change brake pads at the track. Panther Plus has gained tremendous popularity with SCCA Prosolo/Solo2 competitors for its fantastic bite and modulation. In addition, Panther Plus has seen great success as a race-only pad on lighter improved touring and vintage race cars (ITC, etc). Not recommended as a daily-driving street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise.



www.hawkperformance.com/product_features.cfm

HPS - High Performance Street

Hawk Performance HPS compound provides advanced braking characteristics to enhance your driving experience. This unique compound combines the safety and quality of Aerospace design partnered with the braking technology of motorsports.

Features

Extremely low dust
High friction/torque hot or cold
Gentle on rotors
Virtually noise-free
Much improved braking over OE
Long extended pad life

If you take the time to read and research, you will find that the HPS pads is an OEM pad on steriods. It's a good street pad, but will either crumble like a cracker or glaze over under heavy braking (high heat cycles)

The Panther, on he otherhand, is more of a de-tuned track pad ... able to take the heat cycles of heavy breaking.

 

HPS will hold up to solo II style autocross braking without the squeaks the poster is apparently concerned about. I still don't know if he's autocrossing or actually tracking since the title and message say two things, and I'm not even sure I know what kind of track he's talking about when he says it's a weekend track car.

My HP+ only squeak on initial application on cold stops. I'm just waiting for my HP+ to be finished off before I try the Panther Plus, mainly for my slow butt on open track days. Still have just under a tenth of an inch of pad to use up though before the wear indicator. I've exchanged pm's w/trackbird about these pads going back a couple months now in anticipation of trying something different. Not that the HP+ haven't held up relatively well considering my misuse and abuse. I was surprised when I pulled them off this week and saw how much pad was still left. They were tapered a bit, but no strange wear and the rotors (Brembo blanks) still look really good. That's after a dozen auto-x, and 9 twenty minute runs at Road America.

 

What is your rotor wear like with the Hawks? Cutting any groves? Are the pads brittle?

The Hawk Blues I ran really trashed the rotors, making little grooves in the face. Also, the edges crumbled away like a saltine cracker after several heat cycles. I hated to throw away those pads because there was still 25% or so remaining.

Now ... that was 2 years ago Things may've changed ...

 

My HP+'s just wore out (finally....glad to see them go) and my rotors are missing about 3-4mm per side (they are under spec I'm sure, but I added fresh stock pads until I do the upgrade this spring, then it's all going in the trash). The rotors wear evenly, but they wear. They are not grooved up like a Hawk Blue will do (Blues destroy rotors), just worn. I think I have some pictures at home of them (from when I removed the HP+ pads recently). The wear is similar to the wear my Panther Plus/XP's did, just slighly less (it's close though).

 

No grooves. I took a picture of the rotor Monday and will post when I get home. Don't know what width the Brembo starts at, but the minimum is 1.209" if I recall, and I'm at ~1.29" (cheap dial caliper). Rear of pad is a bit thinner than the front. So that's 60 autocross runs from me, 60 from my wife (who's much less hard on them), roughly 2.5 hours of Road America, and roughly 4,000 street miles. That was all on street tires, so not as abusive.

Edit, here's a closeup on the rotor