brake pad/shoe reviews

eyeballs

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2012 Mazda 2 Touring SG 5MT
Nothing like this exists yet (that I've seen) here, and my OE pads are getting low. My 2 is mainly a spirited daily driver that sees a mountain run once a month or so. I have another car for track stuff, so I'm looking for something with dust and fade resistance no worse than stock and pedal feel at least as firm as stock. So far I'm thinking of trying centric posi-quiet or maybe the corksport pads. If the new hawk 5.0 street pads or some other performance pad is REALLY good and doesn't dust worse than stock (probably impossible) than I might be willing to spend more.

That being said, feel free to post a track pad review for others to see if you wish but let's keep it mazda2 specific.
 
I have a friend that had Hawk HP Plus pads on his Miata. The brake dust caked and stuck to his wheels really bad - took sand blasting to get it loose.
 
HP+ and HPS are two completely different animals. HP+ was designed for track days where you don't care about dusting, HPS does dust more than stock, but has a much nicer grip especially when they get hot. Honestly I think if you're looking for a low-dust solution OEM is still going to be your best bet. If you can put up with washing your wheels more often than never I'd go for an upgraded pad. I'm switching mine out for the HPS/5.0 soon.
 
Eyeballs, As you know I use HP+ on the 2 for track. Other than that I would just run the stock pads. I tried the Hawk ceramics since we liked them in another car we were testing, but they aren't that good for the 2. I will put them back in after thr track day just to save my HP+, but I wasn't thrilled with them and would rather have the OEM.
 
On my other car, I run Carbotech 1512, and it is a fantastic street sport / autox pad. Works great in any ambient temperature with awesome initial bite as well as subsequent brake torque. It dusts slightly more than my OE pads, but the brake dust are totally non-toxic, non-acidic, non-abrasive, and super easy to clean. I can have the brake dust coating my rims all winter long, but in the spring time when I give it a wash, it just wipes off clean with a water / car wash detergent mix -- it does NOT eat into the rim at all. I've taken them out for light track use, and they held up very, very well. Of course, that doesn't make them suitable for regular track use, but for light track use, they are entirely adequate. And for autox, I'd say they are down right fantastic.

The 1512 is available for our front brake pads, and I swear I used to see them being available for our rear drum brakes (as brake shoes) as well, but apparently the rear shoes are no longer available. The only down side is, Carbotech pads are anything but cheap. But I guess you gotta pay top dollars for top performance.
 
Been running the HPS pads in the 2 quite a while now. Zero complaints, even in the cold, aside from elevated noise levels and slightly decreased bite. Rotors still look fairly new (though I did throw new centric rotors when I swapped to these pads), don't seem to fade much (don't track, but definitely hit some hilly backroads), and dust is about on par, maybe slightly more than OEM.
 
Corksport pads. Had them on for about 6 days now. They have a spongy, more relaxed feel compared to the stock pads. Today I re-bedded them just to be sure (65-20mph stops until I got significant fade, I got to #5) on the way to work. Yes, here in north GA that is possible. During lunch I did a 70 min mountain run (richard russel scenic hwy and 129/blood mtn). Performance was consistent, and I noticed no fading during the run (though I never drove harder than about 7/10ths at any time). When I got home from work this afternoon, I could still see the cross hatch on the rotors and my wheels were CLEAN.

So basically, these pads are super gentle, have a consistent spongy feel, and work just fine under spirited driving conditions. Those of you who hate cleaning wheels and doing brake jobs will love them. I don't.
 
Hawk HPS:

The good: Quick, predictable stops, with responsive - but not overzealous - pedal feel. Pretty easy to modulate.
The bad: Wears quickly in a daily, with TONS of dust. Mine are nearly done for after 20k highway miles. Invest in good wheel cleaner.
 
20k and you're done? I've got close to 20k km and they're still above 70%. Mind you, I don't really use the brakes often anyways.
 
Twenty thousand miles. I'm in the USA.

They're starting to make noise. I think they will last until spring, probably another 5k-6k miles.
 
Yeah, I thought I made the distinction, but I guess I omitted that part. If I'm close to 50% life now (which is fairly realistic), I'd still say they wear pretty good for a "performance" pad.

Are you on stock rotors, or did you upgrade those as well? I haven't taken a look in awhile, but my centrics still look fairly new.
 
Whoa whoa whoa... Hold the phone.



% of what?


Measure the pad friction material with a tire tread depth gauge(or end of a set of measuring calipers).


Most pads start at 10-12/32(8 to 9.5mm metric) or so. Normally want to replace by 2/32(1.5mm). Sooner for track use.


I'd like to see actual measurements taken, not guesses if we're going to compare one to another.


I think the HPS 5.0 is what I'll buy before next autocross season.
 
Let me know. I'm planning on re-doing my brakes in the spring as well. If the HPS 5.0s are a noticeable upgrade from HPS, I'm willing to give Hawk another chance. They were great pads, just not ideal for how I drive most of the time.
 
In my recent quest to get a stoptech pad on my car (I loved the last 2 sets I used on other cars) I spoke to a super helpful dude at centric who figured out a fiesta pad should fit, even though it's a bit thicker. Part number is 309.14540. I'm going to order it and I'll update with fitment results.
 
In my recent quest to get a stoptech pad on my car (I loved the last 2 sets I used on other cars) I spoke to a super helpful dude at centric who figured out a fiesta pad should fit, even though it's a bit thicker. Part number is 309.14540. I'm going to order it and I'll update with fitment results.
Interesting! Thank you for looking into this (and volunteering to be our collective guinea pig (yes) )! Please keep us posted about your findings!
 
Whoa whoa whoa... Hold the phone.



% of what?


Measure the pad friction material with a tire tread depth gauge(or end of a set of measuring calipers).


Most pads start at 10-12/32(8 to 9.5mm metric) or so. Normally want to replace by 2/32(1.5mm). Sooner for track use.


I'd like to see actual measurements taken, not guesses if we're going to compare one to another.


I think the HPS 5.0 is what I'll buy before next autocross season.

Last I checked, which was about a month and a bit ago, I was at 5mm.
 
I tracked a fresh set of CS pads about a 2 weeks after installing them. While the 'spongy' feel versus stock was a bit of a surprise, I felt like it helped me modulate the brakes a little better and in general be smoother on the track. I don't have the boner that the automotive press seems to have for a really firm initial pedal. My soft-ish feeling WRX Stoptechs make that heap stop on a dime and give you 9 cents change. The CS pads didn't fade or roast, but dust was significant. Thankfully, I don't really care. In the interest of full disclosure: I did run brake ducts due to paranoia.

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