I stand by Carbotechs. Whether it's my S2000 or heavy E90, they've done great is hard lapping all day long. Depending on the car, XP10s in front and XP8s in the back work well for most. You can call them and they'll recommend the right pad. Their super noisy for street use but brilliant on the track.
2500 pads are a great pad, I dd those and have tracked with them. Carbotech makes great track pads that can be driven on the street, have a set on the Z06 and they take a beating at the track.
Pads: there are lots of options, of course. Generally speaking, the better performance a pad offers, the harder it will be on rotors. I like Pagid a lot, as well as Mintex. Akebono makes some nice ceramic pads that offer no dust and reasonable performance. I prefer a really aggressive pad. Most people underestimate that the pads are your biggest, easiest brake upgrade. My favorite pad is Carbotech. They are out of NC. The panther pad is almost a race brake pad. Constant squealing, lots of dust, and you have to warm them up to get them to work. But when you step on it, you're thankful for seat belts.
I ran carbotechs on my mkV, they are absolutely fantastic for the track. A bit scary on the street totally cold but very livable if you make sure to warm them up.
I was running Carbotech Xp12s in the front and XP10s in the rear. That and a good fluid is all it needs, but it's a relatively heavy car so it will take a toll on tires and brakes. Also, MDM (stability control) on the competition pack equipped models allows for quite a bit of of slip (yaw) before intrevening, which is nice whether is a novice driver or just wanting to approach the limit in a safer way. Tires are somewhat pricey especially with the 19" wheels, but not excessively so. A set of PSSs will run around $1400. Oil changes, DIY, are about $150 or so. Spark plugs should be changed at about 20K mile intervals. The only problem I had was a bad evaporator for the A/C which was replaced under warranty (book value on the job is about 9 hours). It's a great daily driver, except for the gas mileage and especially the range. It has a relatively small tank and you'll barely get close to 300 miles per tank. That's the most frustrating bit about it. I do wish it had a slightly bigger tank. The sound is great. It's addictive especially with a nice exhaust system (I highly recommend the M Performance exhaust).
However I have Carbotech brake pads, the 1521's for the street and then for the track day I had XP12 (front) XP10 (rear). Pads are compatible with the rotor, and I had the track pads well bedded in.
nobody mentioned Carbotech 1521 yet? they are pricey but work really well for a DD and have low dust.
Carbotech XP10 Front Pads Only - USED - $45 shipped to U.S. lower 48 -these are proper endurance racing pads (popular in Spec Miata, Spec E30, etc), I wouldn't try to use these on the street -used for 2 track days on my '09 TDI -11.6mm of friction material remaining (approx 85%)
Carbotech Bobcats are an excellent performance oriented street pad, very quiet, great longevity, and fairly low dust.
Driving with the Carbotech 1521(front) for 3 weeks,now. They,definitely,don't have the OEM grasp and power. For everyday driving, they're ok, however... The big plus,no dust,no dust at all.
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