Brake pads Carbotech or Hawk Performance
On my 20th, I swapped to Hawk HPS within a couple of months of having the car. Now, after 40K miles on the pads, I find that they dust considerably less than stock, stop at least as well as OEM, and work well when cold.
I've had HPS' on my car for two years and I can say quite certainly what you say is SO not true. They are def. low dust and have performed quote well for me at umerous track events and are EXCELLENT on the street.
If you want them even touchier get some upgraded pads. I highly recommend Hawk HPS.
The top of the scale on streetable pads are full racing compounds that work good enough cold to be usable on the street. Ferodo DS-2500 and Carbotech Panther Plus are in this category. They can be very dusty and are often noisey, but they have the most grip you can get on the street.
What Wal said. I replaced pads with Hawk HPS which is a compromise street/performance pad so the feel of the brakes was changed. 1. Brake Fade reduced 2. Initial pad bite not as effective as stock pads - once warmed up OK, thats a trade off with ... 3. Reduced dust easier to manage 4. More pedal pressure required, this was due to larger rotor and the caliper sitting further out. This showed up a limitation of the rubber caliper bushings used in the stock calipers. Once replaced with metal bushings (Tyrolsports bushings) brake feel significantly improved. At the end of the day if you are talking about stopping in a shorter distance then many factors come into play including pads, tyres, weather etc. Assuming all the other factors are addressed then the A8 upgrade will give you some extra breaking \"power\" but the significant improvement is in reduced fade or repitition of that stopping power. The trade off is that the more fade resistant or race application the pads are then the less initial performance until optimal pad temp is reached. The HPS are a good compromise and I know that if I plant the foot the car will halt with this upgrade better than stock.
It will brake much better! Get the hawks over the Mintex Red Box.
I picked up a pair of Hawk performance pads, the street ones, not the real aggressive ones. Got them from Tire Rack for about $90. They are the best tho. Great for the money.
the HP+ is way dustier than most so this builds up quicker and squeels more. it's a pretty damn grippy pad that requires very little heat to work.....good thing when used on the street.
Actually the +'s are a street pad and "occasional" track useage. They lean more to the track side of things like you said. And yes they do squeal a lot and are quite dusty in my experience.
You would get far, far better brake performance from Hawk HPS or EBC Green pads on flat, OEM replacement rotors. Those decorative rotors might look kind of cool, but they won't stop you any shorter, and could extend your stopping distance some. (Actually, to someone who understands the engineering of brake systems, rotors like those look really stupid.) And Mintex Red Box is a decent OEM quality pad with low dust, but they aren't very fade resistant and they aren't very grippy. They are comparable to stock or parts store house brand pads in performance, just less dusty.
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