Brake pads Project Mu or Hawk Performance
I really liked the Hawk HPS 5.0s on my WRX. Good enough for the track and plenty comfortable for the street
I put Hawk Performance drilled and slotted on my 2017 STI. Ceramic pads. Have saved my car a couple times when assholes decided to jump the line and do a U-turn in front of me.
I swap mine the day before. They aren't race pads, just hawk hp+. I wouldn't want to daily them, they're loud and dusty but work totally fine on the street so I drive them to my track days
Red stuff are absolutely NOT track worthy. Will fade in like 1 lap. Any pads advertised as "low dust" tend to fade pretty fast. Yellow might be ok but I think they're still more of a performance street pad. Project MU HC+ are a good streetable track pad, maybe the best, use them on my Megane RS, no trouble with 20 mins sessions on high speed tracks and trackday tyres (Yokohama AD09). A little squeel at low speed on track but quiet enough to live with IMO.
I think getting some nice aftermarket brake rotors and hawk pads would be good.
My latest setup is below and works well for the handful of HPDE’s I’ll do each year. Fronts: Hawk DTC-60 pads
Project MU HC+ pads. These have a higher operating temp range than Ferodo DS2500 and are perfectly streetable too. I get very minor squeal when coming to a stop if it's been a while since they were used hard. they also have great braking feel IMO, nice and sharp, and perfectly controllable. I use them on a Renault Megane RS 280 Cup, I've used them on track with semi-slicks (AD09s) and they held up great in 15 min sessions. Some minor vibration after the day but that fades away with use (or another hard besdding session). Do not recommend Ferodo DS2500 especially with semi slicks. Might be ok for your first day if you're slow, but you'll almost certainly cook them on your second and get deposits on your rotors. Great performance pads or the street though. On my car I only use them on the front, rears are stock.
I was leaning toward trying Hawk HPS pad for the GSW, but I first put them on my Focus ST and while I'm satisfied with the performance, I'm disappointed in the noise level; I have a squeak that I cannot eliminate, even after taking them off, re-bedding, and meticulously applying brake grease in the right spots.
I recently did the Hawk 5.0 pads and they are lacking on initial bite. Bit disappointing. Much better for repeated breaking tho, as they warm up.
I did two track days on these new hawk hp+ brake pads and Zimmerman rotors. After the first track day, something weird started happening: I started hearing the squealing that I hear while breaking even when I’m not breaking. It’s not constant, but it’s coming from all four wheels and is mostly heard at low speeds, especially after starting to drive after coming to a complete stop. These are two track days in. Should I be worried?
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