best track/street pads ? hawk black?

[MrBillFLL]

Hi There, new guy with some track questions... whats the best dual use, street and track (DE) brake pad for a 2008 A4s? and special brake fluids? weak points for tracking a A4 tip? does the the 2.0T have a rev limiter? Thanks!

[Just Me]

oh, you're a track guy. Then ate may be the ticket, btu change it completely every year or more.

LMA probably fine if oyu are in green/yellow run groups.
G

[MrBillFLL]

if you are tracking any car, you at least bleed the brakes before each event. on a street car I would recommend chaning the brake fluid no less than every 4 years. since brake fluid absorbs moisture it will end up rusting your calipers and abs components, and they are expensive! chaing the brake fluid will increase the life of the brake system...

but LMA is good stuff too. and you can find it everywhere.

I have to mail order the other stuff...

best, MrBill

btw, the track event was yesterday, that a4 turbo has some power! handles well, and brakes are large. But I'm still not sure what pad to go to... for street/track...

[newfinish]

i would give carbotech a call they have lots of applications for b7

[wibs]

Originally Posted by newfinish

i would give carbotech a call they have lots of applications for b7

I'm looking for something similar as well. I'm a very aggressive street driver (at times) and when I use my brakes (which is not very often), they need to bring me down from high speeds to normal speeds, sometimes repeatedly. I'm looking for something that I could use at the track but will hold up fine for everyday use but can also take being abused as if I was on a high speed track course (where you can hit 115+ on a stretch).

I hate the brake dust from my oem pads and they're all but gone, I'm looking to buy new pads tomorrow but I'm trying not to break the bank either (maybe later this summer I can). I looked at HPS ceramics for ~$200 for a full set for my A4 B7 2.0T Quattro and am hoping I can stick to around that price but I'm willing to pay a little more for pads that don't get annhilated like my stock ones did (my wheels are constantly black).

The rotors I'm getting are from frozenrotors so they'll be able to take the abuse I put them through, I just need pads to match. I'd prefer something with a similar feel to stock pads but I'm open to suggestions either way.

[ChipB]

HPS is a pretty good high performance street pad (like it's name suggests). You do not need track pads for street driving, even if you occasionally hit the speeds you suggest. On a track you need a pad than can haul you down from 100+ to around 40 MPH over and over again - maybe 50 times in a 20 minute session. Track pads are purpose built for this type of abuse, but the consequence is that they can be very poor for normal street driving - depending on the pad it may not work very well when cold, may be extrremely noisy, and may eat your rotors for breakfast. There are a lot of good "high perfomance street" pads out there that are excellent at meeting the tadeoffs for aggressive street driving - I've had good experience with Hawk HPS on another car, and I currently have CT Bobcat for street use on my S5.

[Just Me]

HPS is not a track pad. very similar to the OEM pads on my S6, with less dust.

HP+ may be a hybrid, i have not used them.

Stoptech 309s seem to hold up well on light track use, but their bite/Cf is soft under all circumstances.

Past that you are in rotor wearing land, and your choices are infinite.

G

[wibs]

Thanks guys, I went with the HPS because I got them for a better price than I was planning. My next set, I'll look into something a bit higher end but this should work for now.

[Just Me]

HPS will melt on the track.

Furthermore, they are an odd pad that works (more than most) based on laying a deposit layer on the rotor. This is how they get lower dust. Problem is that any inconsistency in this deposition creates the sensation of a warped rotor - grab/release.

HP+ will survive the heat. But they are unbelievably sooty ( and it does nto wash off) and noisy, and they kill rotors if cold.

I suggest stoptech 309s

G

[Just Me]

HPS represent an intriguing compromise - quiet, low dust, good stopping, some heat ability BUT - BIG BUT -- they are a very unusual compound and are incompatible with nearly everything else out there. In summary it is achieved through a chemical method that can lead to really bad results.

result- shuddering, grabby nearly unusable brakes and ruined rotors.

In addition, if you get them really hot and remove the even pad material transfer, the same can occur. Usually doesn;t, and most people never really use brakes that hard, but it can.

And for me, BOTH happened. Worst brake parts experience of my life.

Stay away - there are vastly better pads to be had - in many cases OEM.

Grant