Hawk HPS pads?

[LeadToRome]

Local guys carry Hawk, I just don't know much about them, was going to go with StopTech pads. Just looking for a somewhat burly street rig that will go to the track from time to time. Getting stainless lines and upgrading fluid too. Any suggestions on fluid while we're at it? Thanks.

[2011_S4]

I've heard pretty decent things about Hawk pads. A couple of the local tuners have recommended them to me. If I recall correctly they are at a better price point then the StopTechs. I believe there are a couple people on here who are running them. StopTechs are also very good, I just believe they are a little more pricy. Not as pricy as the Alcon/Stasis though.

[vwong]

I think it depends on the car. I have mixed experience with Hawk HPS pads on my TSX and B7 A4. With the TSX (which started with ok OEM brake pads), switching to Hawk HPS pads was an improvement. However, with the B7 A4 (which started with very nice stopping power from the factory, just too dusty), I felt that the performance was worse. The only improvement was the dust level.

If you're thinking about taking the car to tracks, the Hawk HPS pads are definitely NOT the choice. They fade rather quickly. I would suggest, at the minimum, to go with Hawk HP Plus if you want to stick with Hawk pads. Personally, I'd go with Hawk Blue, but I might actually try a different brand when the brake pads are due for replacements.

[mark_nimda]

hawks are pure steet pads and IMO, arent all that hot even for the street. I had them for a month before my 1st 1st track event many many yeras ago. I had HPS on my vette and the fronts were toast by end of the day. If you plan on tracking the car, stay away from the HPS pads. They are called HPOS in the track arena (stands for Hawk Pieces of Chit.)

Pagids are good track pads but they need to be heated. I am not sure if Pagid has a race/street pad. Might want to look into them.

[pyramid]

I was not impressed with the Hawk HPS pads I had on my B5. They seemed to fade as soon or sooner than the stock pads.

[2011_S4]

There you go, I stand corrected

[mark_nimda]

Carbotech makes some nice pads too. I dont know if they make any ofr the S4 as I had treid them on my vette. Just know they get pricey and dusty. Obviously the good pads will leave lots of dust. When I was regularlly going to the track, $$$ for great stopping soon became a non-factor (and never should be.) I got to a point where I was more comfortable in swapping my street pads with true track race pads the night before the event and then I simply restored back to street pads after the event. I started doing this when i bought my mid rise lift


a few other pads known for good grab are willwoods and cobalt

[RobC]

There's nothing wrong with Hawk as a brand, but HPS is a street pad and definitely not good for the track. And with a heavy car like the S4 I don't think the HP+ will hold up either if you're aggressive in the braking zones.

I would argue that any pad that's "good" on the track is going to require some warm-up, and may also be noisy. Any pad that's a compromise between track and street is going to be, well, a compromise. They'll probably be fine on the track if you're not braking hard all the time, but will likely overheat and deposit material onto your rotor if you brake aggressively.

FWIW, I ran Pagid Orange when I tracked my B5 and even they started to crack after multiple track days. On the street I ran Pagid Blue because even "performance street pads" overheated during spirited driving in the mountains.

[GoM's]

Bump ^^^ anyone else have Hawk HPS on their b8? Just ordered a set and wanted to get impressions?

[Zed 2.0]

I ran HPS pads for a few weeks. They squealed terribly and felt worse than the OEM pads.