Brake Pads

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eleanor'03

New Member

Sep 9, 2004

117

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Dec 19, 2005

#1

• Dec 19, 2005

• #1

It's about time to change my brake pads. I have a 2003 GT. Which should I go with? Last time i got brakes they were for a truck i had and i bought pep boys brakes. Needless to say they squeaked for months. Opinions/Advice? Thanks guys.

 

trailblazr81

Member

May 17, 2003

571

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16

Hollister, Cali

Dec 19, 2005

#2

• Dec 19, 2005

• #2

Get some Hawk's Or a nice set of Bendix. Locally I have a shop that just sells brake stuff, and its alot higher quality than Kragen, Pep Boys, etc. Usually Napa and Autozone have different levels of brake pads, from cheap POS to decent quality stuff.

 

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cooter_11

Member

Apr 22, 2005

138

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16

GA

Dec 19, 2005

#3

• Dec 19, 2005

• #3

I'd say Hawks are the way to go for all around performance and price.

 

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eleanor'03

New Member

Sep 9, 2004

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Dec 19, 2005

#4

• Dec 19, 2005

• #4

Where can i find some Hawks? I live right outside the Philadelphia area. Does Autozone have them?

 

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ForPointSex

Founding Member

Mar 19, 2002

395

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Mercer, NJ

Dec 19, 2005

#5

• Dec 19, 2005

• #5

I say get motorcraft brake pads. If you get pads that grip better, they will overhead the rotors and warp them.

Been there done that.

 

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eleanor'03

New Member

Sep 9, 2004

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Dec 20, 2005

#6

• Dec 20, 2005

• #6

Do i have to orders these online or do they have them at a local store?

 

tomustang

Psychotic Member

Founding Member

Jun 8, 2000

3,434

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78

McLean Hospital

Dec 20, 2005

#7

• Dec 20, 2005

• #7

Hawks, they'll knock off up to 4 feet from 60mph

 

trailblazr81

Member

May 17, 2003

571

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Hollister, Cali

Dec 20, 2005

#8

• Dec 20, 2005

• #8

I think Pep Boys carries Hawks. I know Summit n Jegs has 'em. Theres a dealer locator on the websight. http://www.hawkperformance.com/

 

helty

some Ukrainian's enjoying a handjob via my credit

Mar 30, 2005

1,461

1

39

Baltimore, MD

Dec 20, 2005

#9

• Dec 20, 2005

• #9

mustangtuning just started carrying Hawks if you dont mind waiting a few days for them to arrive.

 

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TheDukeOfEarl

New Member

Oct 20, 2004

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Dec 20, 2005

#10

• Dec 20, 2005

• #10

ForPointSex said:

I say get motorcraft brake pads. If you get pads that grip better, they will overhead the rotors and warp them.

Been there done that.

Click to expand...

Hate to burst your bubble but there are no warped disks. What you have is friction pad material transferred unevenly to the surface of the disc. This uneven deposition results in thickness variation or run-out due to hot spotting that occurred at elevated temperatures. What you did was over heat the pad compound and went from abrasive friction to adherent friction. You either had the wrong pad for the type of driving you were doing or did not follow the proper break in procedures for both pad and disc.

Now back to the origional topic. "What pads" Sorry but there are no pads that fit all driving. The friction material that is quiet and functions well at relatively low temperatures around town will not stop the car that is driven hard. If you attempt to drive many cars hard with the OEM pads, you will experience pad fade, friction material transfer and fluid boiling - end of discussion. The true racing pad, used under normal conditions will be noisy and will not work well at low temperatures around town. Racing pads dont work well at all on the street. They dont get hot enough and you will have less braking not more.
The question remains, what pads should be used in high performance street cars - relatively low temperature street pads or high temperature race pads? Strangely enough, in my opinion, the answer is a high performance street pad with good low temperature characteristics. The reason is simple: If we are driving really hard and begin to run into trouble, either with pad fade or boiling fluid (or both), the condition(s) comes on gradually enough to allow us to simply modify our driving style to compensate. On the other hand, should an emergency occur when the brakes are cold, the high temperature pad is simply not going to stop the car.

Two ways to get around all of this. Carry more than one type of pad and switch them on track days. Dedicate the car to track only.

 

joshheat25

Member

Nov 8, 2004

871

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16

Delaware

Dec 20, 2005

#11

• Dec 20, 2005

• #11

if you get aftermarket pads and have replaced them a couple of times and experience warped rotors that is because they were worn down and thin! Which caused them to warp.

 

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TheDukeOfEarl

New Member

Oct 20, 2004

127

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Dec 21, 2005

#12

• Dec 21, 2005

• #12

joshheat25 said:

if you get aftermarket pads and have replaced them a couple of times and experience warped rotors that is because they were worn down and thin! Which caused them to warp.

Click to expand...

Once again.. No such thing. Its pad material that is deposited unevenly on the rotor. Wrong pads for the driving or improper break in. The warped rotor myth is just that.. A myth.

 

K

Kilgore Trout

Fried or Broiled ?

10 Year Member

Mar 30, 2005

4,749

95

134

Dec 21, 2005

#13

• Dec 21, 2005

• #13

TheDukeOfEarl said:

Once again.. No such thing. Its pad material that is deposited unevenly on the rotor. Wrong pads for the driving or improper break in. The warped rotor myth is just that.. A myth.

Click to expand...

Dude, I totally was not buying the "no such thing as warped rotors" stuff.

But a Google search seems to confirm your statements...

http://www.google.com/search?client...&hl=en&q=warped+rotor+myth&btnG=Google+Search

 

ponysarepretty

New Member

Jul 25, 2005

578

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Dec 21, 2005

#14

• Dec 21, 2005

• #14

Kilgore Trout said:

Dude, I totally was not buying the "no such thing as warped rotors" stuff.

But a Google search seems to confirm your statements...

http://www.google.com/search?client...&hl=en&q=warped+rotor+myth&btnG=Google+Search

Click to expand...

I was going to tell people to go to the stoptech site, but then you toldthem... btw stoptech makes brakes for porsche

 

96BlueStangGT

Member

Jul 7, 2004

38

0

16

Southern Indiana

Dec 21, 2005

#15

• Dec 21, 2005

• #15

Get Hawk or stay with motorcraft. Just don't buy a cheap set and you'll be fine.

 

helty

some Ukrainian's enjoying a handjob via my credit

Mar 30, 2005

1,461

1

39

Baltimore, MD

Dec 21, 2005

#16

• Dec 21, 2005

• #16

Kilgore Trout said:

Dude, I totally was not buying the "no such thing as warped rotors" stuff.

But a Google search seems to confirm your statements...

http://www.google.com/search?client...&hl=en&q=warped+rotor+myth&btnG=Google+Search

Click to expand...

the troutmeister?.........


glad to see you're back man

 

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eleanor'03

New Member

Sep 9, 2004

117

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0

Dec 21, 2005

#17

• Dec 21, 2005

• #17

I was reading on the Hawks. Wat is this breakin or bed-in process?

 

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Justin03GT

New Member

Mar 30, 2005

199

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0

Mount Pleasant, SC

Dec 22, 2005

#18

• Dec 22, 2005

• #18

i dont buy into no warped rotors...having been a mechanic for some time and having to "turn" probably close to a thousand sets of rotors...i just dont buy into them not warping..i have done rotors on many many makes and models of cars with many many types of brake pads from cheap to extremely expensive...when you dial in the brake lathe you have to cut into the surface at a slow interval to determine the depth of the warp....from my experiences with metals, the pattern associated with warping is consistant to what happens to metal that has gotten hot....also the actual metalic composition of the pads is of course different from that of the rotors, if they were actually transfering material to the rotors it would be noticable when you turn the rotors on the lathe, related in terms of the pitch of sound the lathe makes as it would pass over the different materials...this however is not the case...the pitch doesnt change at all. if you've ever turned a rotor you wouldnt buy into "no warping" either...its pretty easy to see that the rotor itself is in fact able to warp under extended high heat conditions...

 

blackfang

Founding Member

Dec 17, 2001

1,290

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Richmond, Va

Dec 22, 2005

#19

• Dec 22, 2005

• #19

Working in the auto field for the past 3 years, I also don't buy into the rotors don't warp theory. Juston explained it prefectly when you turn the rotors.

 

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TheDukeOfEarl

New Member

Oct 20, 2004

127

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Dec 22, 2005

#20

• Dec 22, 2005

• #20

Well I guess you guys that have turned rotors at pepboys for a couple have seen it all...

My info came from some of the top brake people in the business. You can look at it all for your selves and decide. I posted most of the info from http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml. I also added in my own racing and machining experence. I have been a experimental machinist for the last 24 years. (TRW / Northrop) I have been racing cars for the last 22 years. I am the great nephew of Harley Earl. Father of a few cars like the Corvette, Firebird, Everything in the late 50s that had fins. I guess you could say that I have cars in my blood.