Why use Grabbier Brake Pads in Front? Brake Pad Life?

Vipera Russelli

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Two Brake Pad Questions:

First, I’ve been using the Brakeman 3 pads all the way around and have been very happy with the performance relative to stock pads on the track. However, I know some of you have been using grabbier pads up front (such as Comp Coupe pads in the front and stock in the rear) and I was wondering if there was any performance advantage to doing so. I have NOT had any issue with the rear getting too squirrelly using the Brakeman 3 pads all the way around. Is there another performance justification for using mismatched pads?
What does conventional wisdom and experience here have to say generally about using grabbier pads in the front?

Second, I was also wondering if track-only pads last longer than hybrid pads. The Brakeman 3 pads are a compromise street AND track pad that are, accordingly, great at stopping over a huge range of temperatures. I have no complaints. However, I am burning through consumables, pads included, like crazy and the costs are starting to pile up. So, do track-only pads which only operate at higher temperatures last longer on the track generally speaking, thus reducing costs overall? And if they do last longer, does the increased wear on rotors completely offset any savings experienced by increased pad life? Rotors, at least stock ones, are pretty cheap, especially from JonB.

Thanks for your thoughts!
 

GR8_ASP

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Atro are those not EBC brakes? If so why are they renamed "Atro" in the website?

Note I had EBC greens on my RT/10 and will not use them again.
 

Bill Pemberton Woodhouse

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EBCs are great pads, but greens are not to be used on the track. We have been selling EBCs for a long time, and they are great for decreasing dust and squealing, but they are not, repeat not , suitable for the track. They have other colors for the track, ( Reds for instance ,etc), but I much prefer the Brakemans. You will not get longer pad life using a racing pad, and the big advantage of the Brakemans, is that they do have a very progressive feel and they do heat up fairly quickly. I ran them all around on my Vipers, and would not recommend many folks to run race pads when driving on the street, as they can be very difficult to heat up. Stay with the pads you have and I think you will find they offer the best value for the money, and terrific feel.

I run them on our other race car, and without abs, I think it is the best telegraphing pad on the market. You can actually feel pending lock-up, whereas so many pads are either on or off, and lock-up occurs without warning.


Sincerely,
Bill Pemberton
Woodhouse
1-800-889-1893
 

Chuck 98 RT/10

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I too, started going through pads as often as I went through fuel. I didn't realize what stopping power was until I upgraded to PFC 01. Cost is a little more but they last an entire weekend and end up being more affordable.

Because of my customized brake setup I run PFC in front and Hawk in the rear.

IMO PFC 01 have more stopping power than any other pad I've used.
 
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