Brake pads, rotors

[dberman]

Early in the spring I replaced my front and rear rotors and pads. I installed Zimmerman rotors and mintex pads. Since then, I have participated in 7 days of DE. Looking at the brakes after the last event, the rear rotors and pads look fine but the front ones are pretty much worn out. Maybe an eighth of an inch of pad left. Also, the front left rotor is scarred pretty badly in one spot and the brake pad has a gouge in it.

My questions are as follows:

1. Is it reasonable for the front pads to wear out so quickly. I understand these are street pads and I'm putting a different type of load on them.
2. Any idea what would have caused the gouge in one of the front pads?
3. Can anyone recommend a pad that is good for the street and the track? Pelican recommended to me a BHP pad and an OP parts pad. Does anyone have any experience with either?
4. Is it worth turning the rotors or should I just buy new ones. New ones are about $100 for the pair.
5. When replacing pads in general should the rotors be turned if they are in good shape?
5. If I put a different type of pad on the front, do I need to replace the rear pads as well even though they have plenty of life left? I'm not sure if there is any issue with mixing and matching.

Thanks,

Dave

[rvanderpyl]

It appears you are overheating your pads and they are breaking up. You are better off getting a more track oriented pad if you are doing that many events.

You didn't notice the pedal getting soft or longer?

I would replace the rotors as they look pretty bad. You can use different pads front to rear, many people do that deliberately in order to balance braking, but it sounds like your rear brakes are mostly along for the ride and not contributing much, so perhaps you should get a more agressive pad for back there as well.

[dberman]

No, I didn't notice the pedals getting softer.

The 4 rotors on the car are pretty much brand new. It is only the left front that is marred on the surface. The thickness of it is pretty much the original. It actually looks to me like a piece of the brake pad was melded onto the surface. That's why I was hoping to have them turned instead of replacing them.

I was worried about the balance as you mentioned if I have 2 very different types of brakes. Any suggestions on brands. I read a number of other posts about certain types but didn't see anything about the two brands Pelican mentioned.

Thanks for the reply.

[Steve@Rennsport]

Hi,

As Robert wrote, your pads are inappropriate for track use and they certainly will fail under such conditions. BTDT, far too many times,...

You need a race pad as those are formulated to handle the operating temperatures under those conditions. No street pads of any kind can do this.

I would NEVER turn those rotors as you are removing much-critical mass: something thats totally counterintuitive to the survival of the brakes on a track. These are simply too small to remove any metal from.

[AlfonsoR]

Steve, what rotors (front & rear) and brake pads do you recommend for this application?

[jsmithcds]

Do not fall for the slotted or drilled rotor scam. Not needed unless you want the bling factor. Regular blanks are fine for your application. Unless you are full on racing you do not need to run race pads. If you want to be swithcing them in/out between events then buy two sets and enjoy. I seem to be the only one on this board running EBC Yellowstuff pads. They are very reasonable and have worked great for me. Both on the track and the street. Never made a squeek yet. 8 track days at Road America, which is fairly hard on brakes and they show very little signs of wear. I would not replace the rotors unless they have warped on you. Sand/scuff the crud off, put the new pads on her and drive the hell out of it.

[aston@ultrasw.c]

I use the stock Zimmerman rotors with PFC-97 pads all round.

I also have front cooling ducts through the valance and I am in the process of installing rear ducts as well.

I do a bunch of DE/track days, performance is great. Lots of stopping, no fade.

The only issue is that things don't last very long. If I get 700 track miles out of one set of brakes I feel fortunate.

Be sure to hose off the car and wheel wells after each event because the dust can damage your paint. If you wonder where all the material is going, just look for the grey slurry that runs out of the wheel wells.

[aston@ultrasw.c]

wow, great report on EBC yellow!

[aston@ultrasw.c]

On machining rotors - measure the thickness. IIRC new is 24mm wear limit is 22.

If machining will take them below 23mm, I would throw them away.

x2 on holes and slots, no advantage.

[Flieger]

Carrera are 24. The rest are 20. If they are still 20, I would feel fine turning them. It sounds like most of the stuff is pad deposits.

[dberman]

Thanks everyone. The rotors really look fine and are really brand new. I spent a little time cleaning the front left and I'm confident all I had was brake material stuck to it.

Based on the comments above and some other research, I decided to try the EBC yellowstuff pads. I'm going to change out the front and back.

Thanks for all the help.

Dave

[Trackrash]

Didn't you check your pads after each event? Seven DEs doesn't sound too bad for street pads.

The problem is once pads get below 50% wear they will not handle the heat very well. Probably not a good idea to run pads below 50% on a big track.

That disk doesn't look that bad. I would try some sandpaper on it to see if it cleans up.