I have heard that these are excellent pads. I have had pretty good experiences with Porterfield R4-S pads, until one day when I was pushing it pretty hard they either disintegrated or, I suppose, just wore out quickly. Anyway, I was specifically wondering about Hawk HP's longevity

Probably no one has experience with drilled and slotted rotors, but thats what I will be rolling with- so I tend to think that that kind of setup tends to grate the pads off a bit faster than blank rotors. Anyway- I just want to know peoples opinion so I can gauge if 2 hours of track time (at a brake-intensive track, Laguna) will go through a set of HP pads - for me, someone who tends to brake on the less forceful side.

Cheers-

 

Neal? Buehler?

 

I have had them in my car for a year+ and over 40k miles... no problems at all.....

 

Cool, sounds like they will be great! Thanks for the reply.

 

the heat is what wears down pads so quickly.
Porterfield R4S will last a weekend on a hard braking track, but their regular R4 will last much much longer, simply because they're designed for the heat.

when you get them really hot, they basically soften up and you do cheese-grate them off, especially with drilled and slotted rotors.

The HPS are fine for street use, but I would recommend going to the HP+ for track use..

 

does anyone know where to find the hawk hp+ i can only find the hps

 

customenterprise.com should have them

 

hawk hps>all technically hawk are NISMO pads

 

After trying them, I can answer the question- they are the best track pads ive ever used by a factor of 2 to maybe 5... they arent wearing anywhere near anything else Ive ever used, and I abused the @#()* out of them on 2 tough tracks on brakes- infineon and laguna.

Recommend!!!

Edit: I should have said HP+ all along...

 

I have the regular Hawk pads with Frozen Powerslot rotors. IMO this combo is amazing for the price and compared to the OE rotors and pads.


I do not recommend cross drilled rotors for any street car.

 

SR20DEN- did I read that correctly- 263HP 246Tq normally aspirated????? WHAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?
Is this a family secret or can you tell me what I need to do!!!!

EDIT: I guess it helps to have the 3.5 but still, gosh!

 

Spaniard,
Where did you end up gettin these from, and how much? Do you use them on the street also?

 

Just noticed this thread. May not help the original poster but hopefully others.

I've been using Hawk pads for a few years now. I like them. First set were HPS on stock sized rotors, tires were Toyo T1-S at the time I believe, fresh ford HD 550* dry BP fluid. Good for autoX and the street, not up to the task on road course. After 3-4 laps they were starting to go away and I would have to start braking earlier, going a little easier on it, etc.

Next I upgraded to HP+ and used autozone replacement rotors, T1-S, and fresh ford HD fluid. This setup was good on the track. Took few stops to get them up to temp on the street. Not so bad that you would just go careening through intersections and put your life in danger, but enough such that you put your foot on the brake and think "wow I'm not stopping very fast" and have to press the brake alot harder than with normal brake pads, until you've been driving for a little while. The hotter they were the harder they grabbed. After a lap or so they were fully up to temp, got a little bit spongy, but the key was that they stayed nice and consistent throughout entire 20-25 minute sessions, I had no worries about going into turn 1 at 100mph and then getting on them hard for the entire session.

Next setup was HP+ and 13" cobra rotors, stock calipers, Toyo T1-S, fresh ford HD fluid. Never used them on the street, I was using HPS on the street and that setup was great. On the track they were awesome. Too much brake for my tires actually. Zero spongy feeling due to the increased heat dissipation/cooling capacity of the 13" rotors. I would have loved to try this brake setup and some R comps, but never got the chance to before the car was wrecked.

 

I run HP Plus at the track. I've never cooked them to the point where they didn't work... They cool off quickly and demonstrate great heat resistance.

They are VERY noisy when they're cold though, so unless you don't mind people staring at you on the street like your brakes are about to die, don't run them on the street.

 

Hawk is the only pad I use. Maybe because it is right across the street from my uncle's shop and I've been there many times and know the guys well. I Love my HPS for the street. Little noise with great grip. I use Hawk Blacks on the track. They work awesome. I get 2-3 days at the track out of them.

 

Have you tried HP Blue's? I was thinking about giving those a try once my current set of HP Plus' are ready for replacement.

 

i dont have maxima experience with hawks, but on my track car (turbo'd civic) hawks worked flawlessly...and i did 155 miles on track (gingerman-in michigan) in one day.. and they still had 50% pad left. they were hps's too, not hp+s'

i have recently upgraded to cobalt spec b's for my track-only pads...and have continued to use the same set of hawks for my street pads. they have 4 track days (probably 300-ish track miles) and about 10,000 street miles on them. best money i ever spent on brake pads.

 

x2...had them on old car with Brembo blanks...squeeks everytime I braked...unless hard braking then no noise. And the squeek is not quiet, it is really loud and annoying.

 

I was looking for places to buy some HP+ pads and the only place I found to buy them for a 4th gen was CM/CE. But they say that they are for like '89-'03 and the Hawk website lists 2 different part numbers for 4th and 5th gen. Anybody know either another place to get these or if the pads for the 5th gen will in fact fit fine.

 

These guys know what they are doing-

http://www.RaceShopper.com

 

Sorry I missed this question earlier. www.raceshopper.com like the previous post..

So, Im ready to step up to track-specific pads. Was thinking about HPS for street and maybe the Blue (9012) for track? My only concern is what if my rotors get below 200 degrees in portions of a track? Can this happen, you think?
Maybe Black is the sure-fire way to go..

BTW, info on hawk compounds:
http://www.raceshopper.com/hawk_brake_compounds.shtml

 

The only time you'll have brake temps below 200 is your first few stops on the track. once it gets above that, it won't ever go below 200 anytime you're driving out there.

I would still be wary of the Hawk race compounds. they're VERY aggressive and I see no need in it on our cars. I'd take a look at Cobalt or Carbotech and see if they can make some to fit before I would go to the Hawk race pads.

 

I have a Fastbrakes (Wilwood) BBK (12.2x1.25 rotor, FSL 4 piston calipers) I have used Hawk HPS and Hawk HP+. Both on the street. HP+ on the track. HPS is an excellent street pad, but don't use them on a roadcourse. (only 600 deg max temp rating) HP+ is a great pad for the track (900 deg max temp rating). HP+ is more metallic and will dust more and create more noise when cold as compared to the HPS.

Do NOT use Hawk race compounds, as they will kill your rotors in no time. I know people that have used the Blue compound on a BBK and the rotors were shot after a few sessions (deep grooving). They will stop like no other, but you'll have to get new rotors after only a few sessions.

 

my 3000GT VR4 has porterfield R4 pads on powerslots. even though its not a street pad they stop fine from stone cold. have yet to get them to fade on my beast and i beat the crap out of them downhill on occasion. the rotors are showing some wear though.

maxima has R4S on crap replacement rotors and they work great too. inital bite is impressive and consecutive stops are very strong too. rotors look awesome.

overall i am completly satisfied and will be putting porterfields on all my cars when the time comes.

 

 

So you have a reason to bump a 2 month old thread?

 

i think I do. lol

Anyways, I heard from many souses that some people change their brake fluid for high performance one. I never heard of such practice on the org, did anyone change their fluid, if yes which one do you use.

 

you know me spaniard and how I drive...last time was at GGF. Since then I have installed the Hawks and they are great. They should definitly last you and they sponser SCCA

 

I think most everyone who tracks or autoXs their car uses some type of high performance brake fluid, at least they should be.

 

Yes.. it's very common. If you plan to do anything more than cruising on the street, you should flush your brake fluid at minimum every two years. (or whenever you change your pads if you go that long between pad sets). because of all the track events I do, I flush mine every 6-8 months and bleed them about once a month.

for brands I recommend, Valvoline Synpower is good and cheap. it's about $5 for a quart. that's what I use on all my street cars and keep a quart of it in my "goodie box" I take to the track for backups. change of oil, extra filter, brake pads, fluid, some MT-90, spare lugnuts, etc.

If you want to go better than that, you're going to have to go mail order or to a race shop. ATE blue/yellow are what I use in my track cars and any I work on for customers. it comes in blue and yellow, but both are compatible with each other.. makes it very easy to tell when you have fresh fluid just by the color change at the caliper.

if you want more info on brands I recommend, do some searching. I made a loooooong post a while back with every brake fluid brand and type I could find.

 

i've been happy with motul 600 except it gets dirty real easy.. i heard from other racers that those that run motul 600 have to replace their brake fluid alot more often as opposed to other regular brake fluid. and i heard castrol is good stuff too.. and lately i've been hearing good things about wilwood brake fluid and how motul 600 is supposidely not so good on the caliper seals.

 

I just got this Valvoline SynPower from PEP BOYS but when I got home I noticed that it says that the dry boiling point is 480F not 500F (what I expected.) valvoline.com says that the boiling point should be 500F. Besides, the picture of the bottle at valvoline.com looks different from what I got and I also noticed that the bottle that I bought was manufactured in 2003.

Should I return it or just use what I got?

 

Unless you're running a full out track car, you're not going to need the motul. I use valvoline synpower or ATE blue and have zero problems.

as for the >2 year old valvoline, I wouldn't have a problem using it. that last 20 degrees is at the far end of the scale and if you're that close to hitting the max of the fluid, then you need to be using a higher temp fluid.

 

not sure if anyone mentioned this, but tirerack.com sells them for a fair deal =D

i picked up a set of rear brake pads.. it seems like they don't have hp-plus for the rears..

 

If your looking for good brake fluid, contact T E T. They carry Motul for regular stock brake top off, and AP fluid for the big brake kits and clutch hydraulic system.

 

I use Ford Heavy Duty.... 540F dry BP, available at any ford dealership, cheap.

 

hawk blues are what the SPEC miatas run

 

If I'm not mistaken, HP+'s are the best(highest heat threshold) Hawk makes for 4th Gens. Even then they are listed as the ones for the 5th gen, the pad sizes are only a mm different. <kept all the miata comments to myself>

 

Don't be hatin, also the blues aren't designed for everyday street use. I plan on going to some Hawks on my DD when these wear out....

 

I just hate miata's because they destroy me in the twisties and then can't pass me in the straights which makes me lift so they can pass. But yes the blues wouldn't get up to temp for regular street driving, the plus' aren't bad on the street but they squeel (atleast for me) and they are pricey, no need to waste $90 brake pads driving down the block.