Ferodo DSUNO brake pad review
Oct 19, 2011, 08:05 AM
#1
Ferodo DSUNO brake pad review
First off thanks to Jeff Ritter at Essex for the quick shipping and sending me a set of these DSUNO compound to test out.
So you all know im a third party and have never worked with Jeff before and am not sponsored by him or company in any way.
I already recieved these pads free of charge, and have no advantage to hyping them
I Had a great weekend Competing with MCSCC and the pads performed flawlessly.
My goal for the weekend was to match my time from my last visit to the track (1:18.94) and in so doing break the track record for street tires. This is from a standing start on the front straight, HSAX style
Last time i was running a RACE SLICK 260MM tire .
This time i was running a 245 STREET TIRE star spec . The car has more power and numerous tweaks , including my driving.
The Pressure was on to try and break the steet tire track record, and every part on the car had to work flawlessly.
I had them 80% bedded by the time we hit the track and after a session they were ready to be pushed.
I'll be Comparing them most directly to the PFC 01, in my opinion which has been the best pad for High temp use. I have used MANY other compounds in the past but always ended up sticking with the PFC because it was that much better then other pads
BHF (Blackhawk Farms Raceway , South Beloit IL) is one of the most demanding tracks on brake setups in the US everyone who runs\manages the events there agrees on this. A high temp pad|braking setup there is a must.
Keep in mind my car is about 3300 with me in it , and makes around 480whp ,and an RS which does not have ABS its definatly pushing the limits of the stock brembos.
My braking setup is
Stock brembos
Endless rf650 brake fluid
Titanium shims
Racing Brake 2 piece rotors
The Dsunos always seemed well in their comfort zone here never seemed to falloff , or get 'pad fade'. the only thing i noticed was the compound itself has turned whiteish about halfway to the backing plate on the pad (i will get pics when i remove them) Which is normal with many race compounds when they see a lot of heat
. We Werent running 20 minute practice sessions here so i never got a chance to push the limits of the upper end heat rating. Which im not sure what it is perhaps jeff can chime in here .
While we are talking about heat they do require a tad bit of heat to get to their best feel where the pad works in a linear stopping power , all it took was 3-4 quick jabs in the pits from 15mph to get them at temp , I drive my car to and from the track and on the highway the never were out of their heat range if that helps give you an idea.
Their shining point is by far their modulation\consistency they are the easiest High temp race pad to modulate bar none , this is an area where the PFCs struggle they almost feel on\off in comparison. The Dsuno required more pedal pressure to get to full stopping power but similar pedal pressure in the 25% braking range . IMO this is a great thing especially without ABS , it was much easier to threshold brake. The feel of them almost never changed through the heat range, I get the same Squishy pedal that all stock calipers get with enough heat but that is not pad related.
Noise wise they are driveable on the street they are VERY loud at a specific pedal pressure around 15% but below\above that there is no noise. On track there is no screaming EVER.
Brake dust seems on par with the PFCs (which is high) maybe less , i feel this might be an unfair statement though since the rotor was already checked and formed from the PFCs and mightve increased both dust and initial wear on bed\in. All i did to prep the rotor was hit it with some 60 grit sideways to speed up the bedding procedure.
^Its hard to comment on wear at this point but nothing abnormal , this is an area where the PFCs have stood out to me, they are the longest lasting pad i have ever used for race application. And initially these dont seem far behind if at all , but only time will tell. I will Keep this updated .
The Dsunos helped my car perform at a high level I smashed the Street Unlimited record by a full second with a 1:19.0xx.
Old record here. Was held by an LS swapped lightweight Datsun 240? http://www.mcscc.org/results/2011/ax....Blackhawk.pdf
We all know how important confidence in the braking system is , these pads deliver in this area.
I will continue to run these pads
Practice session with some friends.
Special thanks to Jeff Ritter at Essex Parts . For the parts reviewed above.
Chris Carey at Modern Automotive Performance for EVERYTHING else on my car , especially their new EF3 turbo which is looking like a road race monster.
So you all know im a third party and have never worked with Jeff before and am not sponsored by him or company in any way.
I already recieved these pads free of charge, and have no advantage to hyping them
I Had a great weekend Competing with MCSCC and the pads performed flawlessly.
My goal for the weekend was to match my time from my last visit to the track (1:18.94) and in so doing break the track record for street tires. This is from a standing start on the front straight, HSAX style
Last time i was running a RACE SLICK 260MM tire .
This time i was running a 245 STREET TIRE star spec . The car has more power and numerous tweaks , including my driving.
The Pressure was on to try and break the steet tire track record, and every part on the car had to work flawlessly.
I had them 80% bedded by the time we hit the track and after a session they were ready to be pushed.
I'll be Comparing them most directly to the PFC 01, in my opinion which has been the best pad for High temp use. I have used MANY other compounds in the past but always ended up sticking with the PFC because it was that much better then other pads
BHF (Blackhawk Farms Raceway , South Beloit IL) is one of the most demanding tracks on brake setups in the US everyone who runs\manages the events there agrees on this. A high temp pad|braking setup there is a must.
Keep in mind my car is about 3300 with me in it , and makes around 480whp ,and an RS which does not have ABS its definatly pushing the limits of the stock brembos.
My braking setup is
Stock brembos
Endless rf650 brake fluid
Titanium shims
Racing Brake 2 piece rotors
The Dsunos always seemed well in their comfort zone here never seemed to falloff , or get 'pad fade'. the only thing i noticed was the compound itself has turned whiteish about halfway to the backing plate on the pad (i will get pics when i remove them) Which is normal with many race compounds when they see a lot of heat
. We Werent running 20 minute practice sessions here so i never got a chance to push the limits of the upper end heat rating. Which im not sure what it is perhaps jeff can chime in here .While we are talking about heat they do require a tad bit of heat to get to their best feel where the pad works in a linear stopping power , all it took was 3-4 quick jabs in the pits from 15mph to get them at temp , I drive my car to and from the track and on the highway the never were out of their heat range if that helps give you an idea.
Their shining point is by far their modulation\consistency they are the easiest High temp race pad to modulate bar none , this is an area where the PFCs struggle they almost feel on\off in comparison. The Dsuno required more pedal pressure to get to full stopping power but similar pedal pressure in the 25% braking range . IMO this is a great thing especially without ABS , it was much easier to threshold brake. The feel of them almost never changed through the heat range, I get the same Squishy pedal that all stock calipers get with enough heat but that is not pad related.
Noise wise they are driveable on the street they are VERY loud at a specific pedal pressure around 15% but below\above that there is no noise. On track there is no screaming EVER.
Brake dust seems on par with the PFCs (which is high) maybe less , i feel this might be an unfair statement though since the rotor was already checked and formed from the PFCs and mightve increased both dust and initial wear on bed\in. All i did to prep the rotor was hit it with some 60 grit sideways to speed up the bedding procedure.
^Its hard to comment on wear at this point but nothing abnormal , this is an area where the PFCs have stood out to me, they are the longest lasting pad i have ever used for race application. And initially these dont seem far behind if at all , but only time will tell. I will Keep this updated .
The Dsunos helped my car perform at a high level I smashed the Street Unlimited record by a full second with a 1:19.0xx.
Old record here. Was held by an LS swapped lightweight Datsun 240? http://www.mcscc.org/results/2011/ax....Blackhawk.pdf
We all know how important confidence in the braking system is , these pads deliver in this area.
I will continue to run these pads
Practice session with some friends.
Special thanks to Jeff Ritter at Essex Parts . For the parts reviewed above.
Chris Carey at Modern Automotive Performance for EVERYTHING else on my car , especially their new EF3 turbo which is looking like a road race monster.
Last edited by getsideways; Dec 29, 2011 at 01:54 PM.
Oct 19, 2011, 09:14 AM
#3
I had a chance to drive Micaiah's Evo with these new pads at BHF for a lap. The pedal modulation was awesome, which is something an Evo with no ABS is a huge must.
I was very impressed with Micaiah's times last weekend. anything under 1:20 is extremely fast at BHF, and for him to do it on street tires was phenomenal. Good Job!
I hope next year I get to stay on track long enough to get a time. My evo suffered Tcase failer.
Some more pics from the event:
I was very impressed with Micaiah's times last weekend. anything under 1:20 is extremely fast at BHF, and for him to do it on street tires was phenomenal. Good Job!
I hope next year I get to stay on track long enough to get a time. My evo suffered Tcase failer.
Some more pics from the event:
Oct 19, 2011, 03:17 PM
#6
great feedback. 
I also got a set of DSUNO pads from Jeff to test. I was going to test them this past weekend but was not able to drive my car due to cracked windshield. so i'll have to wait till the 29th for the nasa TT event try them out.
i'm also driving an RS, but only 320 whp and 3220 lbs with driver.
congrats on the track record.
I also got a set of DSUNO pads from Jeff to test. I was going to test them this past weekend but was not able to drive my car due to cracked windshield. so i'll have to wait till the 29th for the nasa TT event try them out.
i'm also driving an RS, but only 320 whp and 3220 lbs with driver.
congrats on the track record.
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Oct 19, 2011, 07:51 PM
#9
I hope to keep hearing good about them , Has anyone been able to test the extreme top end of the heat range on these yet?
Also Jeff do you have any data on what heat range Ferodo suggests?
Mykem it was very nice to meet you , how did the rest of your day go ? It looked like you were having a blast out there!
Did you meet your goal for the day?
Also Jeff do you have any data on what heat range Ferodo suggests?
Mykem it was very nice to meet you , how did the rest of your day go ? It looked like you were having a blast out there!
Did you meet your goal for the day?
Oct 20, 2011, 06:30 AM
#12
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Thanks for the great feedback Micaiah. I'm glad the pads worked so well for you! 
I'll try to get some more specific data from Ferodo.
The Evo's that are testing the DSUNO have a fairly wide power range, varying modifications, tire compounds, etc., and their drivers are skilled/experienced. They (and their cars) are a very good representation of this community as a whole. In other words, they are modding and driving their cars similarly to most of the other people on this forum. If anything, they're probably a little faster and tougher on equipment. My goal was to find the upper threshold of performance for these pads through our testers. I have confidence that if these pads work flawlessly for them, 99% of the people on this board will be completely satisfied with them.
I'm also working on some other platforms. One of the torture tests will be the Nissan GT-R, since it is so porky and powerful. I'm lining some guys up in that market to do the same sort of thing. The DS1.11 has proven extremely effective on that platform, and I expect the DSUNO will be great on that car as well.
Speaking of...the DS1.11 is also a fantastic compound, but it really has been under-exposed. We are receiving nearly universal praise for those as well, but I just need to keep getting the word out about them. Ferodo's older DS3000 material was always liked by drivers in terms of feel and performance, but they just wear too fast for most amateurs to afford. Because of this, many enthusiasts still love the DS2500 for street, autoX, and light track duty, but they switched to a different brand for their top-tier race/track day pad compounds. I expect these new compounds will reverse that trend.
These new Ferodo materials are showing significantly less wear on both the pads and discs vs. the DS3000, while still retaining the great feel, mu, consistency, etc. Usually there is a tradeoff in that area, but they have made large improvements in both. That is a win-win for anyone on a budget. As Balrok said, I think Ferodo has definitely stepped up their game with modern solutions and technology. Now I just have to keep working with our testers to further characterize each compound, so we can make the best recommendations for each customer.
A number of our testers are running the DS1.11 and DSUNO back-to-back, so we should gain some good insight. One of the great things about these two compounds is that they share the same fundamental resin system. The constituent materials are just arranged in different ratios (they both have bat wing and eye of newt, just in different quantities
). That means they are compatible and will play nice together on your discs. You can switch between the two without ill effects, so you should be able to sample them one after the next to find a preference. Regardless of which you prefer, they both appear to be extremely competitive on all fronts...feel, mu, consistency, wear rates, and even price. I'm extremely pleased that we can offer these to the community.
Thanks again for all of the help and support gents. If you guys have friends with other types of track day cars who may be interested in trying these pads (S2000, corvette, 911, Cayman, M3, Subaru STI, 350/370Z, Mustang, etc.), please let me know. I'd like to get them on more of the popular platforms, as I think they will be a great solution for many people.
I hope to keep hearing good about them , Has anyone been able to test the extreme top end of the heat range on these yet?
Also Jeff do you have any data on what heat range Ferodo suggests?
Also Jeff do you have any data on what heat range Ferodo suggests?
The Evo's that are testing the DSUNO have a fairly wide power range, varying modifications, tire compounds, etc., and their drivers are skilled/experienced. They (and their cars) are a very good representation of this community as a whole. In other words, they are modding and driving their cars similarly to most of the other people on this forum. If anything, they're probably a little faster and tougher on equipment. My goal was to find the upper threshold of performance for these pads through our testers. I have confidence that if these pads work flawlessly for them, 99% of the people on this board will be completely satisfied with them.
I'm also working on some other platforms. One of the torture tests will be the Nissan GT-R, since it is so porky and powerful. I'm lining some guys up in that market to do the same sort of thing. The DS1.11 has proven extremely effective on that platform, and I expect the DSUNO will be great on that car as well.
Speaking of...the DS1.11 is also a fantastic compound, but it really has been under-exposed. We are receiving nearly universal praise for those as well, but I just need to keep getting the word out about them. Ferodo's older DS3000 material was always liked by drivers in terms of feel and performance, but they just wear too fast for most amateurs to afford. Because of this, many enthusiasts still love the DS2500 for street, autoX, and light track duty, but they switched to a different brand for their top-tier race/track day pad compounds. I expect these new compounds will reverse that trend.
These new Ferodo materials are showing significantly less wear on both the pads and discs vs. the DS3000, while still retaining the great feel, mu, consistency, etc. Usually there is a tradeoff in that area, but they have made large improvements in both. That is a win-win for anyone on a budget. As Balrok said, I think Ferodo has definitely stepped up their game with modern solutions and technology. Now I just have to keep working with our testers to further characterize each compound, so we can make the best recommendations for each customer.
A number of our testers are running the DS1.11 and DSUNO back-to-back, so we should gain some good insight. One of the great things about these two compounds is that they share the same fundamental resin system. The constituent materials are just arranged in different ratios (they both have bat wing and eye of newt, just in different quantities
). That means they are compatible and will play nice together on your discs. You can switch between the two without ill effects, so you should be able to sample them one after the next to find a preference. Regardless of which you prefer, they both appear to be extremely competitive on all fronts...feel, mu, consistency, wear rates, and even price. I'm extremely pleased that we can offer these to the community.Thanks again for all of the help and support gents. If you guys have friends with other types of track day cars who may be interested in trying these pads (S2000, corvette, 911, Cayman, M3, Subaru STI, 350/370Z, Mustang, etc.), please let me know. I'd like to get them on more of the popular platforms, as I think they will be a great solution for many people.
Oct 20, 2011, 06:41 AM
#14
http://www.mcscc.org/events-results-2011-mc.php
They were at autobahn a month or so before this if thats closer to you.
Often times they try to run a HPDE, wheel to wheel, and then an HSAX timed event the same weekend if they have room for all three.
Oct 22, 2011, 07:34 PM
#15
Thanks Jeff , I have a very long list of track records im after next year!
I've put on a few more 'street' miles and they are getting louder, ive always had this with any race pad ive run on the street , One track day and they are dead quiet for a couple hundred miles.
At this point they are still more streetable then my 01s
These work ok in any heat range it seems, not a great street pad but for those of you that drive to the track they are just fine!
One other question is anyone having issues with black speckles on their paint? I have a bunch that are really hard to get off seems like they will need to be clayed. It may not even be the pads but i just noticed it after the install\trackday
I've put on a few more 'street' miles and they are getting louder, ive always had this with any race pad ive run on the street , One track day and they are dead quiet for a couple hundred miles.
At this point they are still more streetable then my 01s
These work ok in any heat range it seems, not a great street pad but for those of you that drive to the track they are just fine!
One other question is anyone having issues with black speckles on their paint? I have a bunch that are really hard to get off seems like they will need to be clayed. It may not even be the pads but i just noticed it after the install\trackday