i got alcon big brake kit before last summer
pads i use are SBS street pads font, and ferodo 2500 rear
the sbs pads r similar to ferodo 2500

the braking distance improved from the stock setup
never felt brake fade,

after about 4~6 days on the track, the rotors had small cracks built up
ppl at the track said that's normal for high performance rotor, just too much heat put on the rotor
i called stasis , they said the same thing

eventhough these brakes stop very good, it's still not to apoint where ABS would kick in, does that mean there's more stop powering i can get from the tires? (or just simply i wasn't pressing the brake pedal hard enough)
tires i ran with were Pzero corsa 255/35/18

so i wanna try more aggresive pads
but stasis told me if i was not experiencing brake fade, more aggresive pads won't improve stopping distance but require higher temp to run with

but i thought don't race pads offer more friction?

another reason, my friends 350Z has exact tire setup with AP brake kit front/rear
his car still stops a lot better than mine even after i upgraded to Alcon

that's why i keep thinking maybe i can get more out of this brake kit

any comments on these, much preciated

 

Small cracks in the rotor are normal under hard use. It's when those cracks make it all the way to the outside leading edge of the rotor, their days are numbered.
As far as going with a more aggressive pad, do you plan to use these for street use as well? If so prepare to annoy all those around you with brake squeal. Also, race pads take a little longer to warm up and regualr street driving never really gets them to an optimum temperature.
If your not experiencing brake fade or missing your braking points at the track, I'd leave the ones you have on your car alone. Yes, once up to temp. the more aggressive pad WILL stop you a little sooner but the trade off is lot's of noise and increased rotor wear. Not really worth it for general street driving IMO.

 

the cracks haven't make its way to the edge
they are evenly distributed, i thought as i drive on the street, they would wear off, but they haven't

if i got the race pads, i'll be swapping them back and forth for track days
i'm just afraid they won't help me stop faster only wear off rotors faster

i just don't understand why if i'm not getting brake fades, i'm already getting the most out of the system and more aggresive pads wont do my any good??

maybe i should ask how to improve my Alcon brake kit
since ABS doesn't kick in, so tires is not an issue right?

 

also another question

i had the the rear ferodo 2500 pads installed the same time as the alcon front brake kit
and the front pads are almost gone
rear pads still have at least 70~80% life in them

doe sthat mean my rear brakes weren't doing anything at all?
going to ferodo3000 for the rear would help?

thanks again!!

 

With installing a bigger brake kit, like the Stasis Alcon BBK will cause a bit more brake bias towards the front. Also, under hard braking, it is mostly the front that is really stopping you. The rear brakes are really there to help stabilize the car. A good example are motorcycles. the front brakes usually comes with much bigger brakes and the rear brakes are usually applied to mostly stabilize the bike. with that being said, it will be normal to see more brake wear in the front as oppose to the rear. I would not bother changing to a more aggressive pad in the rear.

 

If your swapping them out at the track then go ahead and get some dedicated track pads. You will notice a difference and yes, tires, depending on rubber compound, do help in braking.
Just remember to bed the pads in before you hit the track to get the most out of them. Not doing so may make make things worse then your current setup. Also, the pads need a cool down period after bed-in (at least 12 hours) so be sure to factor that in as well. Do it the day/night before you hit the track and you'll be fine. cheers,

 

The small cracks that you see are totally normal, it's actually called heat crazing. It is absolutely no problem at all, unless the cracks are at the inside (eye) or OD of the rotor. If you see cracks in these places then you need to replace! If you are not experiencing fade with the pads that you are currently running, switching to race pads will not make anything better. Once the temperature of the system goes above the pads temp range you will experience fade and most likely be able to see pad material deposits on the rotor surface. If this is the case then a race compound would be a good choice (track use only). You do not want to run race pads on the street because they will never get up to temperature and because of that will be very abrasive to your discs severely shortening your disc life. If and when you do decide to run a true race pad at your track events, I would suggest sticking with the same flavor (i.e. if you are running SBS pro-track now try running the pro-race when at the track) Most brake pad compounds do not lay down well over other compounds. There is a thin layer of pad material that is laid down on the rotor surface, this is called the transfer layer. This is when the braking really takes place. This is what you are doing when bedding pads! We generally recommend the following bedding procedure:

find a stretch of road that will allow you to travel at speeds of 70-80 MPH and brake firmly down to 30-40 MPH without engaging ABS...firm pedal pressure, don't hammer the brakes!!!! do this about 6-7 times and then drive for a bit without using your brakes (to get airflow through the discs to cool things down. Try to use the brakes as little as possible, park the car and let the system cool down completely (1-2 hours should be ok). Look at the rotor to make sure that pad material is evenly distributed (no spots) and the discs no longer appear shiny.

You are putting a layer of pad material on the rotor surface and eliminating manufacturing impurities from the pad material. If you are not engaging the ABS you need to work the pedal harder. If you run race pads at track events and run street tires you will not get the system up to temp either. The tire to track interface plays a major role in this. Once you have more grip you can utilize more braking power. Sport Compact Car tested an Evo with our 355mm kit and found it to be the best braking car that they had ever tested!! Good luck!

 

you need to stomp harder on the brake pad... there's not reason you can activate abs with rcomps on stock pads and not be able to with a huge brake kit that biases brake ratio forward. start practicing

 

for the brake bias, sorry if this is a stupid assumption, if the front pads r braking a lot harder, and rear pads r just to stabilize the car, then why not put some more braking power in the rear to share some loads for the front pads and net output would be more braking power????

STASIS510:
the pad material deposites on the rotor, do u mean when the rotors turn blue?
if that's it, my rotors did, and very obvious, so that means i'm working the pads to its max temperature or even above? could it be possible that the temperature has gone over the limit, but i still didn't feel fade?

yeah, i bought this kit cuz sport compact car tested it with good result
i just want to get the most out of it, it's not a cheap investment

 

it biases them forward cuz that's alcon ap's secret squirel ****

 

You do know you never really needed to upgrade to a BBK. You just wasted your money.

 

you're so cool... why can't i be more like you?

 

these stops better than my stock setup for sure
i'm just trying to describe my car the best and see wut ppl say
cuz i thought i can get more out of it

 

Derek just use James AP brakes from his 350Z and slap them on the rear

 

STASIS510:
the pad material deposites on the rotor, do u mean when the rotors turn blue?
if that's it, my rotors did, and very obvious, so that means i'm working the pads to its max temperature or even above? could it be possible that the temperature has gone over the limit, but i still didn't feel fade?

yeah, i bought this kit cuz sport compact car tested it with good result
i just want to get the most out of it, it's not a cheap investment[/QUOTE]

Can you take a picture of your discs and PM me with it? Then I will see what you are seeing. If you get outside of a pads temp. range, the you WILL feel fade and most likely see pad material "smeared" on the disc surface.

I understand that it is not a cheap investment and I want to make sure that you get the most out of it as well.

Take care.