So the time has come to replaced me OE pads. I have been searching and cant seem to locate a thread with exactly what i am looking for that is fairly recent. I DD the car with occasional autoX as well as spirited driving. Im trying to find the best pad for the money, everyone has their own opinion to what he or she likes best. But i am trying to get some serious opinions as to what pad would be best for my money. I have been looking at StopTechs, Giro Disc magic pads, Hawks, and the pads listed in the Rotor,pad,line,fluid and duct thread. I don't want to break the bank however i don't want the pads to wear out in 6 months. My other question is am i going to need to order new shims when i order my pads? Asking this question makes me feel like a complete NOOB that cant use the search function however i need to find the answer to my question, thanks in advance for the responses its much appreciated.

 

Shims must match the pads, so, if you buy new pads that aren't the same shape as OE, you might need new shims.

As to what pads to get, the problem is that you are close to asking for two or three things that you can't have at the same time. For autocross, you want cold bite with enough head-room (temp-wise) to not fade, especially if you left-foot-brake. For "spirited driving" (which is usually a euphemism for speeding), you want something in the middle range. Less bite is usually better, as long as you get more stability in bite across temps, so you don't crash your car. For longer life, you want rocks, but they almost always have less cold bite.

So far, I'm close to suggesting a semi-metalic. But if you come back with "oh, and I want less dust, too" then I'll switch to suggesting ceramic.

 

You have a couple of options.:

1). Hawk HP+ (Good bite, lots of noise, decent high-temp range)

2). EBC Yellowstuff (Better bite, no noise, tons of dust)

3). StopTech Streets (Decent bite, no noise, no dust, so-so high temp range)

I have the Yellows, and I like them. I had the Hawk HP+ pads on my Z06 setup, and they were great too. However, those pads are massive compared to the Evolution X pads, so it is really apples and oranges. I still liked them and am a fan of Hawk products.

When I eventually swap out the front calipers on my car, I will likely stick with EBC pads. They have treated me well, and I beat the hell out of them.

Smike (that is his SN on here) has done more testing with EBC stuff that I have, and he still actively races. Might want to shoot him a PM.

 

As far as rotors go, stick with the Centric High-Carbon blanks. Most of the weekend warrior Auto-X guys down here run those, and they hold up just fine. The next step up is DBA 4000.

 

The way that I look at it is this, when a customer asks for a pad recommendation: What is this guy going to be doing with the car 90% of the time? The answer is either daily driving, spirited driving, or out and out racing.

For Daily Driving, do with the Hawks or the Stoptechs.

For spirited driving, go with the Yellowstuff. That includes light-moderate auto-x usage.

For racing, the driver usually knows the car better than I do.

 

I agree (especially on the rotors ... way too many people buying slotted, drilled, zinc-dipped things when it's a complete waste of money). The only thing that I'd add is the question of dust. We get a bunch of threads every year when the poster went and got the correct pads for the type of driving, but now isn't happy about the dust. Better to nip that sucker in the bud. That often means Hawk HPS.

 

I always tell people this: What you trade in dust you will likely more than make up for in noise. There are a few vehicles that never seem to break free of the banshee scream that these pads can make in the D1001 shape (or whatever it is). On a Corvette? No problem. Hawks all day long.

 

Thank you all for the input, i should probably better explain then the blanket statement i made before. I DD the car 80-90 percent of the time autoX maybe 2-4 times a year. Mainly spirited driving and DD is where my car spends most of her time. I have heard many mixed emotions on the magic pads and was curios if they were worth spending the time and money to install or not. I was leaning more towards the Hawk HP+ or the stop techs after reading the responses. It seems like those are my best bets correct?

 

The Stoptech pads are about $100 for all 4. Those are meant for DD and Spirited Driving. If this is your DD, go with those.

 

Thanks again for the help its much appreciated!

 

Anytime