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02-09-2012, 12:38 AM | #1 |
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Stoptech Street Pads Review
So I see that a few of you have asked for a review of these pads and I'll go ahead and give it a go. I've had these pads for about 3,000 miles. I have done a full day on the track with these and plenty of abuse. These pads were installed along with Stoptech Stainless Steel Brake Lines and Ate Super Gold.
My verdict is that these do not provide the fade resistance required for a full day at the track. I did a total of 6 20-minute sessions on the track (Thunderhill) with about 20-30 minutes in between each session. They held up well in the first 3 sessions but were fading after that. The 6th session was just brutal. They were fading so badly that I decided to pit early to let them rest. I am not a seasoned track driver. Hence, I think these will not take the abuse of a good driver. However, these provide excellent stopping power and are perfect for aggressive street driving. On the street, these make no noise at all. The braking feels much more natural (if this makes sense at all) than the stock setup. It seems to be fairly gentle on the rotors as well, but only time will tell. All in all, I think it's definitely worth the money. The description is pretty accurate. It's great for the street and >>LIGHT<< track use. |
02-09-2012, 02:11 PM | #2 |
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Is Thunderhill tough on brakes?
I'm wondering because I go to Texas World Speedway and there is really only 2 or 3 places where you really hammer the brakes. None of the heavy braking zones are close to each other.
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02-09-2012, 02:43 PM | #3 |
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I just got my st trophies so I'm not speaking with specific experience - but driving style has a big part of it as well. if you drag out your breaking period instead of braking hard and just getting it done you'll manage the heat much better. I ran one lap of america on stock calipers and did just fine and was very competitive.
bottom line - brake less, go faster |
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02-09-2012, 04:13 PM | #4 | |
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02-09-2012, 04:16 PM | #5 | |
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Added: The 2 hard ones are back-to-back. Last edited by yyoo; 02-09-2012 at 07:13 PM.. |
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02-09-2012, 05:00 PM | #6 | |
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Also, don't step on the brakes at 10/10 right after coming off the gas. Quickly (but gently) do 6/10 - 8/10 and then 10/10. This way you give sometime for car to shift the weight to front and settle. This will give better stability and also enables harder braking.
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02-09-2012, 06:46 PM | #8 |
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I believe that Hawk HP Plus pads provide the best combination of street and track. I have not used StopTech, but have used many pads including track only (Hawk Blues and PFC 01) and find these very close (80%) to a track pad that can offer great street stoppage. They are noisy, which I kind of like.
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02-09-2012, 07:03 PM | #9 |
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Of course, the faster you go the more you'll have to brake.
I think most beginners tend to be both slow and not brake hard enough. Granted, once they learn that they can stomp on the brakes without the car exploding they can overdo it in the other direction. Getting off topic, but this reminds me of something I read in a book. There are three, make that four, stages to a driver's development: 0. Fast in, slow out...or slow in, slow out 1. Slow in, fast out 2. Fast in, fast out 3. Fast in, fast mid-corner, fast out Many good drivers never make it to step #3. Last edited by yyoo; 02-09-2012 at 07:09 PM.. Reason: Edited with step 0 |
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02-09-2012, 09:54 PM | #10 | |
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02-10-2012, 12:04 AM | #11 | |
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02-10-2012, 04:51 AM | #12 | |
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That being said, I am looking for a more aggressive, track-focused pad for this coming track season--Hawk HP Plus, Pagid RS29? |
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02-10-2012, 07:10 AM | #13 |
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The Stoptech street pads are a great street pad but in IMO are only a light duty track pad.I have used them twice on track and yes they did work OK at the expense of a lot of pad wear and good pedal feel as they felt "squshy" at max braking.I run a 380/355 BBK and have found that that I can run the Pagid race pads on the street with no ill effects except for a little bit of squeel and grabiness when cold.The Pagids also seem to be quite rotor friendly even when they are used cold on the street.
Last edited by Gearhead999s; 02-10-2012 at 07:26 AM.. |
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02-10-2012, 07:24 AM | #14 | |
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02-10-2012, 12:13 PM | #15 | |
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I didn't notice at first the OP was reporting on usage with stock rotors. Knowing that, the experience doesn't surprise me at all. Once you get "fast", I doubt there is any street/track pad that will be aggressive enough to avoid fade with stock rotors. It does seem like there are plenty though that find this pad works with the Stoptech BBK, likely for the reason mentioned above. I just bought the ST-40 for my R32, and plan to try this pad before switching to a track-only pad. Hopefully my experience will mirror the M3 owners running this pad with ST-40s.
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02-10-2012, 05:34 PM | #17 | |
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02-10-2012, 05:37 PM | #18 | |
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02-10-2012, 05:42 PM | #19 | |
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I think it is embarrassing that M3 doesn't come with brake ducts. My MINI Cooper comes with them from the factory.
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02-10-2012, 06:21 PM | #20 | |
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Are these the Street Pads or the Street Sport pads?
Stoptech said they've had racers use their Streeet Sport pads without issues, other than they wear faster. Quote:
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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02-11-2012, 01:16 AM | #21 | |
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If you want something more aggressive, I now carry Project Mu's Club Racer compound (coefficient of friction 0.55 max) with a recommendation from my friends at Brass Monkey Racing. They used to run DTC-70 on their race car, but switched to Project Mu because PMu pads are much easier on the rotors while providing virtually zero fade performance up to 1,400 deg. F.
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02-11-2012, 04:48 AM | #22 |
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RS29s are awesome pads. I used them last track season with my AP set up. Great performance and were surprisingly street friendly too. Little on the pricey side, but well worth it.
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