Brake Pad Recommendation

[MaximusB]

I have Stoptech ST-60 in the front and ST-40 in the back. I am currently using the brake pads that came with the brake kits. However I've not been happy with those pads since day 1.

• After every car wash those pads will rust and leave imprints on the rotors. The pads will rust onto the rotors even after a light rain.
• The pad burnish on the rotors appears to disappear after each car wash. For example after a track day the rotors will have that even gray color. But as soon as I wash the car the rotors looks quite shiny and don't have that gray color. Not sure if this is normal.
• These pads still squeaks here and there even on a warm summer day driving in stop and go traffic.

Would you recommend using the Ferodo DS2500 or something from PFC? I only drive the car on weekends and I do about 4 to 5 track days a year on it. I would like something that can be used on the street and will hold up on the track. Not looking to set new lap records or anything, so I'm not looking to run dedicated track pads just yet.

[dparm]

Most performance-oriented pads will leave surface rust from car washes, yes. It goes away as soon as you drive.

The rotors look blue and shiny after the track because you have a nice even pad deposit layer on them. Once you start driving around town, the lighter (and cold) brake applications will leave splotches and streaks. Again, this is normal.

Performance brake pads grind and squeal, this is the price you pay for having something that handles high temps. Track pads are going to chew up a rotor very quickly on the street, which is why people tend to swap in a cheap street/ceramic pad when they're not at the track.


The DS2500 is the best you can do for a hybrid setup. I ran it on my M3 with the ST40 kit and didn't have any issues with fade, but my car was stock and on street tires. Ran it on my Corvette for a while as well. If you're modded, and/or run an R-compound tire, you might overwhelm those pads. They might squeak a tiny bit when very cold but otherwise aren't too bad. Unlike other "performance" pads, they will very gently fall-off when overheated, so it's not a sudden moment of panic.

Give Dave a call at Zeckhausen Racing and get his two cents before ordering. I suspect he will recommend the DS2500 as a hybrid pad.

[MaximusB]

Originally Posted by dparm

Most performance-oriented pads will leave surface rust from car washes, yes. It goes away as soon as you drive.

The rotors look blue and shiny after the track because you have a nice even pad deposit layer on them. Once you start driving around town, the lighter (and cold) brake applications will leave splotches and streaks. Again, this is normal.

Performance brake pads grind and squeal, this is the price you pay for having something that handles high temps. Track pads are going to chew up a rotor very quickly on the street, which is why people tend to swap in a cheap street/ceramic pad when they're not at the track.


The DS2500 is the best you can do for a hybrid setup. I ran it on my M3 with the ST40 kit and didn't have any issues with fade, but my car was stock and on street tires. Ran it on my Corvette for a while as well. If you're modded, and/or run an R-compound tire, you might overwhelm those pads. They might squeak a tiny bit when very cold but otherwise aren't too bad. Unlike other "performance" pads, they will very gently fall-off when overheated, so it's not a sudden moment of panic.

Give Dave a call at Zeckhausen Racing and get his two cents before ordering. I suspect he will recommend the DS2500 as a hybrid pad.

Thanks!
I am leaning towards DS2500 based on other threads I've read here. I've also sent an email to Dave, just waiting to hear back for his recommendation.

[roastbeef]

2500's are my street pads. Pretty decent backups at the track as well.

[GORDON.M3]

Endless MX-72, no compromise.

[Redd]

After 2 years and nearly 30k kms, my Project Mu HC+ pads are due for a change. Pretty impressive longevity considering how good the performance is. I do have Brembo GT BBK all round tho.

[jritt@essex]

Originally Posted by MaximusB

I have Stoptech ST-60 in the front and ST-40 in the back. I am currently using the brake pads that came with the brake kits. However I've not been happy with those pads since day 1.

• After every car wash those pads will rust and leave imprints on the rotors. The pads will rust onto the rotors even after a light rain.
• The pad burnish on the rotors appears to disappear after each car wash. For example after a track day the rotors will have that even gray color. But as soon as I wash the car the rotors looks quite shiny and don't have that gray color. Not sure if this is normal.
• These pads still squeaks here and there even on a warm summer day driving in stop and go traffic.

Would you recommend using the Ferodo DS2500 or something from PFC? I only drive the car on weekends and I do about 4 to 5 track days a year on it. I would like something that can be used on the street and will hold up on the track. Not looking to set new lap records or anything, so I'm not looking to run dedicated track pads just yet.

It's really tough to do better than the Ferodo DS2500 for hybrid track/road use. They have a tremendous range of usable temperature, good bite, almost no noise, they're easy to burnish and the transfer layer won't evaporate immediately, etc. We've had clients use them in all types of situation and they never let them down. They are a far higher quality pad than what came in the StopTech kit originally.

Here are the Ferodo pads for the StopTech calipers:

StopTech ST-60 Ferodo pads= https://www.essexparts.com/my-vehicl...tech/ST-60/All

StopTech ST-40 Ferodo pads= https://www.essexparts.com/my-vehicl...tech/ST-40/All

[bmwfst1]

Originally Posted by jritt@essex

It's really tough to do better than the Ferodo DS2500 for hybrid track/road use. They have a tremendous range of usable temperature, good bite, almost no noise, they're easy to burnish and the transfer layer won't evaporate immediately, etc. We've had clients use them in all types of situation and they never let them down. They are a far higher quality pad than what came in the StopTech kit originally.

Here are the Ferodo pads for the StopTech calipers:

StopTech ST-60 Ferodo pads= https://www.essexparts.com/my-vehicl...tech/ST-60/All

StopTech ST-40 Ferodo pads= https://www.essexparts.com/my-vehicl...tech/ST-40/All

Hi can you also list the link for stock rear ds2500 pads. Thanks

[jritt@essex]

Originally Posted by bmwfst1

Hi can you also list the link for stock rear ds2500 pads. Thanks

Sure. You can see all of the Ferodo compounds in the e9x OEM shapes here:
https://www.essexparts.com/my-vehicl.../BMW/M3/%20E92

The rear OEM DS2500 is this one:
https://www.essexparts.com/ferodo-ds2500-brake-pads673

[Richbot]

Does the OEM-shape rear DS2500 have an anti-rattle/squeal "backing" or "pad" on the backing plate like the OEM ones or no? You know the thin sheet of metal/whatever that's bonded to the piston size of the backing plate? I haven't been able to find a picture online

I can second the "way better than the Stoptech Street" pad that comes with the street kits. It's a little noisier/squeakier, very occasionally in summer and pretty much every time in winter/cold pulling up to a light or whatnot, after about 5,000 miles on them up front in an STR40 kit, but a very very small price to pay.

Beware, also, it's also not a "works the same no matter how cold it is" pad. On my car, below about 50F or in cold/wet, it's not "right there" like a true street pad and needs an extra beat on first application after the brakes have cooled to ambient before it warms up enough to really bite like normal. Again, a very small price to pay, you just have to push the pedal a bit harder on that first brake application than you may be used to, soon as they're warmed up from a bit of use in traffic, right back to normal, but coming off a long no-brakes highway run they do seem to cool enough to not be totally consistent on first application. Just something I've encountered, could be a peculiarity of my car's setup. In summertime, the pedal is the same the first time and every time

I think the answer to "what the hell were they thinking" question with most OEM performance car pads being so poor in track settings is "they were thinking about winter"

[jritt@essex]

Originally Posted by Richbot

Does the OEM-shape rear DS2500 have an anti-rattle/squeal "backing" or "pad" on the backing plate like the OEM ones or no? You know the thin sheet of metal/whatever that's bonded to the piston size of the backing plate? I haven't been able to find a picture online

I can second the "way better than the Stoptech Street" pad that comes with the street kits. It's a little noisier/squeakier, very occasionally in summer and pretty much every time in winter/cold pulling up to a light or whatnot, after about 5,000 miles on them up front in an STR40 kit, but a very very small price to pay.

Beware, also, it's also not a "works the same no matter how cold it is" pad. On my car, below about 50F or in cold/wet, it's not "right there" like a true street pad and needs an extra beat on first application after the brakes have cooled to ambient before it warms up enough to really bite like normal. Again, a very small price to pay, you just have to push the pedal a bit harder on that first brake application than you may be used to, soon as they're warmed up from a bit of use in traffic, right back to normal, but coming off a long no-brakes highway run they do seem to cool enough to not be totally consistent on first application. Just something I've encountered, could be a peculiarity of my car's setup. In summertime, the pedal is the same the first time and every time

I think the answer to "what the hell were they thinking" question with most OEM performance car pads being so poor in track settings is "they were thinking about winter"

Thanks for the input! The Ferodo do not have any type of backing plate shim. I've run the DS2500 on all my road cars for years, including my wife's cars. They have a tremendous blend of capability, and I've had no hesitation dropping them in her car (although she is likely a better driver than most...grew up autoXing with her dad! ).