Which pads for a road course

svt4047

svt4047

Active member
I'm preparing the truck now for a venture that I hope to pursue this next summer. I've decided that I want to experience the truck on a road course and it's my intention to head to Watkins Glen next summer.

The truck will have a complete Hotchkis TVS system installed along with QA1 adjustable shocks all the way around.


Most of the truck will be complete by then but I'm wanting to place the best brake pads onto the truck for the purpose of running @ the Watkins Glen course. These pads will be going onto an otherwise stock brake system and wheel/tire set up with fresh Goodyear F1's so it's important that they are rotor friendly. I don't care about excessive noise. I am having a set of Hawk HPS street performance pads placed onto the truck now / replacing the 33k mile stockers for the pupose of DD.

Given that; which pads both front and rear would be ideal to run while @ Watkins Glen? I'm looking to avoid a situation where the brakes characteristics begin to change when under repeated use in high performance runs like @ the Glen.

Roach
 
TTT...


Anybody:?

Will the Hawk HPS pads suffice or should I consider an alternative?

BTW...I'll bet nobody here can beat a 1minute and 11 second lap time @ the Glen..:D running their nascar course.



Roach
 
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I spent a few thousand dollars trying to get the stock brakes to live on a roadcourse. It was a waste of a few thousand dollars; they won't live. They made it about 4 laps around the infield roadcourse at Texas Motor Speedway, less than 2 laps around Heartland Park, and about 3 laps around a small driver training track. I've tried the stock brakes, two different Raybestos (one was their Super Stops, don't remember the other), and Hawk HPS. Of those four the stock pads lasted the longest. The Hawk HPS are an absolute joke on the track. I ran them at Heartland park at LFest 1 and the friction material was destroyed after two sessions, and I was taking it easy. I didn't finish the thrid session. When I got home and pulled them apart the friction material was about to come off the backing plates. I had similar experience with both of the Raybestos compounds.

After all the pads, rotors and calipers I bought I could have paid for the TCE Wilwoods I have now twice. My recommendation is the TCE kit. After installing it almost two years ago I finally got to use it this summer. With C pads it was rock solid lap after lap and session after session. The rears faded, but there was never any reason to wonder if it would stop at the end of the straights.

If this is a one time deal for you, the TCE kit probably isn't realistic. In that case, I would say remove the splash shields from the spindles so the brakes can get some air and take two or three sets of stock pads with you to the track.
 
I am with Oilwell.you CAN make the stock ones last but only for maybe one weekend then they will be shot.Then you are off to the parts store for new rotors pads and rebuilt calipers[dust seals burn]Mine workbut at the end of the session they are hot!and starting to fade bad.Also learn to drive the track smoothly.Look at the vintage cars now.In the days those were running competitively they [driver] knew how to handle a car.many lap recordes were set and stood untill the mid 80's.That by itself is a testimant to their abilities.
Learn the track first,learn the vehicle next then learn to drive the vehicle around the track.Is it safer to use better brakes YES but it is also can a handicap for learning and you can learn bad habits.
Good example of this was when I was at thunderhill a few years ago,I was 5 seconds faster than many in the experienced class and they were on race tires and I was on street tires.A few asked me how I was doing it.And on instructor said to them,that is the difference between an experienced skilled driver and just an experienced driver.Stan
 
While I agree with Stan on many things, brakes are one of those things that I'm all about being able to slow the thing down. I would recommend good fluid, 600 degree dry boi;omg point and some track pads. Carbotech makes race pads for our trucks, they prototyped them for my L many years ago. I would keep the OE brakes and upgrade the fluid and pads.

In any HPDE situation you will be out there with many different vehicles and in a learning situation you have to be prepared to expect the unexpected, race pads will allow you to be able to whao that baby down before you ram into the Miata that just spun in front of you.
 
Those Carbotech guys are awesome in helping you figure out what you need. Called them up, discussed what I use the truck for (honestly gets driven to auto crosses more than anything else right now, lol) and he made a couple recommendations. We'll see how it works out. Said I should have them by Friday next week. Killed a set of stock pads at the first track day I attended and the HPS's were garbage at the most recent one last weekend. At the end of the third session I came off the track and stopped and had a small pile of piece of brake pad material sitting in the wheel. Had to get more serious for sure.
 
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