Brake Pads

It's time to change on the 996. I would like to but on some more agressive pads. I can tolerate some noise, but don't want to wear out my rotors. I won't be tracking this car. Any suggestions? I've had good results w/Hawk, but thought I'd get advice from any experience you guys might have had.

More aggressive means more dust and these type of pads are easier on rotors since they are generally softer which means they will not last as long as a standard duty pad. Is this OK for you?

Steven C. More dust is OK as long as it's not like PF pads where the dust + water = a non-soluble product that won't come off paint. I baby my 996 and clean/wax the wheels regularly and wide them off almost daily.

Pat, If you are not going to track the car and just use it on the street, why not go with OE or a softer compound?

Aben8057: I always like to feel like I'm improving performance when replacing OE...even if it's just a little bit. I noticed on Tirerack they have Hawk ceremic (supposed to be somewhat improved over OE) and composite (supposed to be much improved over OE with minimal increased dusting). Any thoughts/experience? Is ceremic the OE compound?

A change to a more aggressive pad may not have any effect on your stopping power on the street. In the case of a 996 Porsche used only on the street, you have way more braking power than most any other car even with the OE pads. It is unlikely that you are heating them up enough to cause fade. I'd stick with OE if it's cheaper and consider improving your stopping power and handling by putting the money saved towards your tire budget when the time comes.

Any ones you guys can recommend that provides little to zero dust for a street 911, yet still balances out with similar to OE stopping power?

What about the Porsche High performance pads?? has anyone tried them??

Benjamin....Mintex red box

Hawk HPS Great pad on both of my P Cars.

+1 on Hawk HPS if low dust and similar performance to OEM is a goal. I had Hawk HPS on previous Boxster S. Now using Pagid Sport on 996 since I'm doing some DEs.

just ordered Hawk HPS...thanks for all the info!!

For the C4S do I have to do any mods to the Hawk HPS pads? I remember reading something somewhere about this....

Yes, for both of you guys you will need to drill a small hole in each pad for the wear sensor to plug in. Very easy and self explanatory once you see the pad you remove.

Hawks can be a bit tougher on rotors than other choices. I use Porterfield R4S on the 996 and F-car. Not compatible with the brake wear sensors without drilling holes but I just tired them off. I pull the wheels often enough to not need a sensor.

Jaker, when you say it's tougher on rotors, can you put some numbers behind that? How many less miles on rotors as compared to OEM pads? I know that might be hard to produce, but when you say tougher, just want to know what the real results are.

I use Hawk HPS as well. Good performance. Much less dust than OEM. Good pricing too from AJ USA.

how much are they at AJ? I was going to order thru tirerack

$103 for fronts, shipping included, 12 mo's ago.

Of course I do not have numbers. I don't manufacture brake pads for a living and have not done double blind scientific tests. I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night either. My conclusion is based on two things: 1) Hawk, Porterfield, and Performance Friction brand brake pads are all manufactured by the same company - Performance Friction. I have spoken to several company reps about the relative merits of the products in their line and they have told me the Hawk line is more aggressive on rotors than the Performance Friction brand. If I remember right, Porterfield is somewhere in the middle. This is somewhat of a generalization given the different compounds in the line, but they do have common characteristics within the brands. 2) The information from the company reps has been backed up by just about everyone I have spoken with who has used the various brands. In this case I am referring to their race products, not street products, but I would guess it trickles down to the street. Again, similar characteristics across the brands line-up. For those of us who track their cars we go through many sets of pads each year and have ample opportunities to compare. I have no idea about how well OEM wears on rotors but you will notice I never said anything about them in my first post. I simply said Hawk is more aggressive than 'other choices'. I had Hawk in mind when I wrote that as that was the brand most were recommending in this post.

Pat, I didn't mean to burst the bubble, but last DE (I know you mentioned you wont be doing DE with yours/But I know how hard you break when you were my instructor), I installed HPS on my 02 996. Doing great but started feeling some fading later in the hotter afternoons. I installed the OEMs back(TEXTARs/Porsche/Brembo) and I thought they were better. They have that sand paper feel when I was hard on the brakes. (Not sure though if the bleeding I did that second time was better).

HPS's are not track pads! That is not what the fellow was asking for. I have used Porterfield, Padgid or Carbotech on my race car.

Thank you, but I realize that. Thats why I wrote that I am aware of his situation. I am comparing the stock to the HPS.

I have seen these on Ebay for a good price. You say for the street go with the Red Box?

Hawk HPS is not hard on rotors, I have them on my other imports. They are a great improvement over stock. They actually work great on the occasional DE track/AX days.

Mike Just for street use, were you happy with the Hawks? I do tend to break a little easier on the street that the track as the wife's not too happy about having to be mechanically removed from the windshield.

Pat, Just for street use, Yes, they were fine. {Hahaha... I'm telling your wife! j/k} But for the last DE, NO, not with the HPS. Comparing the HPS Hawk to the OEM Porsche(Textar/Brembo with 996-XXX part no stamped), I really felt that the OEM didn't fade (for my level of driving/braking / I'm just in the Blue Group) compared to the HPS. Specialy braking at the end of the VIR front straight 2 weekends ago. I switched between those two pads couple of times that weekend. Like you, I was looking for pads that weren't going to wear my rotors drasticaly that why I first chose the HPS. .. but ended up putting back the OEMs.

+1!

Mike So are you wide open through the esses at VIR yet? I'm feathering the throttle slightly to keep the tires on the ground at the top of the hills and making sure I hit my apexes good (ie no pinching), but basically full throtle. I must admit, it's been awhile since I've been on street tires there, though.

Pat, I have a lot of steak and rice to eat before i could get to your level! (Thats a compliment!) I'm on street tires with slightly lowered suspension(H&R springs/Bilsieins shocks combination)and I get nervous through the esses. The car kinda feel floaty there for me... and that could also be just me not taking it to the next level I think my fastest speed entering the esses is 108. and of course I heard that the worst carnage in VIR happens at "Southbend" which is right after the climbing esses so I am really careful there making sure I'm not pushing beyond what I'm comfortable with (politicaly corect term for 'chickening out' ) //maybe a couple more rides with you will get me past that...

my mintek's sound like a freakin' bus when I brake......less dust though...but the sound...embarrassing!

HPS = no sound, no dust

Thanks. I almost went with the Red box. now I will prob go with the HPS.