Pads - front vs rear, diff compound?

[BigD]

My recommendation is that you use the same pads on both ends of the car.

Yup, that's the plan now, thanks!

Many of the Spec E30 guys at the NASA nationals in 2008 were running Hawk DTC-60 front and HT-10 year. The DTC-60 is considered an improvement to the HT-10. The HT-10 is now considered sort of an older pad. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm usually about the last guy in the paddock to move up to newer pad compounds. LOL. I like consistency and don't like swapping pad compounds all the time.

I'd get the coolest pad I could but DTC pads aren't available for the RX7, at least not from tire rack. They're significantly cheaper than HT10 though, so I wish.

[nando]

what about mixing rear pads on the same rotor?

I have an extra set of rotors I can use for dedicated track pads.

[blueapplesoda]

As in pad compound 1 on the outside and compound 2 on the inside, all on one rotor?

[asubimmer]

I think he means using street pads on the street and track pads on the same rotors when he goes out to the track. There isn't anything wrong w/ that.

[BigD]

I think he means using street pads on the street and track pads on the same rotors when he goes out to the track. There isn't anything wrong w/ that.

I don't know if it's the same idea but Smith actually says the proper breakin procedure for rotors is to do gradually increasing intensity of stops with cheap pads, then switch to the racing compound and leave it alone.

[nrubenstein]

Just to correct one incorrect notion about the HP+:

The HP+ is NOT, NOT, NOT a track pad. It has barely any more heat tolerance than the HPS, and worse yet, it is basically on/off when overheated. Do *not* use them on track.

The notion of track pads in front and street pads in the rear is also a bad one. An aggressive driver who is actually using the track pads will run into problems - the rear pads will fade away or disintegrate without the driver noticing, and the fronts will get overloaded sometime afterwards. I personally rode this one into a gravel trap at 115MPH. Actually, I was airborne over the gravel trap for a good third of that.

Edit: Just in case anyone thinks I have something against the HP+, I don't. I own a set and absolutely freaking love them for conepacking. I have never, ever driven on another pad that bites like the HP+, and I have driven on a *lot* of pads.

[nando]

I think he means using street pads on the street and track pads on the same rotors when he goes out to the track. There isn't anything wrong w/ that.

yep!

[kishg]

running HT-10 all around. no issues.

[SimonH]

Many of the Spec E30 guys at the NASA nationals in 2008 were running Hawk DTC-60 front and HT-10 year.

This is what I ran at nationals and I liked it. The DTC 60 seemed very grabby driving around in the paddock but once on track at racing speed they work very well. I used to run HT-10 on the front and blues on the rear and that was an acceptable setup as well. I know plenty who run HT-10's all the way around but on my E30 m3 I didn't like this setup as the rear wanted to come around when trail braking. I don't know if this is the case with the 325 as I haven't tried it but I know plenty of people who run HT-10's all the way around with no issues.

[Massive Lee]

A properly set-up brake system will almost get the front and rear rotors to the same temps. Even though the front brakes perform twice as much braking as the rear (on a stiffly suspended racecar), they also are much better cooled. Therefore, using front and rear pads with very different caracteristics is not a good idea. Basically, you don't want pads to reach optimal temps at a much different rate.

[ScottL]

A safe recipe that I used during my first DE's was Hawk Blues on the front and Mintex 1144's on the rear. Street tires. Worked fine. I ran HT-10's all around last year with R-comp tires and they were great.

[kishg]

I ran HT-10's all around last year with R-comp tires and they were great.

me too.. love em!

[renfield90]

Just to correct one incorrect notion about the HP+:

The HP+ is NOT, NOT, NOT a track pad. It has barely any more heat tolerance than the HPS, and worse yet, it is basically on/off when overheated. Do *not* use them on track.

The notion of track pads in front and street pads in the rear is also a bad one. An aggressive driver who is actually using the track pads will run into problems - the rear pads will fade away or disintegrate without the driver noticing, and the fronts will get overloaded sometime afterwards. I personally rode this one into a gravel trap at 115MPH. Actually, I was airborne over the gravel trap for a good third of that.

Edit: Just in case anyone thinks I have something against the HP+, I don't. I own a set and absolutely freaking love them for conepacking. I have never, ever driven on another pad that bites like the HP+, and I have driven on a *lot* of pads.

In my experience with the HP+, I have to disagree. They are obviously not a "full" track compound, but certainly track-worthy. I've run them on my Celica for track days on the front only (rears are drums). I've yet to have them give up on me, even in extreme ambient temperatures (near 110 degrees F). And yes, I'm pushing the car. And, on top of that, the Celica has an automatic transmission, which by design does not engine brake very well and forces me to use the brake pedal more than your average car.

That's on street tires though. The OP never mentioned what kind of track use he was doing (racing, HPDE, time trials), what kind of tires he was running, whether he's got serious power adders, etc. As someone else mentioned, an aggressive rear compound can make the rear end hard to handle during trailbraking, if you do alot of that.

[BigD]

The OP never mentioned what kind of track use he was doing (racing, HPDE, time trials), what kind of tires he was running, whether he's got serious power adders, etc.

HPDE/time trials, 235 RT615, very healthy and free breathing S52.

[renfield90]

HPDE/time trials, 235 RT615, very healthy and free breathing S52.

...yeah, you're going to be going considerably faster than my Celica, have more stopping power, and (probably) weigh more. Stick with the dedicated stuff.

My humble two cents: start off with the same compound on all four corners. Take care when trailbraking. If the rears are too strong, step down to a less aggressive pad. Still take care then until you get used to it, as the rear pads will "act" differently than the fronts.