brake pad question

[ny2ca]

Has anyone used Duralast Gold Ceramic, Morse Ceramic or Beck Arnley brake pads? Just need to get something quickly because my brake pads are gone...

 

[Hugh]

Have Science of Speed overnight you a set of Carbotech Bobcats. Or you could bid on the set in the NSXPO eBay auctions. The auction ends tomorrow night at 6:30PM Pacific time. If you are the high bid I can probably have Carbotech get them right out to you. But if you absolutely, positively have to have them in a day, call SoS. Since you're in San Diego you could probably just go pick up a set of pads in person at Dali.

The eBay auction is here.

 

[nsxtasy]

Has anyone used Duralast Gold Ceramic, Morse Ceramic or Beck Arnley brake pads?

Those are crappy generic brake pads from your neighborhood auto parts store, and should not be used on an NSX. Either get stock pads, or get aftermarket pads that are at least as good as stock pads. The ones you mention are neither.

 

[ny2ca]

thanks guys, called Chris at SOS and got the Hawk HPS - hopefully they don't dust very much.

 

[quiksilver55]

so who makes the OEM brake pads? finding a few "OEM" pads online.

 

[nsxtasy]

finding a few "OEM" pads online.

Sellers will sometimes claim that crappy generic pads (like the ones previously mentioned) are "as good as OEM" when they're not.

The Honda brand OEM pads are sold at Acura dealers. If you don't get those, then buy a high-quality aftermarket pad known to be at least as good as the OEM pads (which are actually pretty good).

 

[Alan C.]

nsxtasy,
What are using on the track?

 

[nsxtasy]

What are (you) using on the track?

I should note first that I am too lazy to change my brake pads before and after track events, so I prefer to use the same brake pads on the track as on the street. Therefore, I like to use the most aggressive pads I can without excessive squealing or excessive need for warmup. (And I realize that in doing so, I am giving up a bit of stopping power compared with track-only pads.)

I've tried a lot of different kinds of pads. Right now my preferred pad is the Cobalt Friction GT Sport pads and that is what I have been using for a while.

I should also add that Cobalt is currently revamping its product line, and will be coming out with newer, even better products in the very near future. If I didn't already have some of the GT Sports, and Cobalt were out of them, then I would probably buy the Hawk HP Plus in the meantime.

If I were using track-only pads, I would probably be using the Cobalt Spec VR, but there are a lot of very good track-only pads on the market from various manufacturers, including Cobalt, Carbotech, Hawk, etc.

 

[Ski_Banker]

I should note first that I am too lazy to change my brake pads before and after track events, so I prefer to use the same brake pads on the track as on the street. Therefore, I like to use the most aggressive pads I can without excessive squealing or excessive need for warmup. (And I realize that in doing so, I am giving up a bit of stopping power compared with track-only pads.)

I've tried a lot of different kinds of pads. Right now my preferred pad is the Cobalt Friction GT Sport pads and that is what I have been using for a while.

I should also add that Cobalt is currently revamping its product line, and will be coming out with newer, even better products in the very near future. If I didn't already have some of the GT Sports, and Cobalt were out of them, then I would probably buy the Hawk HP Plus in the meantime.

If I were using track-only pads, I would probably be using the Cobalt Spec VR, but there are a lot of very good track-only pads on the market from various manufacturers, including Cobalt, Carbotech, Hawk, etc.

Seems like, for some common performance upgrades, there should be a consensus list of what works best for 90% of people in a similar situation. Tires, brake pads, others? For example, for summer road tires, the GSD3 seems like the best across the board (unless maybe you live in a desert and don't care at all about wet traction). Any thoughts Ken (and others with lots of track + road time), on best all around streetworthy + track brake pads?

 

[nsxtasy]

Seems like, for some common performance upgrades, there should be a consensus list of what works best for 90% of people in a similar situation. Tires, brake pads, others? For example, for summer road tires, the GSD3 seems like the best across the board (unless maybe you live in a desert and don't care at all about wet traction). Any thoughts Ken (and others with lots of track + road time), on best all around streetworthy + track brake pads?

There's rarely a consensus about anything. Part of that is because different folks have different priorities. Some people want pads that are less expensive, some want pads that are quieter, some want pads that don't need to warm up to be effective, etc. Similarly, with tires, the F1 GS-D3 is a great tire in many ways, but some people want tires that are even stickier on dry pavement, some people want tires that cost less, etc.

That's why I accompany my post with comments about what my priorities are (and how I make my decision)...

 

[Ski_Banker]

There's rarely a consensus about anything. Part of that is because different folks have different priorities. Some people want pads that are less expensive, some want pads that are quieter, some want pads that don't need to warm up to be effective, etc. Similarly, with tires, the F1 GS-D3 is a great tire in many ways, but some people want tires that are even stickier on dry pavement, some people want tires that cost less, etc.

That's why I accompany my post with comments about what my priorities are (and how I make my decision)...

I know...and I do agree, but that's why I said "90%". I think for non-climate impacted parts like brake pads, you could easily group NSXers into just a couple buckets:

Never track (want long life, minimum dust)
Occasionally track (want higher performance but still streetability)
Track only

Unless there is an exorbitant difference in price, I think most folks would pick the "best" for their situation regardless of a few bucks.

For tires, it certainly gets tougher because more variables and cost can be a more important concern. Even then, seems like we could group needs (for street tires) into:

Summer only vs. All Season
Necessity for wet traction
Top performance vs. lesser (ie, by cost/treadlife).

Can't be more than a few "bests" based on these buckets.

Or we could just *search* but what fun would that be? :tongue: