Just put on new brake pads and rotors

[vtecNSX1]

I just put on some cobalt gt sport pads and cross drilled rotors and I couldnt be happier. If anybody is getting new pads get the cobalt gt sports you wont be disappointed.

 

[Osiris_x11]

better 'bite' w/ new pads?

Can you offer a more analytical & subjective critique?

I got some aftermarket drilled/slotted rotors as well recently (mainly for aesthetics/cosmetics). I would like a bit more of a bite or a sharper and more precise brake-pedal feel, would you say the pads you selected are along those lines? My NSX is for daily-use & enthusiastic/spirited driving; not a track/auto-cross carriage.

 

[D'Ecosse]

I just installed new Stoptech floating hat 2-piece rotors on front; I already had drilled rotors on rear & in process of upgrading fronts, put complete set of Hawk HPS pads all round.
I followed the rotor break-in guidlelines - my only question would be how much cooltime between each braking event should be allowed: I did the series of 10 60-10mph stops pretty close together on a long straight country road with no traffic. i.e. accelerate, brake & repeat. By the end of first series I'm pretty sure they were seriously hot! Then went for ~ 10 mile high-speed no-braking cruise on adjacent freeway to allow good cooling before repeating.

During heavy pressure braking the brakes indeed feel quite strong. However in light braking I find they lack the same bite I previously experienced & need more pedal pressure to feel secure that car is slowing as it should.

So - is my break-in complete?
Can I expect them to get better?
Perhaps still some bed-in between new rotors & pads to get the full effect?
Do I need to repeat the break-in process, maybe allowing more time/cooling between each event?
Should I go back to stock OEM pads (which still had a lot of material left)?

Edit: just noticed in my quote by oldeguy that I broke (no pun!) one of my pet peeves myself & mis-spelled one of the brake vs. break instances!

 

[vtecNSX1]

Im not sure what kind of pads were on there before because they came with the car. What I notice is ALOT more initial bite and they just feel much stronger. With my old pads I had to really slam the brakes to even get my abs to activate, but with the cobalts it is really easy to lock up the wheels.

 

[OLDE GUY]

So - is my brake-in complete?
Can I expect them to get better?
Perhaps still some bed-in between new rotors & pads to get the full effect?
Do I need to repeat the break-in process, maybe allowing more time/cooling between each event?
Should I go back to stock OEM pads (which still had a lot of material left)?

My guess is that the brake-in is complete. Typically more performance oriented pads function best at a somewhat high temperature than is usually achieved with street driving. So, often times, performance pads don't have a great bite or braking ability when cold i.e. street driving. This is the major disadvantage of more performance oriented pads. My guess is that if you heat the pads up by aggressive braking they will be fantastic. If they are not, repeat the bedding proceedure.

Full Disclosure: I haven't used these pads so someone else may be better qualified to specifically answer your questions. JMO

 

[nsxtasy]

I just put on some cobalt gt sport pads and cross drilled rotors and I couldnt be happier. If anybody is getting new pads get the cobalt gt sports you wont be disappointed.

The GT Sport pads from Cobalt Friction is my personal pad of choice these days, on both my cars, for both street and track use.

On the street, they have a nice "bite" (what Osiris was asking about) and grip very well. They don't require the warmup that more aggressive compounds do, as Olde Guy was mentioning. (You can see on Cobalt's website that the GT Sport are effective at temperatures of 75F and higher, whereas their Spec VR track pads need to get up to 350F to be effective.) They rarely squeal, and on the few occasions when they do, it's still pretty quiet. This was a big improvement over the Carbotech Panther Plus I was using previously, which squealed like... well, let's just say they were way too loud for my personal taste.

On the track, I've found that the GT Sport pads work very well, and can stand up to the heat of track use without any problems.

Osiris, I highly recommend the GT Sport pads, even if you never take your car on the track. Try a set - I think you'll like them!

Ken, I agree with Olde Guy's assessment of your brakes, on all counts: The break-in should be complete, the lack of initial grip may be due to the higher temperature needed for aggressive pads to be effective, and I haven't tried that particular pad either so I'm guessing too.

 

[freelance201]

you could be disappointed with the cross drilled rotors though, they will definitely crack faster then slotted or plain rotors..
but I do have to admit that cross drilled look really cool!

 

[nsxtasy]

you could be disappointed with the cross drilled rotors though, they will definitely crack faster then slotted or plain rotors..

Not in my experience. I've used cross-drilled rotors, slotted rotors, and solid-faced rotors, and all lasted about the same number of miles (including track miles) before cracking. Yes, the cracks in the cross-drilled rotors formed around the holes, so one might incorrectly assume that the holes caused the cracking, but keeping track of the actual miles before they cracked showed that they didn't crack any sooner than any other kind.

 

[OLDE GUY]

The GT Sport pads from Cobalt Friction is my personal pad of choice these days, on both my cars, for both street and track use.

Ken - How do the GT Sport compare to the Panther Plus on generating brake dust?
Thanks,,,Bill

 

[Larry Bastanza]

They both dust ALOT

HTH,
LarryB

 

[nsxtasy]

They both dust ALOT

Yup.

Then again, in my experience, all brake pads dust a lot. Go to the track, you use up brakes and the wheels get dirty. It's a fact of life...

 

[Osiris_x11]

F & R pads can be mixed?

Thanks for the insights nsxtasy, I'm gonna acquire a set of GT Sports pads by Cobalt Friction!

I got a few more odd queries, lol!

Using drilled/slotted rotors cause premature or rapid brake-pad breakdown, thus needing more often replacement

I know the NSX brakes have a significant bias regarding brake effort between the front & rear, the front exerting majority of the effort. Therefore, using aftermarket brake-pads on the front and OEM pads on the rear (ie. "mixing" of pads) is something not advised as in the case of mixing front-rear tire brands

you could be disappointed with the cross drilled rotors though, they will definitely crack faster then slotted or plain rotors..
but I do have to admit that cross drilled look really cool!

As the timeless adage goes, ye get what ye pay'eth for! The majority of drilled/slotted aftermarket rotors aren't engineered to be modified (drilled or slotted); they are merely 'blanks' manufactured by various outfitters. An outside party then modifies them, adding the drill holes & slotted grooves. The economical blanks are cast-iron coated in zinc, made in China. The next tier up are the Bradi & Brembo blanks. Apparently they both are from the same company, but it's more of a marketing thing w/ the name difference. Also one is manufactured in Mexico, the other in Brazil. Brembo doesn't offer a combined drilled/slotted brake-disc, but they do offer one or the other. Of-course, there are Power Slots, Porject Mu, and many other offerings.

 

[nsxtasy]

Using drilled/slotted rotors cause premature or rapid brake-pad breakdown, thus needing more often replacement

I have not found that to be the case. I've heard people claim that the slots (or holes) "shave off" extra pad material, but the fact is that this doesn't occur because the surface of the rotor is still flat (hopefully ). I have not experienced any difference in brake pad life (measured by number of track miles) resulting from the various types of brake rotor.

I know the NSX brakes have a significant bias regarding brake effort between the front & rear, the front exerting majority of the effort. Therefore, using aftermarket brake-pads on the front and OEM pads on the rear (ie. "mixing" of pads) is something not advised as in the case of mixing front-rear tire brands

I really don't think it's a problem. It might be a problem if we were discussing pads whose characteristics were vastly different - race pads with street/track pads, or street/track pads with generic pads from the auto parts store. But the OEM pads (assuming we're talking NSX OEM pads, rather than the less-aggressive OEM Legend pads which are the same size/shape and will fit) are actually fairly aggressive pads, pretty similar (if not quite as aggressive) to the street/track pads we're talking about here. I've mixed them with no problems.

The majority of drilled/slotted aftermarket rotors aren't engineered to be modified (drilled or slotted); they are merely 'blanks' manufactured by various outfitters. An outside party then modifies them, adding the drill holes & slotted grooves.

True of many rotors. However, some rotors are actually cast with the holes and/or slots, rather than having them drilled/ground afterwards.