Originally Posted by nypaul728

how much were the fronts and rears?!!

Originally Posted by EnviedG35

Just got these new pads after much research. I wanted a pad that had that great initial bite that was provided with the oem pads. But also was relatively low on dust, but didnt fade horribly like the stock pads did....oh and most important for a daily driver....NOISE.

I have used Hawks in the past...from HPS to ceramics and honestly was never impressed with either. The ceramics were low on dust and noise, but sucked on initial bite and i felt like i really had to lay the pedal to the floor to get any kind of reaction out of them. The HPS were great when warmed/hot, but sucked on initial bite otherwise, which is the most important thing for a daily driver that doesnt see much heat in the brakes.

So...after much research I decided to go with StopTechs Street Performance Brake pads. I must have read 1000 reviews on them, and for the most part, i would say 95% of the people who used them were very happy with them. So i figured what the hell.

Key features of these pads:
High initial bite
No noise
Moderate dust
Very linear feel
High resistance to fade
And can also be used for moderate tracking, even though they are primarily designed as a "high performance street pad"


On to the test:

Im using my original rotors which have seen pretty easy miles and have plenty left on them, so i simply replaced pads front and rear. These pads have all the same shims and clips as OEM to keep down and squeek as well as match up with all the clips and pins to hold the pads in firmly.
Install was a breeze.

Bed in procedure.

5 80-90% brake pressure decelerations from 60-10
5 80-90% brake pressure decelerations from 80-10

The first 2 slow downs didnt feel like much, honestly. But as the pads warmed up into the 3rd one, i could really feel these start to bite a bit more. After the first 5, i could start to smell the the pads. I then continued on with the second set of 5...and as expected they started to fade a bit around the 9th and 10th decel. I then drove around for about 10 mins to let the brakes cool a bit.


I then proceeded with another round of bedding.

This time i did 5 hard braking from 80-20
Then another 5 moderate from 80-20.

The second set of bedding i could immediately feel the bite increase on these pads and the fade was almost non existant. After the 2nd decel from 80-20, the pads bite so well the ABS kicked in as soon as i hit the brakes at 80 and i was getting some screeching out the tires and there was no fade all the way down to 20. The smell from the pads was pretty intense after this second set of runs. I hopped out the car and my rotors had a totally different color to them. Almost blueish, so i know they were plenty hot. But also, they had a very bright luster to them that wasnt there before. I guess these pads really cleaned off the surface of the rotors nicely cause they look like mirrors now haha.


So i then drove home and let the brakes cool fully before i went back out on the road. After about 2 hours i hopped in the car, pulled out the driveway, and DAMN, just going in reverse these pads have some trememdous initial bite, even when cold.


Overall impression of pads so far:
Now keep in mind i only have about 40 miles on these pads, but I did go through a pretty good bed in procedure to insure the pad material was transferred over to the rotors.

Initial bite:
Awesome!! to say the least. All i have to do is rest my foot on the brake and you can feel these pads start to bite the rotor...but its not so much that it jerks you back or anything, but just enough to know the brakes are in control.

Control:
After the initial bite the response with these pads is well, the best way i can explain it is to be very linear. I def dont have to use as much travel on the pedal to get the car to slow down but its very smooth. However, the harder you press, the more these puppies bite.

Dust:
I noticed a bit more dust than with my oem pads, and with the Hawk ceramics, but not as much as the HPS. But nothing that isnt expected out of a higher performance pad. I rather have the brakes than worry about the dust.


Noise:

None so far.


Sorry for the length, but i figured anybody who may be in the market to upgrade brakes might find this helpful and help them with their decision on what pads to get.


VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!

After you have completed your bedding procedure, re torque your lug nuts. I nearly had a wheel come off while driving but thank GOD i was going slow and was able to stop in the middle of the street to tighten up the lug nuts....yes they were that loose...i even lost one of them. I guess the massive amount of heat generated from the bedding caused the studs and lugs to expand enough to cause they to loosen up. I have never had problems with lugs coming loose and i always properly torque my lugs by hand. Both front wheels lugs nuts were loose...a couple were loose enough for me to spin them off by hand.

Originally Posted by infiniticrew860

What rotors do u have? I'm thinking about getting power stop cross drilled and slotted rotors.

Originally Posted by 63Corvette

I agree with the OP. I am running these Stoptech Street performance brake pads on the street on my 2004 Z06 Corvette. My car has Stoptech BBK, but my friend who also has a 04 Z06 is running these pads on stock Z06 brakes. We both like them for both street and light track usage. It is VERY important that they are bedded in the manner shown on the OP message and the Stoptech white paper. This will preclude "green fade" and allow your brake pads to work in the optimum manner. These pads are rated at 1300 degrees F, so you should NEVER reach their max temperature on the street. I use them at low brake effort tracks like MSR Cresson. I would recommend RACE pads for an aggressive usage track like Elkhart Lake or Eagles Canyon. I use Cobalt XR1 or PFC-01 pads for those tracks. I am currently installing these pads on my wife's G37S. BTW they are cheap!