Shhhh.....

[Todd TCE]

Been very quiet over here the past few weeks.

No news is good news or people just got nothing much to talk about with brakes?

[HwyCruiser]

OK Todd, I've got a couple (well, six) questions for you...

I've had the front 13" kit on the car a little over 2 years now and north of 20k miles. How long are the Q-pads going to last? I noticed they have some grooves in the pad material itself... once material is worn down to the bottom of the grooves is it time for new pads? What does a set of new Q pads run nowadays?

Also, lately I've been noticing that after the rotors warm up I notice a little pedal oscillation on light braking. I kind of feels like the pads are dragging over the slots. Do smooth rotors provide any smoother pedal feel over slotted rotors? How much is a set of new rotors going for? Anything special about swapping over the hats?

[Todd TCE]

Only six? And all around one central topic! This is going to be rather easy.

The Q pads are 'no more'. In fact I'm surprised you still have them. They are, or were, an ok pad with good intentions. They are Raybestos Quietstops. Thus Q pads.

The problems they proved to have were exactly as you describe in the oscillation issues. When too hot they break down and transfer. Often in spots. But if you run them hard at a low temp they clean up. Only to come back another day.

For some time I moved to Hawk HPS. However today we have Wilwood BP10 pads to replace those Q pads. But I can still do Q if your heart is set on them.

Pad info:
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/pads.html

Pads all deposit material in the slots. As they wipe the pad. Some flutter at times is not uncommon with slots. However smooth surfaces will not be any less effective for you in day to day driving. And dust less too.

Rotors are listed here in the menu:
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/rotors.html
$158ea plus a bolt kit.

Move to the pads first and simply hand sand the rotors. You can still do rotors later if for some reason they don't clean up.

[HwyCruiser]

Todd, thank you for the informative reply. I'll be calling about the Hawk pads. From what you describe that should do the trick. Other than the issue you've cleared up for me above, I LOVE the front kit.

Keep the specs on the rear kit on file for me. One of these days I'll able to swing the matching set. Hopefully soon.

[Todd TCE]

I have two sets of HPS pads on the shelf I noticed today. Not the normal pad today as not Wilwood. But I'll cut you a deal on them if you like.

Rear kits are few and far between but still doable.

[Joe Walsh]

I have two sets of HPS pads on the shelf I noticed today. Not the normal pad today as not Wilwood. But I'll cut you a deal on them if you like.

Rear kits are few and far between but still doable.

Todd, I've got a set of 'donor' rear OEM rotors...can you still do a rear 4 piston set to match my front set of 6 piston Wilwoods?
Joe

[Todd TCE]

Man... timing on those rear rotors is bad...

I recently finished up a run of iron hats. And I did not do any MM rears. I think there's a set of them currently up on the shelf. I'd have gladly run yours and saved you a few bucks but I can't really take them in on a trade unless they are new. I wouldn't feel right about passing them off as new to another customer.

[Fourth Horseman]

Re: pads and transfer to the rotors: I've had very good results with the Wilwood BP10 pads that Todd moved me to. I have not had any of the pad transfer issues that I had with the Hawk HPS pads. Also much more quiet than the Hawk pads and they seem to generate more braking force, as well. I've noticed that under full braking from 60 or 70 MPH the ABS really struggles to keep up.

BP10 pads highly recommended. :up:

Question: does Wilwood make a pad for our stock rear calipers in BP10 compound?

[HwyCruiser]

Re: pads and transfer to the rotors: I've had very good results with the Wilwood BP10 pads that Todd moved me to. I have not had any of the pad transfer issues that I had with the Hawk HPS pads. Also much more quiet than the Hawk pads and they seem to generate more braking force, as well. I've noticed that under full braking from 60 or 70 MPH the ABS really struggles to keep up.

BP10 pads highly recommended. :up:

Question: does Wilwood make a pad for our stock rear calipers in BP10 compound?

I was wondering what the difference between the Hawks and BP10 pads were. I almost when with the Hawks, but because of your timely post I ordered the BP10s instead.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Todd TCE]

The timing was good!

I'm not sure anyone can say anything bad about Hawk HPS pads however. I've never seen them have pad transfer problems. I'm curious to know if the problematic pads were not really Q pads and not HPS?

I'd say the BP10 compound and HPS are very similar in values. Both are modest street performance pads but NOT track pads. For you guys with some track plans I'd suggest a move into the BP20. Even some run this on the street with good results. But with the added wear and noise.

[Fourth Horseman]

The timing was good!

I'm not sure anyone can say anything bad about Hawk HPS pads however. I've never seen them have pad transfer problems. I'm curious to know if the problematic pads were not really Q pads and not HPS?

I'd say the BP10 compound and HPS are very similar in values. Both are modest street performance pads but NOT track pads. For you guys with some track plans I'd suggest a move into the BP20. Even some run this on the street with good results. But with the added wear and noise.

Well, I *think* the pads you sent me initially with my kit were Hawk. They were out of box, so I can't be 100% sure. What I do know is that I got pad transfer and they were so noisy as to be really obnoxious. After you recommended going with the BP10s my problems went away. Maybe I just got a bad batch of Hawks. My rear Hawk HPS pads have been ok. Still pretty noisy, though. Sometimes they are more noisy than my fronts.

So I assume Wilwood only makes pads for their calipers and not OEM equipment?

[Todd TCE]

If you still have the old pads, the Hawks don't have any markings on the back but in one corner where they are makred SRS or something like that.

The Wilwood pads will always have a part number laser etched into them.
15Q-xxxx for example. The Q is the compound of the pad, the xxxx the part no.

[Fourth Horseman]

If you still have the old pads, the Hawks don't have any markings on the back but in one corner where they are makred SRS or something like that.

The Wilwood pads will always have a part number laser etched into them.
15Q-xxxx for example. The Q is the compound of the pad, the xxxx the part no.

It's kind of hard to read on the back of my old pads, as they're somewhat worn where the pistons made contact, a bit rusty and dirty, but at the top of the backplate is a stamped "16MJ", and then below that is a printed part number which looks like "HB101M HPS." Then on the next line it reads "Hawk-7266-2-EF." They definitely look like Hawk pads, but either way I'm happier with the Wilwood pads you recommended.

[Todd TCE]

Yes those would be the Hawks. Surprised. I'd have thought you came before the Hawks.

The BP10s and now the BP20s seem to get good review. The 20s more for high temp applications where the 10s will give up.

[HwyCruiser]

Todd, thanks for the advice to upgrade the pads.

I put the BP10 pads in this weekend and bed them in. So far I like them a lot, they seem much better mannered than the old Q pads. It seemed like the fitment is greatly improved over the old Q pads. I remember having to adjust the dog ears and butter the back of Q pads to keep them from knocking, but I just dropped the BP10s in and so far I haven't noticed any knocking at all. Much smoother light pedal feel too.

We'll see how the next 1000 miles go, but from my initial impressions and Fourth Horseman's feedback these should do the trick! :cool:

[Todd TCE]

Glad they are working out thus far. Let's hope it stays that way.

Later if you do some open track day runs let's consider a bump to the BP20s.