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brake pads

2K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  350zluvr 
#1 ·
i'm looking to replace my brake pads, i have searched through the forums and seems like every one is looking for street/track, i'm not using my Z on the track so i just need some good replacements for the OEM ones, any good sugestions?
 
#2 ·
I'm partial to the Hawk pads. Some people will say that any aftermarket pad that you can buy at the local store is better than the OEM's. I have also heard of people saying to go with EBC.
 
#3 ·
I second Smooth. The Hawk HPS pads are listed as street and light track duty. They are really well suited for the street. Dusting, compared to OEM, is nearly non-existant. Also, they are quiet. They have a great initial bite that is not too weak and not too strong. Also, the torque is nice an even. At high temps, the torque can fall off dramatically, but that only occurs on the track.

The best price I have found on these pads is from www.raceshopper.com.
 
#5 ·
just put the hawks in and when i started it up to move it the brake pad when to the floor and than built up, it seems a little soft, i only moved it about 10ft, was going to beed them in tonight, is this normal for the pedel to go all the way to the floor intially and to be soft? hopefully i can find out before tonight when i beed them in
 
#7 ·
Bleeding the brakes is time consuming and needs more than 1 person for it to be successful. Just keep bleeding in the proper order, and eventually the brakes will not be soft. Be sure you have enough fluid in the master cylinder so no bubbles sneak in.
 
#9 ·
Originally posted by bsr8129@Jun 26 2005, 02:21 PM
just put the hawks in and when i started it up to move it the brake pad when to the floor and than built up, it seems a little soft, i only moved it about 10ft, was going to beed them in tonight, is this normal for the pedel to go all the way to the floor intially and to be soft? hopefully i can find out before tonight when i beed them in
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The brake pedal will go to the floor when you FIRST step on the pads. Once you start driving you'll need to "bed" the brake pads in or else you'll never get the amount of braking force you're expecting from the improved pads. Bedding instructions should have came with your set of pads. This procedure is VERY important! I also recommend the Hawk pads!

sean
 
#10 ·
When you choose what kind of brake pads you want to go with you need to consider what type is the best for your driving style... some pads perform better once it is heated up. i'd say go with the Hawk HPS pads, these are the pads i am going with and they have had good reviews by a lot of other members
 
#13 ·
As for your pedal feel, I can address that.

First, once you are done mounting the pads, it will not be unusual to have to press the pedal a couple times. That is because you compressed the caliper piston when installing the pads. Nailing the pedal a couple times will bring it back into proper position.

During the install, did you loosen or disconnect any fluid lines? If no, skip to the next paragraph. If yes, then you probably need to redo your line bleeding. Make sure to do the rear passenger, rear driver, front passenger, and front driver in that order. Also, you will probably need two people unless you have speed bleeders or a Mitivac from Sears.com. Whatever you do, make sure to keep the master cylinder reservoir full, or you will have to bleed that too (trust me, you don't want to go there).

Now, bedding in the pads. They should have come with some instructions on this, but it is pretty basic. Go out and drive 20-25 mph. Stop slow. Do it again and stop slow. Do it again, but at 30-35mph. Stop slow. Again. Then, go 30-35mph and stop medium. Again, again. Now, 35-40mph and stop medium hard. Again, Again. Now, same speed, but stop hard!!! So hard the ABS is almost kicking in. It should feel like your face is being pulled off. Do this once or twice more. Now, park the car and feel the middle of the front rim. Is it hot? Really hot? If the center of the front wheel rim does not feel blazing hot, keep up the procedure until it does. Once you have got the heat you want, go out of the freeway and drive to cool off the brakes. Give it a good 20 minutes with minimal to no brake use. That is it, your done.

To make bedding in go even better, consider dismounting the rotors first and burnishing them with a power sander and 150 grit sandpaper. This removes old pad residue and helps to bed the new pads. However, it is not necessary for street driving.
 
#14 ·
I've had the Hawks on for a week. Silent - great feel - and NO dust. Period.
 

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#15 ·
if you don't want to spend alot of money you might want to try napa's premium brake pads. when i had my civic i switched from oem to these and the difference was so dramatic i would never buy oem again.

as far as the z i think they would be a better pad.

I never used ceramic though, i'm sure ceramic is available for the z.

please don't knock this post, i'm just reccomending better braking on the cheap.

also with my experience you should try to use a dot 4 or dot 5 brake fluid.

a big bottle of the stuff should not be more that 7 bucks. I cannot remembet the brand though. i think it might be vavoline but read all of the labels and look for max ferenhiet before fade. i think that it provides 70-80 degrees more heat before fading.

but if anything i reccomend replacing the brake fluid.
 
#16 ·
I second Smooth. The Hawk HPS pads are listed as street and light track duty. They are really well suited for the street. Dusting, compared to OEM, is nearly non-existant. Also, they are quiet. They have a great initial bite that is not too weak and not too strong. Also, the torque is nice an even. At high temps, the torque can fall off dramatically, but that only occurs on the track.
+1

Got the Hawk HPS and amazed with the performance difference and my rears now dust more than my fronts (can only tell after about 3 weeks of daily driving). Love 'em!!!
 
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