What front brake pads are you guys running?

[767Jockey]

I have 4 piston Wilwood Dynalites on the front of my Contemporary with the stock solid Jag E type rotors. I don't even remember what pads are in there except that they're Wilwood pads. The performance is poor at best. I want someting with a strong initial bite. I'm leaning toward EBC yellowstuff. What are you guys using, and are you happy with them?

[Snake2998]

I use Wilwood Plymatrix A pads - so far I am happy. good low and high temperature bite. Some dust.

[Tommy]

I doubt that poor brake performance will be dramatically improved by a pad change. I'd look for something more fundamental such as pedal ratio or master cylinder diameter.

[Sawdust]

I used the EBC Redstuff pads and was very happy with them

[767Jockey]

Originally Posted by Tommy

I doubt that poor brake performance will be dramatically improved by a pad change. I'd look for something more fundamental such as pedal ratio or master cylinder diameter.

Thanks Tommy - all that stuff has been researched and checked, I even had a local pro builder look at the car regarding possible mechanical issues. Everything checked out. The front pads and rotors have been sitting unused on the car since 2008. I'm hoping they just got hard and just don't work well anymore. If not at least that problem is eliminated and I continue to look. I'm hopeful the pad change will help.

[twobjshelbys]

How many miles have you driven? All new pads/rotors have to be "bedded" to break them in. Give it some time. Don't be gentle - get up to speed and take a few "hard" stops every now and then. Not enough to lock them up but like you'd do at a track turn. You want the brakes to warm up.

[Cobrakeith]

I use the EBC Yellowstuff and the initial bite is much better than what I had on my SSBC brake pads. I am happy with the Yellowstuff pads.

[767Jockey]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

How many miles have you driven? All new pads/rotors have to be "bedded" to break them in. Give it some time. Don't be gentle - get up to speed and take a few "hard" stops every now and then. Not enough to lock them up but like you'd do at a track turn. You want the brakes to warm up.

Thanks, Tony. I know the pads on there are Wilwood pads, however I don't recall what compound they are. I know the brake arm length and ratio is correct. I researched that completely, spoke with the guy who designed the custom pedal assembly, and with other pro car builders. It's to spec. I have spoken extensively with Wilwood tech support, as the calipers are theirs (Dynalite 4 piston) and the masters are theirs. All is in spec with regard to master sizing according to Wilwood and others. I spoke to Wilwood about exactly what you just mentioned, regarding proper bedding in the pads. I followed their procedure to the T. No change. Even they think the pads might just be old and need to be replaced. It's not common, but everything else checks out. For a quick $100 investment and 30 minutes of time, replacing the pads is an easy way to either fix the issue or eliminate another cause. I appreciate the input, it's one step at a time getting the car sorted out now.

[767Jockey]

Originally Posted by Cobrakeith

I use the EBC Yellowstuff and the initial bite is much better than what I had on my SSBC brake pads. I am happy with the Yellowstuff pads.

Thanks, Keith. That's sort of the way I'm leaning, toward the Yellowstuff pads, unless I hear a strong yay or nay here fron others about a better way to go. Amazon has a special on them for about $90 right now, you can't beat that.

[Tom Wells]

767,

I use Yellowstuff pads on both cars - one Cobra replica and one '81 Zephyr wagon. I use'em both on the street and at track days and am very happy with the pads. They're low dust and stop well. The cars have Mustang Cobra calipers.

Both cars have power brakes...

Tom

[CobraResurrect]

I have used EBC on an Audi I had and liked them. I now have been using Hawk street pads on all my vehicles including my truck.

I would sway away from any pad that advertises they are good for both street and track. I would doubt their effectiveness on the street until they are up to performance temps.

Proper bedding in on any pad is important.

[Tommy]

I hope it is just old pads. But if new ones don't result in brakes that can lock the front tires, come back here and share the following with us:

• Standard brakes or power brakes
• Single master cylinder or tandem master cylinders (front and rear)
• Pedal ratio
• Front master cylinder diameter

Maybe we can catch something the experts missed.
Good luck.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by 767Jockey

I have 4 piston Wilwood Dynalites on the front of my Contemporary with the stock solid Jag E type rotors. I don't even remember what pads are in there except that they're Wilwood pads. The performance is poor at best. I want someting with a strong initial bite. I'm leaning toward EBC yellowstuff. What are you guys using, and are you happy with them?

I have the 4 piston Sierra calipers on 12" rotors up front. That's similar to Wilwood. My original pads were geared more towards racing and were just not in the right temperature zone for normal street driving. Not to mention that they squealed, moaned and groaned like a garbage truck. I replaced them with the softer Hawk Performance pads #HB101F.800, which are basically high performance street pads, not racing pads. The noise is absolutely gone and the performance is very nice -- my wheels will lock up on a panic brake on the street without breaking my leg. Pretty easy to change them out, just pull the cotter pin, pull 'em out, and put in your racing pads for serious stuff. I think that's pretty much the same as yours.

[tonywyso]

EBC Yellow Stuff works very well for me. Nasty dirty until they bed in.

[bobcowan]

Most street Wilwoods are equipped with the BP-10 pads. Most performance oriented drivers don't like them, and complain about their street performance.

The BP-20's are a huge step up in street performance. The work well in dead cold temps, no noticeable dust, and are very quiet. My favorite street pad.

I run Polymatrix E on the track. Very dusty. And really noisy when hot. But excellent initial bite from first to last lap, very predictable, and easy to modulate. I can easily get 1 1/2 to 2 seasons on a set.

You don't need to resurface the rotors when going from BP-10 to BP-20. But you do need to do that if switching to a Polymatrix pad, or any non-Wilwood pad. They don't need to be cut, just resurfaced to get the old pad material off.

I use Hawk HP+ on my BDR with BMW power brakes. They are also very good. Slight dust, quiet, and easy to modulate.

[Jim Vander Wal]

I agree with Bob.
I ran BP-20s and liked 'em. This was after a stint with BP-10s which I thought were marginal, wouldn't even start with BP-10s if I was considering new pads.
Jim

[ERA174]

The front brakes on my early ERA are Wilwood Dynalite calipers with unknown pads and 11" rotors. The previous owner claimed to track the car and probably used racing pads. Stopping during street use was less than adequate to say the least. I am in the process of making some changes to the car. The front rotors have been upgraded to 12" and I'm considering the following pads for the Dynalite calipers; Hawk HPS, Wilwood BP-20 and EBC Yellow. I have used the Hawk HPS (High Performance Street) pads on the front of both my Subaru Forester XT and Ford F250. The stock Forester brakes were marginal, the Hawk HPS pads up front made a hugh difference in decreasing stopping distance with reduced fade. The stock F250 brakes were up to the tasks the truck was designed for. Installing the Hawk HPS pads up front decreased the stopping distance and also reduced fade and required pedal force. If Hawk offers the HPS pads for my Dynalite calipers, that's what I will be trying. Good luck finding something that will work for you. Let us know what you decide on and how it works out.

[jknich]

Porterfield R4-S

https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/m...akes/R4-S.html

[cycleguy55]

I'll note the same thing I tell many people complaining about poor braking on their cars, whether they're daily drivers, muscle cars or pretty much anything but supercars. The first thing to do is to run through the new pad / rotor bedding procedure. Yes, I know they're not new, but routine driving will often result in pad glazing, pad buildup on rotors or other braking maladies. The bedding procedure, properly done, often deals with these issues and avoids making unnecessary changes. A benefit, of course, is you already have everything you need to do this and it may well avoid spending money you don't need to. The only thing you have to lose is a bit of your time and perhaps some pad thickness.

Here's a link to Wilwood's instructions: https://www.wilwood.com/Pdf/Misc/Pad...ding_Steps.pdf