Philostang
Chrome Hater
I've run Hawks and Carbotech, so here are a couple observations from my experience.
Most of the talk about how track pads need heat to brake or brake terribly when cold seem to apply to Hawk pads. Maybe there are other brands with this quality too, but the Carbotech XP10 and XP12 are pretty damn impressive in ambient temps (40+ deg). These are their intermediate level track pads, and they have more aggressive initial bite at ambient temps than any Hawk pad I've tried (including HPS). Sure, they need heat in them to start braking like they really can (which is fan-tabulous on track), but that's to do their high-level magic on track (think "from 130+ mph" over and over), not to actually brake well in a street-level panic stop (60-80 mph in most cases).
Now, having said that, NO I would not recommend them as a dual purpose pad. On the street they are tolerable in a pinch (read: you're running late and are too damn tired/lazy to swap out to the Bobcats, their actual street pad). They don't dust like Hawks, but they will squeal badly once they get a bit of heat in them from light-duty street braking. More importantly, like some other pads I've heard rumored about, repeated light braking seems to actually remove the transfer layer that they rely upon out on track. A couple events ago I went out for my first session after having driven with the XP12s on the street for a bit (more than my usual, "arrive and drive" habit) and they were damn frightening. I was getting intermittent friction, so it felt like each front tire was on anti-lock action, only independent of one another (and w/o the pedal pounding of real anti-lock activation). The end result was a lot of violent lateral pull/sway under heavy braking. I tried that a couple times that first session before pulling her into the pits. Turns out, the pads needed the rebedding. The next session they were great and continued that way for the day.
Carbotech is pretty adamant that if you're going to use the same rotor, stick with their compounds (i.e. street Bobcats with whatever track pad of theirs is to your liking). Don't try to run Hawk HPS and then swap over to Carbotech XP12s. The Carbos will not be happy, and I suspect you'll have a hell of a time trying to get them bedded in properly if you can do it at all.
Terry says, "For many of those years I was looking for the best dual-purpose street track pad, but it simply does not exist. Once I figured that out things got a lot simpler." Very true. I know it sounds like a hassle doing all this swapping out, but really, if you're going to run a few events a year, you're going to be much happier and figure the same thing out - it really is much simpler to separate the braking duties of your gear.
Best,
-j
Most of the talk about how track pads need heat to brake or brake terribly when cold seem to apply to Hawk pads. Maybe there are other brands with this quality too, but the Carbotech XP10 and XP12 are pretty damn impressive in ambient temps (40+ deg). These are their intermediate level track pads, and they have more aggressive initial bite at ambient temps than any Hawk pad I've tried (including HPS). Sure, they need heat in them to start braking like they really can (which is fan-tabulous on track), but that's to do their high-level magic on track (think "from 130+ mph" over and over), not to actually brake well in a street-level panic stop (60-80 mph in most cases).
Now, having said that, NO I would not recommend them as a dual purpose pad. On the street they are tolerable in a pinch (read: you're running late and are too damn tired/lazy to swap out to the Bobcats, their actual street pad). They don't dust like Hawks, but they will squeal badly once they get a bit of heat in them from light-duty street braking. More importantly, like some other pads I've heard rumored about, repeated light braking seems to actually remove the transfer layer that they rely upon out on track. A couple events ago I went out for my first session after having driven with the XP12s on the street for a bit (more than my usual, "arrive and drive" habit) and they were damn frightening. I was getting intermittent friction, so it felt like each front tire was on anti-lock action, only independent of one another (and w/o the pedal pounding of real anti-lock activation). The end result was a lot of violent lateral pull/sway under heavy braking. I tried that a couple times that first session before pulling her into the pits. Turns out, the pads needed the rebedding. The next session they were great and continued that way for the day.
Carbotech is pretty adamant that if you're going to use the same rotor, stick with their compounds (i.e. street Bobcats with whatever track pad of theirs is to your liking). Don't try to run Hawk HPS and then swap over to Carbotech XP12s. The Carbos will not be happy, and I suspect you'll have a hell of a time trying to get them bedded in properly if you can do it at all.
Terry says, "For many of those years I was looking for the best dual-purpose street track pad, but it simply does not exist. Once I figured that out things got a lot simpler." Very true. I know it sounds like a hassle doing all this swapping out, but really, if you're going to run a few events a year, you're going to be much happier and figure the same thing out - it really is much simpler to separate the braking duties of your gear.
Best,
-j
