Carbotech Pads Suggestion
 

Im finally ready to get some brake upgrades done to the Z and i was hoping i can get some feedback regarding my setup. Im going to purchase SS lines and a complete Motul flush.

Ive been doing some research and ive been recommended by a few people to go with a Carbotech XP10 front and XP8 rear pad setup. How do you guys feel about this ? Is it a bit too much for mostly street/occasional track use ?

I dont want to have to worry about ice mode constantly due to the higher performance of these pads. I just want this car to stop better than it is from the factory, and im not worried at all about excessive noise and dust.

If your car is being driven mostly on streets and sees occasional track days, I recommend not going Carbotech pads. Buy them only for the track use whether it be XP10's front and XP8's rear. For street, stock Akebonos should be good, unless yours didn't come with Akebonos. If yours didn't come with it, hmm I suggest Projet Mu brake pads? Actually, people will need to chime in on this one. However, if you buy Carbotech pads for the street use, you will accumulate a lot of brake dust and it will be very noisy. Even the non-sport brakes are good enough in my opinion because upgrading the pad will give you more stopping force, but I think it may be overkill for a street use. I wouldn't change my street pads until my stock Akebono pads are gone. I went to Streets of Willow track with just Motul RBF600's and my pad wear is still good. Do you feel that your stock brakes aren't doing its job?

I had an 06 STI before i bought this 370Z and honestly, the brakes on the Z, even though theyre bigger in overall size, dont feel as good as my STIs.

All i had on the Scooby were stainless steel lines, ATE Super Blue fluid, and more aggressive pads. All im trying to do is get a similar feel on the Z... the dust and noise doesnt bother me, in fact it would be re-assuring me that the brakes are doing their job...lol

You will get better feel simply from bleeding the lines and getting more aggressive pads

I have XP10 all around, I honestly don't recommend driving it on the street since the noise will drive you nuts. The brake dust is an added bonus too. You are better off swapping the pads before the track, it should take less than an hour and you don't need a lot of tools. If you are going to track, definitely learn how to do it.

I wouldnt use XP10 unless you have race rubber. I am using it with RE11, my car can easily get into ice mode. It is the worst on bumpy sections. The sport 370 comes with big enough brakes that you can definitely get away with XP8

I run XP10/XP8 on the street. If you don't mind the dust and noise it's no thing. The noise is nothing for me most of the time but the dust sucks... After a wet track day and a road rally the side of my red car had a black haze that turns into a hard to remove paste when you wash the car. Wash often and you'll be ok.

I may try bobcats for street this summer and keep the track pads on the track. Haven't decided yet.

my thoughts echo those above, i wouldn't get them for street use, only track use... they are great for that though :tup:

I thought it was just me but my 05 STI felt like it stopped better... i am also in search for the same feel... thinking about upgrading to ap racing calipers and all since I plan to tt or sc my 370. Need to upgrade brakes before power!

I am opposite you guys. I feel like my 09 370Z stops better than my 05 STi did.

Looks like i may have to end up just sticking to XP8s all around. Any other good pads out there for this car ?

Thanks for the input guys !

As everybody has already mentioned, Carbotech pads are terrible for the street. For all applications, their XP compounds are extremely noisy. If you have a sport model Z, the Endless MX-72s are a great choice. The compound allows for some great track use and isn't too noisy or dusty for daily driving. If you want more information or pricing, please contact us!

-Kristoffer

hmm, aside from a little dust and an occassional squeal here and there, I had no bad experience running my XP12/XP10 combo on the street. Only down side was three track weekends, a round trip from Atlanta to Elkhart lake WI and about 500 other street miles and they were toast. Carbotech is making me a set of pads with their new endurance compound right now.

To the OP, I would go with the Bobcats. My friend with a G37 does occassional light track use with them and he is very happy with them.

endurance carbotech's.. Do share!

better yet, call Mike or Danny at Carbotech, tell them your goals, and they will get you the correct pads.

"endurance pads"........... sounds like those "lifetime warranty" pads they sell at autozone that last forever but chew up rotors, granted higher quality since carbotech is awesome :tup:

I really don't know much about them other than they will perform about the same as the XP-12s, last twice as long and be harder on the rotors. My rotors don't last from the heat anyways, so I don't care about rotor life. I've already replaced them 3 times in a year and a half.