reducing wheel lock up with cheap pads at autox??

[cossie1600]

i know this sounds absurd, but does anyone believe in using crappy pads with less bite for autox? at low surface grip and small lots we use, brake lock up had been a huge problem for me all year. the lockup seems to be worse at the extreme slow and tight hairpins or 90 degree sharp turns. i know sometimes it is partially me as i have the tendency to smash the brakes. abs is nice, but i feel like it gives you such huge inconsistency that i cant trust it completely lap after lap. does this sound stupid or do i have a point? i currently have the stockers, xp8 and xp10. the xp8 and 10 just flips the car out and get into ice mode. while i dont hit that with the oem ones, i do engage the abs quite a bit.

typing on phone sry

[AutoX Z]

I use crap pads on the front of my STS miata for that very reason, it seems to work pretty well. It also has the added benefit of more pedal modulation before lock-up.

[cossie1600]

I might give it a shot. Plus I really want to steal the backing plate from the cheap pepboys pads and use them on my race pads since Nissan doesn't sell it separately.

The whole ABS issue is weird. On XP8/10, I get ice mode at autox. On the stock pads, I seem to have tons of problems once the speed gets low. I can go in the same spot, but one run I would lock and the next one I wouldn't. It's hard to trust the car 100% if you don't know the car will stop on time or not.

On another note, I got some pad deposit from my XP8. The car is vibrating and making noise, can a set of race pads clean it off?

[Shamu]

We put less good pads on front of the FP Boxster. It was fastest FP car on west course.

I m still running with no abs on my Z to see where my bias is with different setups. I have slight rear bias with street tires and slight front with Hoosiers. Argh!

[cossie1600]

I am going to play with the pads now that I am in the mood to work on the car. I am going to see what works and what doesn't. I think the cheap pads are only about $40 each.

[ChrisSlicks]

Ice mode was banished at auto-x for me once I went to the CL RC6E compound front and Mintex Extreme rear. The initial bite isn't as aggressive as the Carbotech which I think is key. But I'm not on a stock setup so YMMV.

[cossie1600]

I am not having issues with ice mode on stock pads, just a lot more lockup than I want at low speeds

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by cossie1600

I am not having issues with ice mode on stock pads, just a lot more lockup than I want at low speeds

Use stickier tires

[cossie1600]

Wife already wants me to get rid of the car, hard to get her to say yes on another $1200. I do have a hitch now, so I can carry tires next year to autox/track. Since my RE11 is good for another half year, maybe my budget for 12 will be a new set of R6

Damn, cheap pads are $40 compare to the base model pads at $25.

[MIKE_STR]

Any updates? I've been having tons of issues and it is SUPER expensive to constantly flat spot tires.

I initially had the oem akebono pads. As you said, very hard to trust the car as the lock is completely unpredictable.

Switched to stoptech street pads as I was told they have less initial bite. Still, brakes locked up and I ruined a pair of new rivals.... Last run too... And I hit a cone.

My theory is that the rear brakes are locking initially... Then all bias shifts to front and the front brakes lock completely. The rear abs seems to always function.

I've messed with the brake bias now. Rear pads are autozone gold crap pads. Fronts are still the stop techs. I did some spirited driving on the rivals yesterday... Couldn't get the rear abs to engage now and front seemed to be locking but unlocking. Who knows?! I'll report if I flat spot again at the next event.

[03threefiftyz]

I use the stoptech pads. Not a lot of initial bite and I have never locked a wheel up with them....Brian Peters uses the same on his STR 350.

[GSS138]

Well I hear what you are saying and here's my input:

Cheap anything never works how you want it, there will always be an obvious flaw in something that is of inferior design. That being said ,nothing is designed perfectly.

Brakes and rotors need to be matched. Brakes are easy to replace, rotors are not. Find a budget and buy the best you can afford. With brakes and rotors you get what you pay for.

You might get lucky and find that X brake and Y rotor for 50 bucks each works amazingly. Chances are next time you buy that same setup it won't. Quality control has a price. It's just the limits of manufacturing anything. Keep buying cheap stuff and it will never be as good as you want, and it will always be unpredictable.

In the long run, consistently bad and predictable is better than fantastic every once in a while.

[MIKE_STR]

^ what the hell are you talking about?

[clintfocus]

i have a solution, stop parking lot racing :X :P (flame suit ENGAGED!!!!!!)

[threeseventy]

There's no wisdom in intentionally exceeding the limits of inadequate product with the expectation of predictable decreases in performance.

What you should be doing is getting pads that are such overkill for the intended use that you can't heat up to full operating temp with a parking lot run and they won't get "all grippy" on you. OR learn how to brake with your left foot.

God that sounds so unlikely... anyway - let me know when you have GCU XP20's for sale.