Hawk HPS vs Ceramics?
 

hey all, sorry for such a stupid post, but i am really struggling on a new brake setup on my car. I have only had it for 2 months, but it is squealing already. The rotors look decent still, but I'm debating on replacing them also. My biggest concern is the pads, I am either replacing all with hawk HPS or hawk ceramics. any feedback on the ceramics? I was about to order them last night but thought i would just ask first. I have read everyone loves the HPS on here, but i have always heard great things about ceramics"but never had any".i am hoping to start auto cross this next year, and my 8 is parked for winter time. any comments of why or why not for either pad would be great. thanks!

I've had both. Performance is similar on a daily driver. Not sure which is better for track purposes. The HPS pads got a little noisy at the end of their life. No noise from the ceramics. Biggest difference for me is far less dust with the ceramics.

that was kind of what i figured from what i have read, i just wanted a little more advice from someone who has had them.i was leaning towards ceramics for the dust factor but everyone on here really jumps for the HPS pads. thanks!

HPS, unless a lot of freezing weather. They need to warm up a bit. No experience with ceramics. The HPS is one of those that transfer material to the rotor, and the two together are sticky. This means the rotors are not ground by the pads.

This subject is as old as the site, the Search function has your answer

Probably better off going with ceramics if you are concerned about dust and noise. HPS are great but I think you would be better suited with the ceramics. If you were doing track I would do HPS, as the ceramics won't last on track duty. Both should be fine for autocross depending on how hard you are on brakes.

if you read my first post, you would read i have done some research. i am looking for personal preference from people, my job doesn't allow me much time to sit and search often.i read for a few hrs,just wanted a last nudge before i just place my order. i have never owned a set of ceramic pads and just wanted some feed back. the dust isn't my biggest concern by any means, a few people at my work had all great things to say about ceramics, i really never considered them. this is my first day in 3 months I have been able to sit at my desk, and i actually think i'm going to go with the HPS pads, i want something i can push if needed that will give me great braking at all times. thanks everyone.

Every time I wash my car, I wish I had the ceramics. I have HPS on for daily use now.

For the track, go with HP+, huge difference. I swap those in for track days. Nasty dust, but they give you a full 30 minute session without fade, assuming you are on street tires.

i have been debating on that also, i just figured if the HPS were not super terrible on dust, would last longer, and give better performance it is a no brainer..i just hear more bad things about ceramics then good on here.

dust: Ceramic > HPS
noise: Ceramic > HPS
breaking: Ceramic < HPS

I have Ceramics on one 8 and HPS on the other.
Ceramics dust VERY little and dust is a brownish color so dont get them if you have black wheels. They make no noise at all and have pretty good stopping power.
HPS dust a little more. Squeak when they get hot (not often), have a better bite, and less break fade.
You will be fine at autoX with either one but do not track Ceramics...break fade and wear = crash
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brand.jsp?brand=Hawk

^^ +1

I run HPS for street use. I don't have dust issues. In fact i've found they dust less and are quieter than the stock pads. Maybe my idea of "a lot of dust" is skewed. :dunno: I wash my car once a week at bare minimum though.

i would say the dust less and are quietier than stock pads too
just so you know i was just comparing the too pads to each other OP :)

They should invent something that won't make your wheels dirty...i hate cleaning it all the time.

thanks for all the advice and info , i would love ceramics for no dust, but i think i'm going to just replace all pads with HPS pads. i want whatever will last me longer,and give me better performance. no dust would just be nice but isn't important.

I believe that's one of the points of this thread. The ceramic's generate far less dust and therefore far less cleaning required.

As already cited, the OEM and HPS pads have more braking (not breaking) "bite", but again the ceramic generate less dust and are much quieter.

i have the hps just because i need a little brake power in the autobahn at 130mph , woooo.... they work great for the nurburgring trips i have done too.

awesome thanks again everyone. HPS will be ordered. i didn't think ceramics had as much stopping power but a few people i bump into around here love them and recommended them to me. just not quite what i need. just trying to get all the basics taken care of before i do any mods at all.