SleepeR1st

iTrader: (2)

Hiya guys. I installed my Racing Brake ET500 pads about 3 weeks, and here is my review!

Initially the pads look great, with lots of meat in them. The front pads have one large slit in the middle, where the stockers have two smaller slits on either side of the middle of the pad.

Installing was a breeze, no sweat, just like any other brake pad. I did re-use the shimming hardware, but later removed them due to problems.

The brake in procedure was easy, and very feasible to obtain on public roads.

At first the pads felt great, connected very well to the pedal, and over-all gave a great feel of extra confidence, to the already confidence inspiring brake system. In about a weeks time the pads started squeeling at low speeds under very light braking. I am talking about 5-8% braking pressure, and it would happen from anything under 30mph. The second i apply more braking pressure, the squeeling would stop.

After getting sick of that very quickly, i emailed Race Roots, where Warren promptly started to get a fix for my problem. http://forums.racingbrake.com/showth...=1870#post1870

As you can see, if you read that, i removed the factory shims, and instantly the squeeling was gone. The braking feel was improved, and i am now more than satisfied with the product i have purchased. I do a lot of 100mph to 40mph braking, and these pads hold up great, even at repeated 100-40 sessions on the highway, at 4am!

I have yet to find the fading limits of the pad, and i doubt i ever will on the street.

The perfect street pad.
~Ryan

laythor

i need to move to NH. Doing 100 mph on a city street at any time of day would be considered street racing here in CA.

JantzenRX-8

iTrader: (9)

Should of bought the ET800's

Doing those 100-40 mph stops will toast those things before you know it.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/brake-pads-toast-track-day-saturday-what-do-195629/

Pico

iTrader: (2)

I use them and have no complaints

SleepeR1st

iTrader: (2)

I originally wanted the ET800's, but i am a firm believer of the right tool, for the right job.

And it's only when constantly applying extreme braking pressures under a short amount of time, where the ET500's will start to fall apart. IE the track, auto-x, hill climbs.

If you aren't Batman chasing the joker around Gotham City, then the ET500's fit the bill perfect for daily status!

Race Roots

iTrader: (64)

Ryan

Glad to hear everything is working out great for you. It is standard installation procedure to NOT re install the factory shims as the backing plate of Racing Brake pads are sufficient.

Typically ALL brake pads will begin to fade when you are operating them outside of the Temperature ranges. (Besides normal use)

Here is an excellent reference:

http://www.racingbrake.com/v/main/rb_pads.asp#chart

Also Chris I had a customer this past weekend put 112 Track Miles (50 laps on a 2.2 mile course) on his ET800's under extreme heavy braking conditions where he was consistently braking late and hard. The pads were toast at the end of the weekend, he just installed them the day before the track event. My recommendation to him was to look into some DTC pads because of the level of braking he was putting on the pads.

To think his brakes were seeing temps above 1400 deg F is insane..he did have great comments about how well he was doing compared to others but wished the pads lasted longer.

This is why pad selection is crucial to your style of braking and what course you will be running and so on.

So right tool right job.

Racing Brake has the Et900's available but they will also be coming out with a dedicated track pad that is comparable to a Hawk DTC compound that should be very interesting.

SleepeR1st

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Brice!

When i do start exploring the outter realm of enhanced brake pad wear, i will be looking into the ET800's.

But until then, the ET500's should be more than enough for daily driver duty!

Ryan

JantzenRX-8

iTrader: (9)

Thanks Brice. I'm going to keep a close eye on the pad wear this time around. I'm tempted to try th DTC's -- if they last longer i'd be very interested. Are DTC-70's too much for this car? I noticed you only sell the 60's.

Race Roots

iTrader: (64)

They don't make DTC-70's for the RX-8. DTC 60 is the highest.

Gdawg522

Brice brings up some very valid points. I'm the one who purchased the ET800s from him this past week before going to Summit Point, Shenandoah Circuit on Sat May 15th. I installed and bedded in the pads on Friday May 14th. The next day was the event and by the end of four 30 min sessions, the pads were down to the backing plate. My brake pads were literally covering my wheels and the sides of my car. There was nothing left. There were also too hot to change at the track so I ended up driving home on them very cautiously. I will be trying the ET900s on my next track event and post back here with an update. The brake feel of the ET800s was amazing and I had much more confidence braking late in the zones and trail braking through the turns. I experience no fade even on my last session of the day. I have some pictures attached of what remained of my pads. haha

Machiavelli

Gdawg, I'm curious about your set up and the kind of event you ran (and at what level) to tear through these so quickly. Were you running the Star Specs on track, or R Comps? I'm a little blown away, because I've run several light events on ET500's and they held up pretty well. I had a bit under 10K street miles, as well as a total of nine light track days on them (HPDE 1 and 2) at Mid-Ohio and BeaveRun before I finally tore through them yesterday. I was pretty pleased with them and was about to pull the trigger on a set of ET800's. You were obviously running much hotter laps than I was, but still to see the 800's worn away after a two day session was a shocker for me, and has me second guessing now that I'm moving up and getting faster.

Have you had a chance to try the ET900's yet? I'm curious as to their suitability for the street (or at least getting to the track), as Racing Brake bills them as a track only pad.

Thanks!

JantzenRX-8

iTrader: (9)

I have the ET900's on my car at the moment and i had my first track day with them this past weekend. They're fine for the street but they do squeak a bit until they're warm. They bite a million times better than the ET500's but only marginally better than the ET800's and only bite better than the ET800's when they're heated up. The ET800 is a much better street pad than the ET500 but it is definitely not a track pad. The ET900's seem to be wearing less and they actually dusted less than the 800's but that could be due to them just holding up to the heat better than the 800's which vanished before my eyes on the track.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Highway, not city, and a relatively remote area of NH. I don't judge, as I've been known to be a [short burst] member of the "4 am century club" myself.

remote area

Machiavelli

I think you’ve convinced me to go with the 900's. They really seem like the next logical step up for me.

I really have to say, though, I was thoroughly impressed with the versatility of the ET500's. When I decided to go with them I was getting ready to do a few beginner level HPDE's and really didn’t want to have to swap out pads if I could avoid it. I never expected to begin tracking the car as much as I did, and I’m still pretty amazed they worked as well for me as they did while still being pretty civilized on the street. Never any squeal, and no noticeable brake dust after street use (though plenty after track days). The initial bite on the street wasn’t there to the same degree as the stocks, but once used to them that was easily compensated for with firmer initial pressure on the brake pedal. As far as I'm concerned, they were an unequivocal success - exactly what I was looking for at the time.

It sounds like our experiences were similar as to longevity with the ET500's. You got less than 10k street miles (not sure how much less), performed four track days and five or six autocross events. I got around 10k (put them on with 23-something on the odo and now have around 33.4), nine track days and zero AC. I have no idea how hard a cone killer event is on brakes as compared with a track day. Like yours, when mine went they went big time and all at once (though I have to admit to a certain amount of negligence and complacency there - I didn’t check them when I swapped tires before the event). But I guess given that it was a compromise pad I think that the amount of use I got out of them was kind of a lot. I looked at other brands and haven’t run across any other viable options for both street and light track. There’s a Hawk rep who comes to local NASA events and gives brake lectures. He’s super knowledgeable and a super great guy, but I got the pretty clear impression after speaking with him that Hawk really didn’t have anything for the RX-8 suitable for both light track and street.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

I have a low use set of ET500 pads F & R if anyone is interested, just a few autox events

JantzenRX-8

iTrader: (9)

Not sure if you want to just dive in to the ET900's like that. The only reason i bought them was because i got them for 50% off. If Racing Brake wouldn't have cut me a deal i would have gone with Carbotech, Cobalt Friction or Hawk pads. Probably Carbotech XP10 front and XP8 rears. I know they'll last and i've heard of many people that run them on the street with no issues.

ET900's operate just fine, i'm just not convinced they'll last me as long as i'd like.

Just my .02

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

While we are all chiming in here with our longevity info on RB pads, I've had my ET800 pads on for about a year now. Last year, I did about 60 or more solo runs, and this year, so far, I (along with my co-drivers) have done about 120 runs. Not sure about street mileage - probably 10k or so. No track days. All on street tires, but very sticky street tires (Toyo R1-Rs & Bridgestone RE-11s).

With that use, I've got about 5.5 mm of pad left on the fronts.

The ET800s have been fantastic for street & solo use. Combined with the RB SS lines (and some well chosen front spring rates) braking control is fantastic, whether I am doing a quick brush of the pedal to bleed off just a small amount of speed in the middle of a slalom, or a full-on ABS-inducing, nose-planting, braking zone into a sweeper.

I'm told the RB calipers add even more control. It must be sweet.

Machiavelli

I'll let you know . . . I have a set on order.

Machiavelli

Update re the ET900's:

I used these for track days primarily, with maybe about 1000 street miles thrown in. I ran on them two days at the end of last year, and then two more this past weekend at Mid-Ohio. They're done now. One of the fronts is completely gone, and the other has just a bit of material left. The rears could probably do one more session, though I'll be replacing those as well.

I was happy with the track performance: very good bite and feel; easy to modulate. Stopping with these and the RB calipers/rotors in front was much improved over the old set-up.

They're not sufficiently civilized for the street, imo. They're not dangerous by any means and performed adequately, but the dust is significant and the squeal will pop the fillings right out of your teeth.

dezau

iTrader: (3)

so... damn... after reading all these posts about the 500 and even 800 fading out on track events. shud i be worried?

I'm going on a track day this weekend, on the Daytona international speedway (using only the infield course) It is by no means VIR or laguna seca, but.... it's still a track. Should I order some 800 or 900 beforehand and swap my 500 out?

Machiavelli

I had a lot of luck with the ET500's and I don't hesitate to recommend them to new people doing light track events. I've never used the 800's and, as I said above, have been very happy with the performance of the 900's but was hoping for a bit more wear.

It's hard to predict wear with any certainty because there are so many variables. I was using stock calipers with the 500's but RB 4 Piston's with the 900's. This past weekend at Mid-Ohio two guys were complaining about not getting good wear from their Hawks (I forget which pads specifically). Others had good success with them. It depends on your car's set up, your tires, the track, your driving style and experience, etc. As you get more experienced, you're going faster and braking later and harder. On the other hand, as your experience and confidence improves you're also going to be braking less, or not at all, on parts of the track where you were braking as a novice. This is especially important in an RX-8, since we rely on carrying our momentum through the turns. We can't rely on stomping on the accelerator and taking advantage of a ton of horsepower and torque to cover our mistakes.

Are your 500's brand new? If so, and if your set-up and driving style is not unusually hard on your brakes, I'd say don't worry about burning through the 500's in a single weekend. As I said, I got several weekends out of them.

If they're already partially worn, though, keep in mind that any pad that already is somewhat worn will wear at a faster rate than a fresh pad. Pad material absorbs heat. The hotter they get, the faster they wear. The thinner they get, the hotter they get, and so on. The last 50% will burn through much faster than the first 50%. When they get down to a third, look for the remaining material to disappear in no time flat. Either way, pull the fronts off at the end of the day on Saturday and look at them. If you're still at or over 50% you'll be in great shape.

Machiavelli

And by the way, I never experienced even a hint of "fade" with either the 500's or 900's, even right up to the end of their lives. I was talking wear, not fade.

Race Roots

iTrader: (64)

Excellent Post.

Dez if you need new pads let me know I have the 800's in stock.

dezau

iTrader: (3)

well, turns out i was worrying too much, et 500 performed pretty good on the track, granted i wasn't pushing @ 100%, but apart from boiling some of the brake fluids, it was fine and i've still got pretty plenty of pads left

Machiavelli

Glad the 500's worked out for you. I'd be curious to know how much pad you started with, how much was left, and whether you use them on the street also.

I assume you replaced your fluid if you truly boiled it? Try Super Blue.