Hey peeps...I am in need of some advice. I need to replace the pads on my 8. I really don't know what to get. I am leaning towards ceramic pads. As far as the rotors, they shake when I brake at high speeds. I am in between in re-cutting them or just getting new ones. I am also intersted in slotted/drilled rotors. Any advice out there???

 

Drilled rotors are for looks. Performancewise, blanks offer all the performance needs you can throw at them.

Hawk performance ceramic pads are a decent replacement pad.

 

Drilled rotors AREN'T for look. It's all about keeping your rotors cool. Plus they help keep them dry in wet conditions.

 

drilled rotors are for looks. slots are for keeping them mud and debris free.

 

Yeah thats right. So drilled and/or slotted are better than regular OE rotors. Especially if your doing some hard, high speed stopping. You don't want to warp your rotors or glaze your pads.

 

Lots of people on here have had great expereince with the OE rotors. I've been through 3 sets of pads and it looks like I can get 2-3 more sets of pads out of them. 4 track days, dozens of autoXs, daily stuff.

Unless you're going Big brake kit there's no reason to ditch the OEM rotors early, performance wise of course.

If your going for looks, then by all means even I will agree that drilled look neat.

 

Unless you're going for bling factor, the stock setup is excellent on the RX-8. The stock pads work quite well for daily driving and do not dust very much. Unless you're doing some kind of track event, just get the rotors resurfaced and new OEM pads. I run OEM pad in the street and use a race compound pad for track days. OEM rotors work just fine.

 

Either way you go ( OEM or drilled and/or slotted), you should go with a known brand name. Like Brembos.

 

Drilled cheap rotors are for cracking during intense heat cycles.
A premier quality rotor with holes in it does offer weight savings and cooling.

I've seen race teams score/route slots on to blanks in the paddocks at Grand Am events, so slotting does serve a purpose.

Many of us on this site who run their cars on the road course do perfectly well with plain ol' OEM replacement rotors. A set of 2 piece DBA 5000 rotors would be wonderful to own, but I can't fork over that much money for a set of rotors.

 

Buy OEM-type solid rotors and Axis Ulltimate brake pads. That's all you'll need. Easily. Best street/track pads in the universe, if you can deal with dust. Dust is better than dents, though...so get the best-stopping power you can.

 

Axis Ultimate isn't a track pad. It's a decent street performance pad.

 

OEM's are awesome, but if their worn. I replaced mine with StopTech Slotted Rotors, and Carbotech Bobcat pads, and they

 

It's absolutely a track pad - when I use it on the track.

street(slash)track pad is how I described it - they work VERY well for the guy or gal who does the occasional track day.

For the street? It's just about THE pad to choose - if you don't mind cleaning your wheels often. I can't think of another pad with better stopping properties anywhere close to it's price.

 

^^+1^^

 

I've known many Axxis Ult users whom get uneven pad deposit on their rotors at the track and experience fade. As with most street/track pads, they aren't really great at either street (due to excessive dust and noise) or track, due to their limits during extreme heat cycles.
A compromise pad they are, and definately offer all the performance that most users will ever need out of a pad, but they aren't the end all and be all that people make them out to be.

 

...except as a VERY Good street pad for occasional track use. On the street, they stop. Dust and noise be damned (I've never heard a PEEP from mine on this car, or on my Miata previously) - they just plain stop HARD. I've done track sessions in both cars - Thunderhill and Pacific Raceways; never an ounce of fade. YMMV.

 

^
Interesting read. I myself happen to be all about using compromise pads (knowing their shortfall at the track compared to a race pad). Different people get different results out of different pads. I've explored the limits of Hawk HP Plus on some tracks over the past couple years. While they hold up OK at other tracks (variables as to how well my brake zones are timed play a huge role as well, as one learns a track). Now I'm trying Porterfield R4S this weekend at Homestead- a track where HP Plus has done consistently fine for me. The R4S dusts less on the street, so if they perform equally or better than HP Plus, they're my new pad choice long term for track days peppered in every 6 weeks of street driving. Interesting to read that you're getting the same out of Axxis Ult.

 

a short comment on the axxis pads.. fine street pad. i have no noise, but the rears do dust a lot. the fronts dust the same...

i would say that they are ok as a track pad up to stage 2, and get sticky tires.

after that i would think not so much..


beers

 

Just goes to show how subjective things like "Good" and "Brakes" can be, eh?

 

No.

 

No, you can use cheapo blanks, and most people who do heavy track use do use generic blanks, because they chew thru rotors so fast.

 

FWIW, Brembo sells affordable blanks as well as their expensive stuff.
But yes, you don't see much bling for rotors at grassroots level track events.

 

Hell, if you want good blanks check out Mazmart and get some used ones off a wrecked car.