As of 2023, what are the go-to brake pads for spirited street driving?

[GoatAutomotive]

Porterfield R4S has a great amount of bite in my opinion. Relatively low dust too.

I’m always conflicted about whether or not to mention these.

I ran the R4S on my 640hp GTO (3450-3500lbs, verified) for street and canyon use.

They definitely weren’t “low dust” in my application, but it’s easily half to 1/3 of the stock “coal mine pads” we get in our German cars.

Bite was very progressive and easy to modulate, and they are super forgiving to rotors.

I also remember they were hella pricey (not as bad as Endless or Carbotech, but in that league)

 

[manu97]

I’m always conflicted about whether or not to mention these.

I ran the R4S on my 640hp GTO (3450-3500lbs, verified) for street and canyon use.

They definitely weren’t “low dust” in my application, but it’s easily half to 1/3 of the stock “coal mine pads” we get in our German cars.

Bite was very progressive and easy to modulate, and they are super forgiving to rotors.

I also remember they were hella pricey (not as bad as Endless or Carbotech, but in that league)

They are relatively expensive pads. But as far as dust & bite go, they were pretty top notch for me. And very very very nice to rotors, which in my mind makes them a bit cheaper than pads that eat rotors.

 

[GoatAutomotive]

Porterfield R4S has been around at least 20 years.

https://porterfield-brakes.com/manufacturer/r4-s/

It’s all the pad needed for spirited street driving. Autocross and even light track use (their website now says not for track but it’s been used as an intro to trackday pad for many years). Once you get a bit quick it only takes a few laps to get them past their heat operating range (which is 900deg if I recall).

Dusts much less than say a Hawk HP+. Bite is linear and modular- great for trail braking.

Having run the R4S in a much faster, heavier car than my GTI, and dabbled in all of Hawk’s pads, I can agree with 100% of this.

 

[manu97]

Do you know a part # for a set of front pads for 2019 Golf R/GTI stock caliper?
Web search finds no R4S front pads, even at Porterfield home site.
It does show rear pad set, AP1761, but no fronts.

Took some digging - AP1633-R4-S I believe.

 

[GoatAutomotive]

Do you know a part # for a set of front pads for 2019 Golf R/GTI stock caliper?
Web search finds no R4S front pads, even at Porterfield home site.
It does show rear pad set, AP1761, but no fronts.

I would reach out directly to a dealer of Porterfield for the most current info, part numbers and pricing.

This is the group I worked with back in my racing days:

https://www.lpiracing.com/store/pc/AboutUS-d5.htm

Their customer service was top notch, since I always have my share of “questions” before I commit to a mod or upgrade.

Their contact info is in the link. You can always call and feel them out, and discuss R4S pad options for your car.

 

[GoatAutomotive]

Took some digging - AP1633-R4-S I believe.

Beat me to it!

 

[SPLR337]

I have iSweep IS2000s on my car. The dust level is still far, far blow stock levels it's not even comparable.

Also, for what it's worth, the reps at Neuspeed recommended the IS1500s for daily driving and more base models, and the 2000s for anything sporty.

 

[GoatAutomotive]

I found the Great Brake Debate post of 11/2022. It's still a thing of beauty, and short enough that even the ADD crowd can learn something.

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/inde...s-that-dont-clunk-squeal-or-aggravate.410126/

You can click "view poll results" at the top to view the initial feedback. But the individual posted responses were very helpful to me in my search.


Currently, the bite, progression and stopping power of my Z23s now (front-only) feels every bit as good or better than the Porterfield R4-S on my other car, at exactly half the cost ($75 vs $160)

The Pentosin Super DOT-4 in my car was flushed just 7k miles ago, and made a world of improvement to the pedal feel, as good fluids always do.

I would still love to drive someone's car with some i-Sweep 2000s or HPS 5.0s installed, just to feel any differences.

Will pay in beer and food.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

I’ve got to try the PowerStop Z series pads. I’m currently using the Powerstop TrackDay pads on my ILX. Used them for one track day (they performed similarly to the Porterfield R4S at the track) and have kept them on for daily for almost half a year now. They dust like crazy and are ultragrabby when cold. If there’s no heat in them impossible to modulate brakes- they are literally off/on. When warmed up they can be modulated again.
In contrast, the R4S on our GTI modulate very well at street driven temperatures and dust much less than the PS TrackDay and are easier on rotors. They do dust more than factory pads. Dust from the R4S is a dark reddish brown instead of carbon black.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

I would reach out directly to a dealer of Porterfield for the most current info, part numbers and pricing.

This is the group I worked with back in my racing days:

https://www.lpiracing.com/store/pc/AboutUS-d5.htm

Their customer service was top notch, since I always have my share of “questions” before I commit to a mod or upgrade.

Their contact info is in the link. You can always call and feel them out, and discuss R4S pad options for your car.

For PP brakes. Front/rear

 

[scrllock]

Do you know a part # for a set of front pads for 2019 Golf R/GTI stock caliper?
Web search finds no R4S front pads, even at Porterfield home site.
It does show rear pad set, AP1761, but no fronts.

AP1633-R4S
$160.00
Buy Now
https://www.zeckhausen.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_290_5045_6321&products_id=18365

 

[Supermoto]

I ended up going with PosiQuiet ceramics just because the price is right and they seem to be a solid option for the money. From what I have read the initial bite isnt as much but the overall power is the same, with the benefit of significantly less dust. I will see how they go.

 

[2018gti]

I ended up going with PosiQuiet ceramics just because the price is right and they seem to be a solid option for the money. From what I have read the initial bite isnt as much but the overall power is the same, with the benefit of significantly less dust. I will see how they go.

I’ll be curious to see what you think. They definitely weren’t for me but you may have a better experience.

 

[EpicTech]

Hawk HPS all the way and I need to order another set lol. On the Macan calipers they are phenomenally good. Saved my a$$ numerous times from people cutting me off, or not paying attention, deer jumping out in front of me. etc..

 

[tigeo]

When people say "spirited street driving" - what is that? To me, that can be all over.. Is that slowing down from triple digit speeds? Doing it repeatedly? Mountain hooning (Tail of The Dragon etc....v. hard on brakes) or just normal driving around? Answer that first. A few hard slows...stock/OE pads are more than ok.

If you are worried about dust, you simply can't have a low-dust pad that has high operating temp/max operating temp (MOT) so it's a pick one or the other. Ceramic pads are great for daily use, are quiet, and are low dust but are not great for actual driving where you need heat management. To me, no brake pads will help you stop any shorter than any others...that's going to be based on your tires. If you can engage ABS, your brake pads are adequate and there will be v. little difference in stoping distance between various pads...on the first stop/slow. it's when you do that 6x in a row that things start to spread out w/r to performance. I have a graph floating around I made using my Dragy with a 60-0 panic stop on 1) stock 312s and Yellowstuff, UHP AS tires 2) APR BBK with their mid-compound (similar to Yellows but a bit higher heat range) on UHP AS tires and finally 3) same as 2 add summer tires. 1 = 2. 3< both 1 and 2. Tires.

Personally? I like EBC Yellows for aggressive daily street pad. I've used them. My son uses them. They are dusty.....REALLY dusty the first 1K miles. They have a complicated bed-in procedure. I don't think they cost anymore than any other pads in a similar category. They have good cold bite and get stronger with heat. They have a 900 degree MOT so more than adequate for hard street use. Not a track pad and folks that use them with aggressive tires/driving on the track will not have good results b/c surprise...they weren't designed for that. They are quiet in both applications I've used them in. I always liked them when I had them on my OE 312mm brakes before I had the BBK. They actually survived several track sessions at VIR on all seasons without fuss. I currently run EBC Bluestuff NDX out back on my tiny 272 solid rotor rears for both street and track; perviously, Yellowstuff and they always worked fine back there.

I run Centric Post Quiet on my Altas - fantastic low dust daily pad. Great cold bite. Not a performance pad in any way but do work as a basic OE replacement. Not sure why anyone would use these looking for "spirited street driving".

That's all I got. Never used Hawk which seem to be popular but I always hear they chew rotors and can be v. noisy for some compounds. I run a mid-compound on my APR BBK, their "aggressive street/entry-level track" compound as my daily...~1100 MOT or so. Great pad and have tracked them without issue but that was on street tires and they did wear quickly in those conditions...now I use a dedicated track pad for that purpose and just swap them out.

Another one would be to look at G-Loc's street compound which I believe is a 900 degree pad.