Brakes for AutoX and DD

[Roald]

I'm starting out in AutoX this year and intend to keep at it next summer and beyond maybe I would look into a track day but for now it's primarily DD and AutoX.
That said I've got about 4-ish+ mm on the front and back of pad left so I need to start figuring out new hardware.

I have a 17 with PP.
I've attempted to do some research but can't seem to land on anything consistent, or I'm just not understanding.
Initially I'm just researching but when it comes time I would really like to keep the cost at or under $500. I'm also not interested in moving out of GS class with this change.

I don't have any other mods but I may look towards either a front or rear sway bar in the future.

Is there a good rotor pad combo that I should be looking to use for AutoX and DD?

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

For Autocross you can get by with factory pads, rotors and fluid. Use your $500 towards tires!

If you need to replace worn items, blank rotors are fine (2pc offer weight savings but will break your budget). Flush brake fluid with some decent stuff. I like the modulation of Porterfield R4-S for pad.

 

[mrmatto]

I replaced my worn brakes with Zimmerman rotors and EBC Redstuff pads before autocross season and they've been fine. But yeah you could easily get away with factory brakes for most courses. I'm pretty mixed on the Redstuffs. They're really dusty and cold bite isn't that great, which is not a nice quality for autocross LOL. I echo the recommendation to put money into tires.

 

[krs]

I did a brake flush and went with Motul 660 fluid. I flush my fluids on schedule, but if you think you’ll lag on your fluid maintenance go with OEM.

Pads I’ve liked my EBC yellows. EBC causes hate on the forums, and you’ll get lots of opinions there. I just give the pads a stomp or two coming out of grid, and usually by the first corner they’re fine. I’ve never had issues with them on the street, even in below freezing temps. Rotors are the stock ones for me.

 

[Roald]

It would appear that at least through FCP the drilled Zimmermann are about $100 more. Is there any value at all in drilled or slotted for any of these applications or are they more problems than they're worth?
I never went that way with my mazda 3 because at the time there was concern about cracking.
EDIT: it would appear the same issues still exist. So nope. Blanks it is.


Ive ridden shotgun in a few events with a friend and just some other folks I've met at events. Between that and the typical track layouts this group does I would say the brakes aren't as important as they are on full tracks. I think the real issue will be oil/tire temp.

I do live in Ohio and we see relatively cold winters. I'm not looking to swap gear for weather if I don't have to. I would also like to keep them low dust if at all possible.EDIT. Yeah no, the yellows and Ferodo both appear to be high dust. Is there a pad that good for auto/track and is low dust? I suspect not as the thing that creates the friction, being more dusty likely means better stopping?

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Tires.

 

[krs]

Are you experiencing brake fade currently at any events?

I only looked at changing pads after I started to get brake fade on some of the faster courses on a regular basis. Otherwise I would have left them as is.

 

[Roald]

Nope! That’s my concern though.

I don’t want to buy something less expensive just to save a few bucks and up wishing I had opted for better equipment then ultimately switch which is more expensive.

But it seems like folks are doing well on the stock pp brakes. I’ve still got a little life in the current brakes but I would like to get this done before fall.

 

[enobiko]

I'm in the same situation (and same state of Ohio!) I'm considering Brembo coated rotors (hopefully less rust) and Brembo ceramic pads (hopefully less dust). They don't seem too pricey (the Ferodo pads are $$$). I'm not sure
When the time came to flush my fluid, I went with the Motul RBF 600, which seems to be the go-to on this forum. If you are not due yet, the standard fluid is fine.
I concur with what people are saying: for a Daily Driver and AutoX the standard brakes (or a minor street-compatible upgrade) are pretty darned good. Put your money into tires. Since I can't justify a complete set of race tires, I went with Michelin PS 4S as the best "street tire", if you want something even more track-focused, but something you might be able to live with on the street, Yokohama A052 tires are said to be tolerable, vs the Azenis RT660 or even the Potenza RE-71RS (which are better than the RE-71R, which used to be "THE" AutoX tire, but not the tire you'd want to live with every day). Alas, these last ones are 200 Tread Wear tires, vs the 300TW of the PS 4S tires, so you'll have to replace them more often. NONE of these tires are acceptable in winter conditions, and may not even be able to be stored (much the less driven) in temps below 40, for the track-focused tires. Most of my info is from the testing done on Tire Rack, who do apples-to-apples comparisons (vs. "my cousin says that... blah blah blah...")
I've gotten a little off the "brakes" thread. For a DD, don't go too darned track-focused, or you'll have poor cold bite (not good for AutoX, either) and high dust and noise. For high-speed track use... someone else knows more than I do.

 

[Roald]

I've recently mounted up 200tw on the oem wheels and picked up a set of hypergrams for DD.
Still trying to decide on brakes honestly. I want something that's a bit better than stock but I'm not trying to go full track either. Partially price watching too and the kit I had spec'd out a few months ago has gone up in price by $100~.
I also did a brake fluid flush recently. If for no other reason than I have no idea what the previous owner did/didn't do. Went to rbf 660. I suspect there was air in the system or the fluid was old as brake feel is much better and less squishy.

 

[krs]

I've recently mounted up 200tw on the oem wheels and picked up a set of hypergrams for DD.
Still trying to decide on brakes honestly. I want something that's a bit better than stock but I'm not trying to go full track either. Partially price watching too and the kit I had spec'd out a few months ago has gone up in price by $100~.
I also did a brake fluid flush recently. If for no other reason than I have no idea what the previous owner did/didn't do. Went to rbf 660. I suspect there was air in the system or the fluid was old as brake feel is much better and less squishy.

Your new fluid is good, just keep it on a regular flush interval.

Really for your brakes, just go with an acceptable pad, unless your rotors are in need of replacing, or you're dead set on replacing them. Chances are you will not exceed the performance of your current pads, especially just starting off in GS.

 

[gixxerfool]

Isweep pads may be what you’re looking for. On par with stock, but much less dust accumulation. I was going to go this route but went with stock pads and blank Zimmermans. Disclosure: I haven’t done AutoX just spirited street.