track brake pads

best brake pads on a budget for track use on fiat coupe 20v turbo.

car is stripped, around 230bhp.

want to avoid fade but without spending loads of money. had ebc redstuff on an evo before and cooked them in 3 laps, pagid rs blues were very good but expensive, and performance friction v good but also expensive on my alcon setup on evo.

just after budget pads but good for track use
opinions please
thanks

also budget suspension options to stiffen things up a bit on track?

can i get away with just some lowering springs, and if so which are best and how much?

trying to build this into a cheap track toy for some fun this year, not bothered about being the fastest car there, just after a laugh! main thing is brakes as these fade after 5 mins of spirited driving atm lol, i think the car handles quite well on the stock suspension, just after something a bit stiffer!

where can i buy uprated arb for the rear? and how much

just after the minimum really

many thanks
nick

Here are my thoughts on a few pads that I tested on track - http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1423685#Post1423685 For vale vs performance - DS2500.

Suspension - BC or D2 - not tried these myself but they get great reviews on here. No, springs alone won't do the job. I had Eibach springs with Bilstein B6 and they were good for road but not great on track.

Rear ARB here - http://www.balancemotorsport.co.uk/products.asp?recnumber=131949 22mm for track/road, 24mm for track use.

CL brakes. Used to be called carbon lorraine.

Without doubt the best brake pads available. Ive tried many sets and the CL pads are twice anything else Ive ever tried.

You might be better of changing your brake fluid first with a higher temperature resistant race/track fluid.
I have been using rs29 pagid pads(not cheap) which work well.

But just about to start using Carbotech xp10 front pads.(not cheap).
This is all in a track coupe.

Carbotech xp8 will be unbeatable for your Coupe. Xp10 sounds a bit overkill..?
If you still drive as hard with 350hp you'll need Performance Friction 08. Further improvement would have to include larger brakes, ie Alfa 330mm ones..

I've got a set of xp8's at the moment and they are very good but I think il be going back to Ebc yellows when these are worn out just to compare as I liked the yellows a lot last time I had a set.

As for bigger discs I wouldn't bother unless you track a lot. Since I fitted some air hoses for the brakes I've seen a marked improvement on braking even with a very high speed emergency stop as a test and that's before I moved over to better brake fluid (gulf rf1000)

Thanks for the info. I will bare it in mind!.

I have never heard about CL pads. Thanks for the info
Which compound do you use?

Sorry to drag a 2014 Posting into 2017.

I have OE pads on my track car at the moment and I'm broadly happy with them, I have to point out I'm not hard on the brakes (yet) so thats probably why I'm happy

They have reasonble bite and I've not suffered any fade, though I do have Castrol SRF brake fluid, which I'm sure is the main contributer to this.

However, as I hope to increase my velocity I think I will need a better more track focussed pad for 2018.

So whats recommended? I'm veering to the EBC Yellows at the moment, but interesting in other views. Also, my rear pads have hardly worn, so is OE rear pads recommended, or should these be a better grade too?

Many thanks

Sg

I've got Ferodo DS2500 in mine which I have been happy with, but fade isn't really an issue on a hillclimb!

Do you use brakes Hill Climbing Andy

I try not to, they slow me down

At Harewood there is a downhill section before the Esses which does require heavy braking.

I only had bad experience with EBC pads, but some rate the Yellows very well. For track and road I have been using Ferodo DS2500 for years now. They bite from cold and I have not experienced fade on semi-slicks on hot days during 15 minutes sessions o 1.6m track. I am using Millers 300+ brake fluid. There are some who are using Pagid race pads but I never had the need to try them and they are 2x the price of the DS2500. If you want proper track pads then I would go for DS3000 or even better DS1.11. As for the rears, I run standard pads, thou, with DS3000 or better I would upgrade them to DS2500. Hope this helps.

Ferodo DS2500 or Pagid Blues

I'm still using carbotech xp10.

I have a brand new set of CL pads I don't need so pm me if you would like to offer on them.

Thanks for all the replies, I'm now no nearer a decision than before

So opinions are:

Carbone Lorraine (CL) RC6's
Carbotech XP8 or XP10 - though looking at their site, XP10's are "serious competition grade" so xp8's might be a little more sensible for me going from OEM
Ferodo DS2500 or DS3000, again going OEM upwards maybe DS2500

The car is not used on the road, apart from to test drive mods and put fuel in it, so road bias is not an issue.

Either way, I have a choice so I might over the season try some options and let you know how I rate them.

Thanks chaps

Sg

Xp8's, or carbone lorraine rc6's I've used in both my old coupe, and other cars since.

Both are night and day above anything else on your shortlist, or anything else full stop.

Thanks for that Dan, that seems the direction I'm taking.

I have a option on a set of CL RC6's which I'll take up and depending on wear, will have think about the Carbotech XP8's and feedback my thoughts sometime in 2018!

Ferodo DS2500's get my vote.

EBC Yellow stuff OK, but cheap, and my set of those fell apart - literally big chunks falling off.

You get what you pay for....

Unless you are spending a lot of money a coupe is never going to be pin sharp on track, suspension wise I'd go for bilstein / Eibachs and have done, then just have fun with what the car is.

Lowering the car does not really help with much apart from the looks, as the wishbone's end up not being parallel with the ground...

Rear ARB helps, but again how far do you want to take it, and how much do you want to spend?

Hi Suba,

Bilstein's are unfortunatley no longer available for the Coupe, so its either refurb'ed pair or something else - I chose something else - all here: http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1596790&page=2

And to your question "Unless you are spending a lot of money" - I am

Thanks for the reply,

Regards

Jolly good - Surrey Hills just down the road from me too if you ever fancy a blat.

Ha!

Not in my trackday car the ride is APPALLING (yes I'm shouting), I have the suspension setting on the coilovers to Firm++, which is fine on a track, coupled with the uprated ARB's and the Toyo R888R which have solid side walls and racing seats the ride is far from smooth, coupled with the appalling road surfaces around the Hills, I literally creep around, the mearest pot hole sends my dentures whizzing around the cabin

Plus you have to drive sensibly around the Hills, obviously because I live there, but if you are not careful you can get back home with the odd cyclist stuck in your wheel arch (and boy do they complain) or a horse on your bonnet or a tw*t in an M3 who thinks he's on the Nordschliefe trying to overtake you on a blind bend - what is it with these people?

Sg

Update on the brakes,

I’ve had all the calipers overhauled (Big Red + Countrycruising) and boy from a work of art point of view do they look good (piccies on Joes FCSS face book page)

The fronts are fitted with CL6 pads I mentioned on a previous post. Initial road tests are:

1. Blimey, do these have bite, they are totally different from OE pads which have progressive feel, these pads just bite. Closest analogy I have is they are the piranha of brake pads, just made to chomp down on your rotors
2. Blimey, you worry about a little bit of brake squeal on your OE pads (I did) these buggers are like an 18month old in the middle of a supermarket, the guys doing hand car wash at the far end of the car park are deafened!!!

The squeal is really loud, whether this will change over time or when the pads are really warm time will tell. For track use, where this will be used I don’t mind, it’s only at low speed they make the noise. But if this was a day to day car it would drive me mad. Ears hidden in a crash helmet I don’t care.

Will let you know how they perform on track in due course, but without doubt these angry brake pads will improve the stopping power of my Coupe

Sg

****** UPDATE *******

So the car (Barry) and I ended up at Cadwell Park last Saturday (they amusing call this the British Nürburgring (clearly by people who never have got to the Eiffel mountains!!).

This is the first time I've tracked this year and the first time with all the mod's over winter and spring (Which are:
fibre glass bonnet, fibre glass wings, move battery and washer bottle to boot, FC Performance Upgrade (I now have a 3 position switch I don't really know what to do with) new alloy hi-cap' rad and completely overhauled brakes with CL pads and the very important oil temperature gauge mod, into the sump).

As this is a thread on pads - let’s talk about those first.

The brakes are awesome, I've no idea what the other pads are like that have been discussed on this thread, but these are revolutionary to me. With the Castrol SRF fluid and these pads the Car just chucks an anchor out, I was pretty much outbraking everyone on the circuit, even my mate who has a hotted up Caterham 7 was telling me that I was outbraking him into Park, so this was from ~125mph down to about 50mph

The performance upgrades by Flea are great too, the car is quick and a real pain for everyone who is quicker around the corners than me, as I'm really fast down the straight bits, I outbrake them into the bendy bits and the driver is then crap round those bendy bits That said I am a gentleman (mostly) and after a while I do let them pass.

So I can't recommend these pads enough, I now do need to look at some brake cooling and I also need to trust the car's capability and not comfort brake so much - but that’s just practise I suppose.

What’s next? Well Nordschleife for two days at end of September and then Spa the other side of that weekend in early October for another two days (yes 4 days of tracking my Coupe - and yes I expect one of us to break!).

Regards and apologies I can't get to Brands this weekend

Regards

Sg