How does one determine brake pad temperature?
I keep glazing pads at Autocross events. I'm not sure if I'm overheating the pads or something else is going on. Brakes feel kinda weak after a run, but will come back if I let the car sit a bit.
Rotor temp paint says about 500F after a run. IR gun says about 450F on the rotor as I pull into the grid. I I've nuked normal HPS and Wilwood BP10s, currently use HP+ pads that claim a 800F heat range.
The pics below are the HP+ I removed.
What kind of car is having all these temperature problems from an autocross run? A heavy EV with the regen off? Most cars put very little heat into their brakes in autocross.
It's also worth considering that HP+ is a very specialized pad for autocross with a very narrow temperature range, street temps are too cold and track temps are too hot for them, in fact the HP+ are probably particularly vulnerable to overheating in autocross because of that. HPS5 actually has a similar temperature range but they're much less troublesome.
At work, we would drill the pad and install a K-type (iirc) thermocouple. IDK how regular people do it.
In reply to GameboyRMH :
The car is a 1992 Camaro. 3,164lbs without driver, 381rwhp. 315/30r18 A052 square. 13in 6 pot front brakes 12in 4 pot rears. This is also a manual brake car as well.
I installed a MK60 ABS over the winter and now the brakes tend to Nuke themselves even more since I can actually use the brakes more often without locking up tires. (The MK60 is magic lap time wise)
Have you had good experiences with the HPS 5.0?
In reply to 92RS :
I haven't tried HPS5s, if I had to recommend a pad I would say Powerstop PSAs are worth a try if you can actually get your hands on some, they have a temperature range that makes them work for everything from street to track use and they're pretty quiet and mild-mannered, their big disadvantages are that they wear away quickly and produce enough dust to blot out the sun. I've also autocrossed on EBC Yellowstuffs, those are unflappable in terms of temperature, their big downside is that their friction ramps up rapidly as they warm up, but that's more manageable with ABS. Bluestuff NDX has a slightly wider temperature range but wears faster.
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