NA Miata with Mustang Calipers?

Berck said:

NOHOME said:

Not looking to make brakes my next hobby.

Then you probably shouldn't:)  Mazda professionals spent time/effort/money designing a brake system that's really pretty good.  Spec Miatas don't have major problems with stock 1.6l brakes and they use them a lot more than any cruiser will.

I enjoy brake pads with a lot more bite than what seems typical for street use.  I really, really love the feel Carbotech/G-Loc brakes, but I don't like them on the street because of the noise and the wheel-destroying dust.  Finding some pads with more bite might be exactly what you want.  Unfortunately, I've tried a bunch, and ever since the Axxis metal masters went away, I've been disappointed, so I don't have specific recommendations.  I'm running the powerstop Z26 now, and I'd like something more bite than that, but it's better than stock pads.

Carbotech/Gloc are dusty and noisy, but are much less corrosive than semi-metallic race pads. My Konig wheels stayed caked in them after a wet track day. 6-7 months later when I finally decided to part out the car, all the dust came right off with no damage to the wheels or the finish. 

From Carbotech's website:

"

Friction materials have evolved significantly over the years. Brake pads were originally made with organic ingredients such as asbestos and carbon, held together by a strong resin. Most brake pads sold today are considered semi-metallic, semi-metallic brake pads use brass, copper, and steel wool shavings held together by a resin. Unfortunately, the main drawback about the use of steel strands, iron, graphite, and small amounts of filer and friction modifiers (used to provide strength and conduct heat away from the rotors) is that the metal shavings and iron must rub against steel rotors every time the brakes are applied. This generates more noise and is a lot more abrasive on the rotors. It also creates corrosive dust that can damage your braking system as well as the paint on your wheels and car.

At Carbotech, we felt these kinds of friction materials were not the best solution, and we decided to develop something that was better in performance and better for the entire braking system – a Ceramic Kevlar-based compound.

Friction materials that contain Ceramic Kevlar formulations have become recognized for their desirable blend of traits. This allows the Ceramic Kevlar pads to handle higher brake temperatures with less heat fade, and provide faster recovery after heavy braking. It also reduces brake dust and makes wheel maintenance easier!

Ceramic Kevlar compounds extend brake life compared to most other semi-metallic and organic materials, and at the same time they outlast other premium pad materials by a significant margin, without compromising in noise control, pad life, and all around braking performance."

I don't know if they are available for your Miata calipers but I bought a set of Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads from O'Reilly for the front of my GTI and I've been really happy with them. 

In reply to z31maniac :

My real-world experience is that I completely ruined the finish on a set of very nice "titanium" colored 6ULs with the G-Loc G6 compound in less than 10,000 miles.  I don't mind the dust that just washes off, but this stuff became permanent.  Because of this, my track miata got a set of black 6ULs instead, and the dust from the XP8s isn't even noticeable.  I have not tried their "street" compound (G-Loc GS1), but I'd guess there's no noticeable dusting with those.

What color were the Konigs?  Maybe the Konig finish is better than the 6ULs?

Berck said:

What color were the Konigs?  Maybe the Konig finish is better than the 6ULs?

I was running XP10 front, XP8 rear. They were just silver centers with polished lips (came that way). Looks like Konig doesn't make them anymore. I sold them to a friend back in 2014 for his WRL car.

Berck said:

In reply to z31maniac :

My real-world experience is that I completely ruined the finish on a set of very nice "titanium" colored 6ULs with the G-Loc G6 compound in less than 10,000 miles.  I don't mind the dust that just washes off, but this stuff became permanent.  Because of this, my track miata got a set of black 6ULs instead, and the dust from the XP8s isn't even noticeable.  I have not tried their "street" compound (G-Loc GS1), but I'd guess there's no noticeable dusting with those.

Interesting.  I haven't tried the G-Loc version, but I have Carbotech AX6s on the Jeep.  They stop great, they're only noisy occasionally, but they do dust like crazy.  However, I've always found the dust easy to remove and it's never stained the wheels.  Even when I was dd-ing the thing year round with those pads on it. 

Just as a note to the original Mustang calipers, I use them on my FFR Daytona and have a horrible time with them sticking. I think if you use them even somewhere regularly they're fine, but if it's going to sit for long periods of time the phenolic pistons swell (possibly due to the Louisiana humidity) and stay engaged the next time you go to drive. I have gone through 5 calipers in 5 years from this as when they stick I can seldom even get the pistons out of the caliper without shattering them. I just rebuilt the fronts with steel pistons from another caliper that should work perfectly and never swell, but I haven't driven the car with them yet. 

In reply to rslifkin :

Huh. So, that was my original experience with the AX6 as well, but not with the G-Loc version.  Since everyone said the G-Loc pads are the same, I've just assumed that was case and chalked the differences up to the fact that I ran the AX6 on a different Miata (1.8l, even) with OEM wheels which have a very different finish from the 6ULs.  But I also had less noise with the AX6 on that car than the 1.6L with the G-loc pads.  Maybe they're not really the same?  Now I'm tempted to order a set of the Carbotech AX6 and compare again.  Since 2 of the wheels are already ugly, I guess I don't have much to lose.  I'm also tempted to try the GS1 pads.

In reply to NOHOME :

First step before changing out pads is to re-bed the ones you have. In light use, you can lose that transfer layer. I've had brakes really wake up after going through the process with used pads.

Just get matte black wheels and leave them dirty with brake dust.  Problem solved.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

You might have a point here. The brakes were never "bedded" due to the drivus-interuptus nature of introducing a project car to the street. The first several drives are more a celebration of a return trip without a tow truck, and probably speaks to the first 500 miles of driving the car. Cant recall what the pads are other than they came from FM when I got some other brake components.

I'm going to say they're very likely Porterfield R4S pads then.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Then I shall put "re-bed brake pads" on the list of things to do with the car. Darn list keeps growing!

In reply to NOHOME :

But this one's fun because it's basically driving with a to-do list!