Street/Autocross Brake Pads

I've used Porterfield R4-S in the past, and been happy with them, but since it's been several years since I've bought performance pads, I thought I'd ask what you guys would recommend. If it matters, the car is an '88 CRX-si.

I think the R4S may be a superior pad in some ways from what I've heard, but I've found that all I really needed was some Axxis Ultimates for dd/autocross. IIRC they were quite a bit cheaper for my application. They are far better than any other low-to-mid-level performance pad that I've tried, offer great cold bite for those mornings you're just not with it, and so much friction when warmed up I had to re-assess my braking technique lest I hurt my passengers necks. At the same time I've been pretty disappointed in the Metal Masters (same brand). YMMV.

This was on a 93 Civic Si and a 99 Integra if it matters.

R4S FTW. I swear by them for any road car, work from stone cold and they work hard.

I just got a set for the Ranchero BTW

i USED the HPS from hawk with great success on my DD/auto-x Elantra. The car had really small stock brakes and they helped tremendously.

I had a similar Hawk HPS experience on my RSX.

I used EBC Yellows on my CRX and they were alright.

Hawk HPS or HP+ work great. The plus's like to be warmed up.

I run HP+ in my 89 civic si and they seem to be great even when I take it on track, they do need a little warm up for best results but they are so much better than standard pads that on the street they are still superior even when they haven't warmed up yet.

I"ve used HPS on all of my cars for years now (GT6, e30, WRX, etc). For street use and autocross, they're the best IMO. Low dust compared to other street performance pads I've had. No noise, ever. Good initial bite when cold or warm, and so far they've lasted 50K miles on a 300hp Wrx in tons of traffic and autocrosses. I've never experienced fade with them, even in my old Maxima with 4 people and a week's worth of ski gear coming down the mountain roads for 45 minutes braking hard alot.

I love my Axxis Ultimate pads. They have a great feel to them on the Miata and offer good stopping power. They do dust like no other though.

I have Axxis Ultimates on the rear of my WRX, and HPS on the front. My rear wheels get 10x as dirty as my fronts, and that's with most of the actual braking being done up front. The ultimates are fine pads, but they dust like a mofo, for sure.

I'm partial to Hawk HP+. They make a ton of dust, and they squeal occasionally, but they stop like crazy.

Any modifications in these suggestions for a 3500 lb RWD pig?

ReverendDexter wrote: Any modifications in these suggestions for a 3500 lb RWD pig?

Hey hijacker, get your own thread!!!

ReverendDexter wrote: Any modifications in these suggestions for a 3500 lb RWD pig?

The HPS and HP+ both work well on heavier vehicles. I used HPS on an 03 Mustang GT and HP+ on my 67 El Camino (it had C5 vette front/LS1 Camaro rear brakes). The HP+ do dust more and squeal a bit but nothing terrible.

I've used R4Ss in the past, but I really have nothing to compare them to other than cheap parts house pads.

ReverendDexter wrote: Any modifications in these suggestions for a 3500 lb RWD pig?

Nope, HP+ pads in my CTS-V made for the best-stopping car I've ever driven. I also use HP+ in the front of my 4th-gen Camaro (I don't use them in back for reasons of bias/axle hop).

Will wrote: I'm partial to Hawk HP+. They make a ton of dust, and they squeal occasionally, but they stop like crazy.

The only issue with the HP+ is of you DD the car. This means they stop cold a lot, and the rotor wear gets pretty excessive. Ive DD'd them since last spring and will need new rotors this summer.

ReverendDexter wrote: Any modifications in these suggestions for a 3500 lb RWD pig?

I'm running HPS's on the 88 C4 Vette.

ReverendDexter wrote: Any modifications in these suggestions for a 3500 lb RWD pig?

I'm running HPS's on the 88 C4 Vette.