I won a set of RB slotted rotors for my xB at Philly Exposed last month. I was holding off putting them on because I know the factory brakes are still good. Then I realized, that wasn't thinking like a tuner at all. :D

So I've decided to go on and put them on. Or better yet, have some of the local guys in SE/SL Maryland help me do so. I know I should get new pads so I don't warp the new rotors. My question is: what is a good brake pad to put on with the slotted rotors? Something quiet with low dust would be best. Better than stock stopping power is a plus, too but I guess the rotors will help that. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

1. You will notice almost no stopping distance or peddle feel with slotted rotors. I don't care what anybodies marketing literature says.
2. You will not warp the rotors with different pads. You will only warp the rotors if you've gotten them REALLY REALLY hot and then held the brakes until they cooled down. The stock rotors are suprisingly thicker than I expected.

A pad recommendation that I would give are Porterfield R4-S pads. These are absolutely awsome pads, and I noticed a very big difference between these and the stock pads.

Reference my thread here when I took the car to the race track: http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32608

Hey Lee, how much was those pads and where did you get them?

Yeah, where?

I warped a set of new rotors on my Integra when I put them on with old pads. So I figure I won't risk ruining these ones.

I also was worried I'd warp my front rotors, that's why I bought another set of front rotors for the xA RS 1.0 before I hit the track, but they ended up being fine. When I was changing out the front pads, and I saw the stock rotors, and how thick they were, I figured I'd be fine with the original ones in place.

You can get the pads here: http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/
I've been getting my street & race pads and rotors for my frequently tracked Z there for years. I used to use the R4-S for the Z, but faded them like crazy. Then I started using their race grade R4 pads. Excellent, but then I got introduced to Hawk Blues for the track, those are by far the best, but the dust eats the wheels. I didn't care because I ran separate crap wheels with race tires just for the track. For our light cars, R4-S seems so far to do a good enough job.

Let me add something else, if your rotors are really thin or the metals used in it are inferior, they can also warp simply from the extreme heat. Just like a potato chip, or how a record player might react if you put it in a microwave. But if you got quality rotors, then the only way you can warp them is if you don't cool them down uniformly, for examply, having the ebrake clamped onto it for a long time time when it's cooling down or keeping your food down on the brakes for a long duration of time after you've gotten them really heated up.

Automatics are more prone to this than stick shift cars because when you come to a stop, you HAVE to hold the brakes, while in a stick, some times you may just sit in neutral.

The caliper holding onto one side of the rotor will not allow the rotor to cool down uniformily, there-by causing the rotor to warp.

By the way, I've already tried a set of slotted rotors on my Z. Got them cryogenicly treated too so they would last longer because I cracked the sh*t out of my previous clean faced rotors because of the aggressive pads and all the track days I put them through. I didn't notice much, if any difference.

To give you an idea of the beating I used to do on my brakes, I used to melt my rubber caliper dust boots each time I went to the track. Back when I was using R4 and R4-S pads on my Z, I used to go through a set of new pads in one track day. The backs of my pads used to turn white because of the extreme heat we put them through.

Oh ya, by the way, as I'm starting to see that these R4-S pads are reacting the same as they did on my Z when I used them for the street too. When they are cold, they are a little worse than stock pads, but once they get some heat in them, or if you really slam on them, it's like throwing out a boat anchor to stop the car.

LeeD, what do you think of the ebc green stuff brake pads?


Thanks for your help

No experience, and nobody I know uses them.

I'm only now starting to get familierized with parts for light weight, smaller engined, import cars, so my experience isn't that vast. I can say this much, nobody I know that ran BMWs, Porsches, Supras, or Zs on the track/autox ran them.

I know Sport Compact Car seems to put them on their project cars often though. Actually, when I was looking for pads for my xA for last weeks track day, I looked into them too. Went to their web page, and read a few SCC arcticles, but when I saw that some of the stuff they put on their cars definately wouldn't hold up to the track, I knew that some of their mods were high-end street use/autox only. Hey, some might be fore the track, but the few ones I read weren't. Instead of taking the risk of trying something out I have no experience on, I decided to stick with proven stuff that works. I knew that only the really good drivers of non-Turbo 300ZXs could fade R4-S pads on the track. Average drivers couldn't. Being that those weight 3200lbs, and their stopping from a higher speed than me, I should be FINE in my light weight, underpowered xA RS 1.0, and I was.

No experience first or second hand experience with any ebc stuff. Btw, I think the cost for R4-S pads were $110-ish or something like that.. I was suprised they even had them. They didn't have rear brakes at the time, if I remember right though.

Thanks, but I cant find scion under their website or did u buy like an echo pad?

I didn't find it either. I called them to double check and was happyly suprised that they did have it.

Thanks A lot, I'm going to auto-x my xA next spring thats why I want some better brakes.

I'm just looking for something for the street. No plans to take the xB to a track. Is Ceramic or Metallic better for low noise and low dust? I think I'm just gonna get something from a local auto parts place. $110 is steep for a set of pads I won't ever take to the track.

Check out Tirerack.com, they have some creamic coat pads for $45 bux

I use EBC greens and their slotted rotors on my 93 Daytona. THey have really good stopping power for such a heavy car. THe rotors are a bit noisy since I don't have springs to lift the pads from the rotor. I has converted the rears to discs and they fade way faster than the fronts. I will put greens on the front of my xB too. I hate that nasty brown dust on my Works.

i'll second what lee said about porterfield.. i had the r4-s brake pade on my civic and it was night and day different.. stopping was at least 20 feet shorter! and they wear very well! i would highly recommend them.. pedal feel is much much better too..they were about $90 for left/right front pads as a set..

Tire rack says that only ceramic pads should be used, since that is what came with the vehicle. It says other types might cause excess noise and dust. Does that sound right?

FYI, we offer the Akebono Pro-Act Ceramic Pads - Front Fitment at $61.00 plus shipping. The Akebono Pro-Act Ceramic Pads would be a good match for your slotted rotors. To learn more about the Akebono Pro-Act Ceramic Pads, please visit our site by clicking the following link:
http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=DJ1&url=/brakes/index.jsp

Our comment regarding ceramic pads should be used to replace the O.E. pads is simply a recommendation and should be taken as such. Using other types of pads could, and more than likely would, cause higher noise levels and more dust, however, the choice is yours!

Thanks for the info, Roger. Those Akebono pads sound good. I'm thinking about ordering a set.

FYI, there is a really interesting article on brake pads, brake fluid and rotors in the current issue of HCI (Hot Compact & Imports)- January, 2005. If you are going to get a set of pads I would definately pick up this issue first and give it a read.

One good reference that I always refer people to is the write-up done by Mike Kojima of Sport Compact Car, for SE-R.net.

If you just ignore the Sentra/SE-R references, you'll find there is a lot of detailed intelligent meat in the text. These basics apply to all cars.

http://www.se-r.net/car_info/brake_performance.html
and
http://www.sentra.net/tech/garage/brakes.php

Don't be too alarmed by his comment regarding race grade carbon pads. The specific one he's referencing are Hawk Blues, all others are fine.

I personally strongly recommend a carbon type of pad. Many manufacturers make their own version of the carbon pad. Porterfield, Performance Friction, Hawk, and Pagid all have their own variation of the carbon brake pads. Also, all 4 of those manufactures supply about 90%+ of all the racers in SCCA, Speedvision, ALMS, etc.. All of them too (except I'm not as familier with Pagid) supply street grades of their pads too.


Another good reference, if your looking for personal opinions on different kinds of pads, rotors, brake technologies, you can read up on this link:
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Performance/brakes.htm
Move of this page references NSX's, but the personal points of view by more than one individual can give a bigger picture to different brakes. Most of the text here is in reference to NSX's at the race track.

If your looking for something for the street but better performance and $100 for front pads is too much for you, besides recommending TRD pads, I can't help you much.

I don't necessarily need "better" performance. I'd be happy with something on par with the factory pads. Like I said, I'm really only getting new pads because I don't want to risk warping the new rotors when I put them on.

I was just wondering what other people were running if they had changed theirs yet. Thanks for the help.

You may not really need to get different pads if, as you say, performance is not an issue. One thing to keep in mind is that there are trade-offs between any type of pad. Racing and high performance pads are great when pushing really hard and under high heat conditions. However, in most cases they don't perform as well when the brakes are cold as that is not what they are designed for. So, if you are on the highway and have not used the brakes for a while (cold) you will have sub-par stopping power if you have to slam on the brakes in an emergency. As LeeD said, it is heat that will warp the rotors. Under normal driving conditions (even if you step it up every once in a while) the stock pads would be fine. If you are gonna take the ride to the track that is a different story.

I was just wondering what other people were running if they had changed theirs yet.

ok, no problem.