Good Track Brake Pads Which Don't Squeal Too Much?
 

The Glen finished off the stock front brake pads in our Cayman R, so we replaced them with a spare set of Hawks which somebody at the DE had handy. The Hawks have far better bite than the stock pads, and I generally like them better than the stock pads, but their squeal is incredibly loud on the street, to the extent that they're effectively unstreetable.

I'd appreciate recommendations regarding track pads which don't squeal excessively on the street.

Please try a search, as there are quite a few threads on this already.

But really there are no effective track pads that will not squeal. So if you want quiet on the street, you will need a set of street pads and a set of track pads.

Thanks, I'll do some searching. By the way, the pads are Hawk HT-10s.

As David suggested, search is your friend.

But fundamentally, most street pads designed for noise free and low dust, are just not capable of withstanding the rigors of high speed, repeated stops (= lots of heat!). I've seen a set of new street pads that were down to the backing plate after 3 hard sessions on the track.

Track pads are designed for the abuse of track driving. Part of this is withstanding the heat, and why they seem to do well and stay quiet when used on the track. But then at slower speeds, they don't get hot enough to work properly, and they tend to squeak. In fact, I'm actually amazed at how well modern track pads will stop nowadays at street speeds. When I ran my 240Z back in the '80's, the track pads (Ferodo's) were great on the track, but were literally unsafe for street driving. When cold, they had almost no stopping power. First lap on track was spent dragging the brake in order to warm them up.

As far as dust, I guess it has something to do with the material composition needed to make them effective at high-temp/abusive conditions. I've yet to see a decent track pad that keeps your wheels/car clean.

FWIW, I run HT-10s now, and they squeal less then the Pagid Orange pads I used to use.

what's wrong with squealing like a city bus? i love that sound - it means i'm headed to the track! :twisted:

Problem is that it squeals like ten city buses. :oops:

Listen to Hoodpin.

Pads that work well on the street are soft and silent, pads that work on the track are harder and NEED to be hot to work properly. While street pads are OK for the first days of green, they won't survive once you start using the brakes on track.
Resign yourself to having both street and track pads.
FWIW, I drove to every event for two seasons on R comp rubber with track pads. Its hard to sneak out of a hotel carpark early when the brakes squeal like a banshee.

I remember the quiet days of street tires and pads. My 888's and Pagid yellows combined drove me nuts. Switched to RA1's, but I am still looking for a silent brake pad. Irfan, If you find any keep us up to date.

It will be quicker to age to the point where you lose your high frequency hearing. If you find track pads that don't squeal during street use before that time it will be a Christmas miracle.