I already HATE these Fiero Store Carbomet brake pads. It takes a lot of effort to haul the car to a stop (not much better than stock). Everything is new, rotors, calipers, master cylinder etc. and everything works properly (car was saftey'd and had wheel alignment). Even more annoying is the black brake dust coming off these things making a mess of the aluminum wheels in a matter of blocks not to mention it's a white car too!
I see Porterfield and Hawk have "much better" pads with less dusting. I also hear ceramic pads are great but haven't found any to fit stock Fiero applications.
Has anyone managed to drive with the different pads and made comparisons? Can someone give me an educated opinion that "Porterfield is #1", "Hawk is almost as good" and "don't waste money buying Carbomets"??? Has anyone found ceramic pads?
------------------ 3.4L S/C 87 GT www.fierosound.com 2002/2003/2004 World of Wheels Winner & Multiple IASCA Stereo Award Winner
Search google for akebono ceramic pads.. fiero style pads may be dropped because of low order numbers.. ceramic pads are far superior to any other because of lack of trash on wheels and only the most superior(expensive) work better,, any performance pad will take a longer brake in period ,regular pads work from the first few stops ,, THE best brake pads are the top premium semi metallic,many of these contain ceramic along with the metallic.. ceramic is the wave of the future, new cars have them because of lower rotor heat(heard confliting reports here) check ou companies like raybestos ect ,you want the best service around town
[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 10-30-2007).]
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01:09 AM
ohio86se Member
Posts: 1308 From: akron, ohio, summit Registered: Mar 2002
I too have the carbomet for the purpose of the "low dust" feature. They really don't stop that well. Waitng for a viable option. I have considered the EBC GreenStuff but they don't carry the ones for the 86.
Here is a quote from EBC site: "Premium street sport pad for cars up to 200bhp. General spirited street driving. Designed for premium street driving offering better brake effect up to 600°C (1100°F). EBC Greenstuff has a high initial brake effect and gives drivers confidence from first application of the brake pedal. There is no such thing as a NO DUST pad. The very nature of how a brake works requires that some dust be generated to avoid rotor vibration (shimmying). The EBC pad creates less dust and dust is more easily washed off than most. All pads create more dust as they are bedding in especially if rotors are worn. Nominal friction coefficient 0.55. For heavier faster cars and vehicles above 200bhp we strongly recommend Redstuff which DOES offer much less dust."
I've used GreenStuff in my Cavalier before, and they're very high quality pads. They did produce less dust than a standard parts store type pad. They were also very quiet under normal use.
They never would fade on me, even at the end of longer autoX runs. When I said quiet under normal use, I mean like highway and regular street driving. However, when they would get hot, like really hot at the end of an autoX run, they would squeal like mad. They still stopped fine, but they were LOUD when they were hot.
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07:12 AM
Francis T Member
Posts: 6620 From: spotsylvania va. usa Registered: Oct 2003
I have Portafield RS4s ( or 4RS whatever) pads on my 87GT and like them. Pretty much dust-free and with my slotted rotors I dont get any fade at all. I'm going to put them on my 87GT too.
I also have Portafield RS4s and I hate them. Sorry. Bought them and paid way too much thinking they would be that great. Maybe they are great for AutoX when they get very very hot lap after lap but several times I was ready to crash into a car in front because of them. I put them with new dimple/slotted rotors. On the other hand in my yellow car with exactly same new rotors I bought cheap ones from Autozone and they stop ten times better. Dust is about the same on both. Soon I'll get the Autozone ones in my red car as I don't need (and probably most here) AutoX pads.
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08:42 AM
Blacktree Member
Posts: 20770 From: Central Florida Registered: Dec 2001
Ironically, I was just about to post a similar question. The Grand Am brakes on my Fiero have generic semi-metallic pads. After installing more grippy tires, I now need more grippy brakes. I was looking at the high-performance brake pads (Hawk HPS and Brembo) at The Tire Rack. Has anyone used those?
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09:09 AM
Zac88GT Member
Posts: 1024 From: Victoria BC Registered: Nov 2004
Hawk pads are great but they dont make them for the fiero. I race my friends corvette with a set of HP plus's on it and it bites instantly and you can't fade them no matter what. Only downside is you'll probably have to go through two sets of rotors before the pads wear out and they squeel quite a bit. I'm using AXXIS metal master pads on my 88 and they seem to work great.
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09:19 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
Keep in mind what "high performance" brake pads are for. Carbomet pads, and stuff like the Porterfield ceramics or Red Stuff pads are designed for agressive or autox style driving. They have less fade, but typically also have less braking capability when cold.
It's all a trade-off. Generic stock pads will work very well cold, but will not stand up to much heat. They are fine for normal driving. If you aren't having fade problems with stock pads, going with "high performance" pads probably won't do you any good. It's like running Premium fuel in a car designed to run on regular.
Ceramic are good because they've got a lot of good qualities without too much sacrifice. But they're a lot more expensive as a rule.
Just remember to buy for your driving style. I run Raybestos semi-metallic pads or OEM GM pads on my Formula for street driving and have never had any fade problems. For auto-crossing, I'd probably want something more fade resistant.
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09:52 AM
fierosound Member
Posts: 15145 From: Calgary, Canada Registered: Nov 1999
Keep in mind what "high performance" brake pads are for. Carbomet pads, and stuff like the Porterfield ceramics or Red Stuff pads are designed for agressive or autox style driving. They have less fade, but typically also have less braking capability when cold.
It's all a trade-off. Generic stock pads will work very well cold, but will not stand up to much heat. They are fine for normal driving. If you aren't having fade problems with stock pads, going with "high performance" pads probably won't do you any good. It's like running Premium fuel in a car designed to run on regular.
Ceramic are good because they've got a lot of good qualities without too much sacrifice. But they're a lot more expensive as a rule.
Just remember to buy for your driving style. I run Raybestos semi-metallic pads or OEM GM pads on my Formula for street driving and have never had any fade problems. For auto-crossing, I'd probably want something more fade resistant.
That's a very good point. I might also add that semi-racing and racing pads will greatly speed up rotor wear if you don't break them in properly and/or don't keep them within their operating temperature range. Cold racing pads can eat a rotor up rather quickly.
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03:01 PM
PFF
System Bot
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
That's a very good point. I might also add that semi-racing and racing pads will greatly speed up rotor wear if you don't break them in properly and/or don't keep them within their operating temperature range. Cold racing pads can eat a rotor up rather quickly.
Not to mention cold racing pads won't stop as well as bargin bin street pads. Racing and track pads have to be heated up before they start to work well.
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03:23 PM
Lilchief Member
Posts: 1733 From: Vevay,Indiana Registered: Feb 2004
EBC Redstuff part # DP3325C fit an 88. I have them on my 85GT with 88 cradle. I like them. And I think EBC makes Redstuff for GAs brakes also. The Redstuff pads are expensive. think $80 for a set
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85 GT 3.4 14.9 @ 90 1.9 60' Old TH125/3.06 Unknown New 4T60/3.42
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04:35 PM
fierosound Member
Posts: 15145 From: Calgary, Canada Registered: Nov 1999
I have the Carbomets on my '87 and '88 and I love them. No high speed fade over many applications more than offsets the need to heat them up. I have learned how to drive with them. When they're nice and hot it's easy to keep the brake effort just below lockup.
If you want top performance on street fiero go with raybesto top quality street pads.. these will have a combination of material in the pad to give the best performance,, and will probably stop you in a panic stop driving thru town as good as more expensive racing brake pads.. leave the race pads for race cars there is no real benefit for street,unless you live in mountainous area with many steep angle roads, I have No recent data on this. but will soon !! an 88 fiero with top quality pads will stop with the best of them
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06:27 AM
Nov 5th, 2007
ohio86se Member
Posts: 1308 From: akron, ohio, summit Registered: Mar 2002
Cheap bastard's style of "metallic brakes" seen in wrecking yard. Pad is gone and disc is worn down to about 1/8" thick. How could you NOT KNOW (or care)??
[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 03-29-2009).]
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03:55 PM
Feb 5th, 2009
fierosound Member
Posts: 15145 From: Calgary, Canada Registered: Nov 1999
When I did the Grand Am upgrade on the rears, I used Auto Zone's Duralast Gold pads, they work great. For stock Fiero brakes, they only offer the regular Duralast, but they're probably similar.
I've seen AC Delco pads listed on Rock Auto's site, but they're about $50 per set, anyone tried them?
My ex-Fiero has the carbomet pads in it. It took a while for them to be properly broken in. Once they were they worked extremely well and didn't even need to warm up to work. I had installed new rotors when I did the pads. The first time I used them it was scary because it felt like they weren't working. Since I didn't use the car that much it took a while for them to be properly broken in. They work better than the stock brakes and don't fade as they heat up. When I had the car on the track at Watkins Glen I could smell the brakes of the car in front of me while mine had no problem. After our run I looked at his brakes and they were actually smoking, mine looked normal and never faded during the hard braking at the corners. They also hardly made any dust after they broke in.
[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 02-05-2009).]
