Best Brake Pads for a stock 88 (Page 2/2)
theogre JUL 22, 08:23 PM

quote
Originally posted by Raydar:
In case you didn't see my post in (I think) your other thread, I have stopped using Thermoquiet pads.
The last ones that I bought dusted like hell, and made a mess of my wheels. (Pontiac G6. Not the Fiero. But still...)

It's been a while since I needed to buy brakes for my Fiero, but I'm probably going to go with the Raybestos pads. YMMV.

Several possible things will cause this... in no order...
All pads/shoes must wear and dust out. Color of dust maybe obvious or not between different formulas. "Low/No Dust" pads are often BS marketing or worse, very hard and wear the rotors instead.
You car may have early signs of brake problems making the pads wear more.
How you clean and wax or not the car can effect brake dust sticking to whatever. Finish on rims can make dust stick too.
Wagner and some others are now using Low or No Copper formulas to make pads/shoes to be legal in some US states and other Countries. These formulas may make different color dust, more dust, etc. US EPA is voluntary but not in some states. See https://www.epa.gov/npdes/c...ree-brake-initiative https://www.wagnerbrake.com/low-copper.html and other similar statement by other brands.
theogre JUL 22, 08:33 PM

quote
Originally posted by mcguiver3:
While I race/autocross my 88 Formula trying to find pads that could hold up and give me the bite I wanted was difficult at the time.
Searching for alternatives, I found The Hawk HB100 pads for the Wilwood Dyna Lite caliper looked promising.
The pad was exactly the right size and shape albeit needing a little bit of grinding of the backing plate (about 1/16") and open up the locating holes a tad they dropped right in.
Been using the HP Plus at .480 thick but it allows use of any compound they offer in that size.

Often is not just pads... Racing and more importantly autox can make booster problems because engine is at too high throttle too long to make the low vacuum needed by all vacuum boosters.
Many need extra vacuum cans/reserves, sim to vac can w/ Vac cruise used in Fiero and most others but a lot bigger and heavier, or electric vac pumps while racing.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 07-22-2019).]

Formula Owner JUL 24, 08:02 PM

quote
Originally posted by theogre:Likely is Not a pad problem.


You're right. It wasn't the pads. Turns out... Thermoquiets are perfectly adequate. This weekend, I re-greased the front caliper sliders. Immediately afterwards, I noticed no difference. After driving to work 3 days (about 20 mi round trip), it SEEMED like my brakes were better. I retried my "brake stress test". I got it up to 80, then braked, and was EASILY able to lock the brakes on the first try, with plenty of additional pedal force available. The problem wasn't my pads, it was my sliders. I guess the pads needed to re-bed again.


quote
Originally posted by theogre:
When you force the brakes to over heat doing a crap test then you will often have problem just by Glazing the pads.


Well, my "crap" brake test did NOT glaze my pads. My brakes worked better today than they ever have.


quote
Originally posted by theogre:
If you have caliper problems and they are dragging the pads then will do the same. Or worse, That can cause brake failure or a fire. Rear pistons are very well known for problems and some where recalled by GM. See my Cave, Do You Recall? and Rear Brakes section.
Any oil/grease and other contaminates can Glaze the pads too. Like Many don't clean new rotors/drums and anti rust coating to protect them in inventory will Glaze the Pads/Shoes. (Most rust protection are veg base and wash off w/ dish soap and water and maybe Scotch-Brite.) Many have Open Rims that besides showing brakes lets more crap on them. Many fools remove the "dirt shield" behind the brake that does same.


I've been through your brake pages. Apparently you don't read what I write though. I already mentioned that I'm pretty anal about rotor and pad cleanliness during reassembly. That's one of the main reasons I don't let anyone else touch my brakes.


quote
Originally posted by theogre:
Just get best/premium pads from AZ Raybestos etc. Not some quack snake oil "performance" pads from Ebay, Amazon, etc.


EBC's are NOT snake oil. They are very common in sportsbikes. I had a set on my last bike, a ZZR1200. A sport touring bike. It's been described as a 600 lb sportbike. It's very hard on brakes, and my EBC's worked great on that bike. In the sportbike world, EBC pads are highly regarded.
Will JUL 25, 07:38 AM
I have Porterfield R4-S pads on my stock-brake Formula. I've had them for 20k miles, probably. I have black front wheels, so can't comment much on their dusting but am completely satisfied with their performance with stock brakes.

Don't forget to replace your caliper slider boots. FieroStore has them.

[This message has been edited by Will (edited 07-29-2019).]

Formula Owner JUL 28, 10:06 PM
Anybody have any autocross experience in an 88? Specifically, any experience with brake pads? I.e. which pads give good bite on an autocross course, where you have less than a minute to get heat in your pads?
fieroguru AUG 10, 05:42 PM
I ran some carbomat pads for 45K miles. Cold/wet bite was a little low, but after the first brake application they were quite good, lasted a long, long time, and had minimal brake dust. The pad compound was also very hard, so the pedal was nice and firm. Want to stop faster, just press harder, and with the firmness modulation was pretty good.

When I decided to replace the rotors and pads this year, I tried the thermo-quiets and was very dissatisfied with initial bite, warm bite, and excessive the excessive brake dust. Not happy with them at all. Gave them about 3 months and 5-6K miles. Still woefully unimpressed...

I have now switched to EBC DP4325R Yellowstuff Ultra High friction pad set and they have very, very good cold bite, and get even better as they warm up, quite impressed with that. At $215 for a full car set, they are quite spendy. They still have too much brake dust and likely won't have the service life of the carbomat pads, but they stop very, very well. They advertise that the pads won't wear out the rotors, but when the pads are more expensive than the rotors... it kinda defeats the purpose.

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 08-10-2019).]