I'm gonna keep the EBC Reds in the rear for now. No point throwing out perfectly good pads that don't really do all that much anyway, I just put them in last year.

 

So an update on this thread (just shy of) a year later.

The XP10s performed wonderfully for what I needed. A trip down to Tail of the Dragon and a few to the mountains of upstate NY and I never overheated the brakes once. Late braking, triple digit to 0 stops, trail braking all handled without a sweat. Stopping power was incredible as well. Never had pads with this much bite.

The downsides were to be expected: My car sounds like a garbage truck when on the brakes. The sqealing was more than I was expecting but nothing I minded too much, got used to it after a few weeks. However most of my friends that did ride-alongs couldn't stand it. Another thing they couldn't stand was the smell. I personally am anosmic so it wasn't an issue for me, however most of my friends said my brakes smell "like death". As I am typing this, my SP slotted rotors that I installed along with the XP10s are now very near minimum spec (0.820 measured rotor thickness, .800 is minimum). The pads look like they have a decent amount of life left in them but I'm going to be replacing everything soon.

So for a whole one year/12,000 miles I had an amazing brake setup, but for a daily driver I probably wouldn't do it again unless I got the same deal. I'm going with EBC Yellowstuff this time around, and the same SP rotors.

 

Yes, the Carbotech pads are incredible. However, as you found out, they need to be well warmed up to not squeal, which isn’t going to happen around town. The other thing you found out is that a race pad is very aggressive (wear) on rotors when just driving around with them on the street. And, as I said, these are rotor friendly pads, for a race pad. Imagine what some other pad would have done. Another option for the street is the Carbotech AT pad, which is designed for autocross, but also works on the street. G-lock pads are basically the same as the Carbotechs and they make a street pad that might be an option. The yellow stuff is good, as is the Hawk HP+.

 

I debated the HP+ but heard they were a bit on the noisy side and I quite honestly was looking for something as quiet as possible this time. I'd like to not sound like an MTA bus for a while.

 

I have used both the Yellow Stuff and HP+, and would say that they are very similar in performance. Both are “track worthy”, so either should fit your needs. Neither has quite the “bite” of the Carbotechs, but still plenty good. It has been a while since I have used them and I don’t remember one being particularly noisier than the other. But neither was like the race pads. So, your choice, and I think you will be happy with either.

Post back about what you think about the Yellow Stuff pads.

Oh, one other thing - inspect the brake caliper pistons for any chipping when you change the pads. I would think you can see them well enough with just a good light and maybe a mirror, without having to take off the caliper. The pistons are made from a sintered material that I have read (here on NAM) will chip with hard and hot use. No one has reported that this is a catastrophe failure or anything like that, but you do want to keep an eye on them. There are replacement SS ones available if you find an issue and need to replace the pistons.

Motor on and have fun... Spring is coming...

 

Hey, have you been to Lime Rock Park? I plan to be there 3/28 for SCDA’s car control clinic with my new JCW. They are also running a HPDE. Visitors are allowed to come and watch. If you are interested, I’ll be there for the morning an a bit into the afternoon. If the weather is bad (snow?), they could call it off. Not sure how I will know; maybe it will be posted on their web page (SCDA1.com).