Anyone have any experience with Carbotech™ XP8/XP10™ (1108/1110™)? I'm interested in possibly running a set on the street/track but I don't want to burn through them in 3 months.

 

How many events do you run? What tracks? Some are tracks are harder on brakes than others. I have had their street pads on for almost 4 years, 2 on this set. 40,000 miles+ and counting. I have just put on their AX6 autox compound, I can't wait to try it. I'm not sure about their race compounds, I have heard great things. I discovered that the SCCA National Championships in 2006 & 2007 were won by a Mini on Carbotech's stuff. They have explanations of all their different compounds on their site, CTbrakes.com.. Check them out.

 

i use there pads on my mcs 07 they stop really well and they last a long time from what i have experanced. another plus is that they make far less dust then stock pads. i was clean my rims every other night it seamed now about once a week when i wash jiggy aka the mini. if you have it they had some good words in the last mc2 mag in two diffrent places in the mag.

 

I'll probably end up running 6-8 HPDE's this year. Depends on my schedule. Mostly Streets of Willow, possibly Buttonwillow or Big Willow. Never been to CA Speedway, but they have a few events there that I might check out.

I did check out their site and liked what I saw about the pads I mentioned, just concerned that since they're race only, they're going to be harsh, and won't last long. You previously ran the bobcat 1521 pads? I like the AX6 pads, but it says on their site not to run them with R-Compounds. I have a set of dedicated race tires with Avon Tech R/A Rubber. I hate brakes , so many choices.

 

Which compound do you run, the bobcat 1521's?

 

E-mail jr.carbotech@gmail.com, ask him which compound you should run, I'm not sure. I know that the hardest thing to do is find a pad that will do it all, it doesn't exist. You will have to be willing to give something up eg... dust and noise for track performance or less dust and noise and wear them out quickly with a street or autox compound. I had a discussion with jr yesterday online. I think it sounds like you should run a race compound, that's a lot of events per year. I don't know which combination you should run, I'm only doing autox, a no-brainer for me. I think you will really like the Carbotech's. Did you check out the product review on them?

 

if you are running track or A/X only wheels, it makes sense to me to run track/AX pads. brake torque without grip is senseless (and vise versa). with an inexpensive Harbor Frieght brake tool, it only takes a few minutes to swap pads while the wheel is off anyway. "dual purpose" wheels/tires/pads/etc don't work for me. your tolerance may vary. ironically, i leased the space formerly occupied by carbotech (before they moved to NC). it took me three weeks to clean up the brake dust and repaint everything! maybe they owe me a good deal on my next pads.....

 

i just pulled my brakes off today do some work on them. i run the ax6 compound on from carbotech. i put them on before a track day at nelson leges and i ran my mini hard that day. since then it has been in the garage for the winter, so my point is that the pads did not wear much at all. to me they looked new i wish i had miked them before and after so i could see what the wear was. during the sessions i did not have any brake fad.so i was pleased

 

I have dedicated tires but not dedicated wheels (I just remount the tires on my Ultraleggeras). With R-Compounds I'm not that concerned about grip .

I'm aware that there are "Race Only Pads" and my concern isn't with dust or noise. My current brakes aren't that quiet. I just don't want to go through brake pads every 5k miles, and some race compounds don't last very long.

My primary concern is brake torque, durability, and fade resistance. I'd also prefer a pad that has good initial torque, I hate waiting 1-2 laps to warm up my brakes before I can really pound them.

 

my recommedation is to run track pads only on the track. i have found pads that i can get 4 track weekends use. i switch back to OEM or equivalent pads for the drive home. these pads will last me over 20k in street use. i spend good $$$ on track pads, but very little on the street pads. if you are running r-comps and "dual-purpose" pads, you cannot get full use of your available grip during braking. if you are willing to go to the trouble and expense of swapping different tires on the same rim, it is relatively easy to put in a set of "race only" pads for the same event. track tires (and pads) require a little patience to get to proper operating temps. fact. the driver also needs some time to get to optimal conditions. you don't need to run your fastest lap of the session right out of the gate. "in order to finish first, you must first finish"

 

Just curious wellzy. What brake fluid were you running at Nelson?

 

crashton i just changed to the blue stuff Aron sells at outmortoring.

 

ATE 200/Superblue .

Next step up is Motul 600, which I run.

Next step from that is Castrol SRF, but only if you want to spend $130 on just the fluid for a brake flush .

 

I've been running ATE super blue also.

 

Hey Nick, keep us posted with your choice and how it works out for you. I'm on the lookout for some track day pads as well; my stock ones seem decent apart from minor fade (although I'm always looking to improve), but I've already gone through a set of stock pads and I don't even have 10k miles on the car!

 

It looks like i'll be getting a set of R56 calipers and rotors soon, so I'll likely be fairly limited in my choice of pads (I think EBC is the only company that has R56 pads out right now). From what I hear Carbotech are great, some people have said that the AX6 pads take a bit to warm up though before full bite, so you may want to run something with a more aggressive initial bite if you're running them on the street.

I'll definitely update everyone though.

 

carbotech has pads for all minis including the r56 i have them on my 07mcs. had them from november of last year infact. before you buy give them a call talk to danny or jr. they will set you up with the pads that will work for you. also the ax6 pad does not need to be wormed up to get max force. auto x u never get going fast enough to make heat like you do on a track so they pad is made top stop cold.

number for carbotech is 877-899-5024

 

Well, i'll be tracking my car quite a bit, so that's my primary concern, but i'll definitely give them a call and look into their pads, I've heard nothing but good things about their pads .

 

I've got a set of Carbotech race pads that I plan to run on the track this year. Can't wait. I will be swapping them out for street use.

 

I'm in with Wellzy and Crashton- The AX6 is designed for low temp. work. You have to get race pads up to temp, that's what the warm up lap is for (drag the pedal while warming up tires puts heat into the tire as well!). Race pads can be used on the street, not recommended, but brake pad change is simple, easy and quick. I run 1521 (bobcat street) daily and swap out to AX6 or track compound for events.

 

I'm a NAM vendor of the fine Carbotech products if you would like to keep it on the family. http://www.autoxcooper.com/ctbrakes.html

I also welcome your PM, emails and or calls about CT pads.

 

What do you sell the AX6 pads for? (The ones that fit the JCW or R56 kits)

 

The AX6 is a great choice, it might help with your rotor issue too. I saw the pic's. The CT website list price is $147.00 front and $132.00 rear. www.ctbrakes.com if you want to go direct.