Had Carbotech pads installed with new Mini rotors (get 'em from Outmotoring, they're very reasonable!) 3 days ago, and have found that they don't have any initial bite the way the stock pads did.

Has anyone noticed this?

With the Mini pads I could just toe the brake to get a little slowing, now I have to go well past that to get any reaction. When I do get them to bite, they seem to stop shorter than the stock pads did.

If this is normal, I'll go back to stock because I like that feel a lot better. If it's not, what do you think went wrong? The shop said they bed them in (though I'm not sure of their procedure), and I don't think it's a brake fluid issue because there is still the same pressure from the pedal, the brakes just don't seem to react to it.

 

You may find this helpful, http://www.autoxcooper.com/carbotech..._pads.html#faq There is a learning curve to the CT pads, but once you understand them you'll love them. Make sure they were bed in well too. The Bed In comes in the box of pads.

One customers told me this "OEM pads are like a light switch On or Off, the CT pads are like a light dimmer that you can adjust" I thought that was a great way to say it.

 

They'll take more force, but so long as they can't crank down enough for the ABS to kick on, then they're OK. I like them bettter becaue it takes more throw and therefore more modulation is possible.

 

I'm sure that outmotoring did not sell you a full on track pad. So, maybe if you try several hard "emergency stops" for a few days. They should bed and break-in. Warning make sure that no one is following behind you.

 

Interesting stuff. I'll see how they work out for a while longer. I felt like the stock pads were easy to modulate so I probably need to get used to these guys' feel. Thanks

 

I like the feel of the Carbotech Bobcats much better than the stock pads. To me, they have a more normal feel and are easier to control. I thought the MINI pads were very grabby.

 

The opposite. If your pads arent capable of triggering the ABS then your car isnt coming to a stop as fast as it is actually able to. Basically the pads are too weak.

My Axxis pads were a bit like the CT's. A little less bite but the modulation on them is excellent.

 

Which carbotech pads are we talking about?

 

Assuming 1521 bobcats.... then yes, as has been said, less initial bite than stock, but better modulation. Also, they seem to take several sessions to really come in to their best performance... some folks have said it really took a week or two for them to start developing more bite.

If you want great bite and good modulation, at the expense of lots of dust and some noise, the AX6 pads are monsters... what I run on the Dragon.

 

I was just about to post the exact same observation based on my own personal experience with the 1521s (but not as eloquently as Paul).

 

I've braked hard with the Bobcats, but haven't needed to go as far as invoking ABS. I suspect they will go there without problem. Anyone actually done it with good sticky summer tires?

 

If I panic stop on my Nitto NeoGens and my Bobcats, I can engage the ABS.

 

ABS gets engaged with the Bobcats (sorry I wasn't clear on that) and Goodyear GSD3s, yes.

Why wouldn't it?

 

bee100n,

I'm in escondido and I installed a set of carbotech bobcats along with a full set of TSW's high carbon rotors and bleed with Motul rbf600 (got them from AutoXCooper and Dustin their was great). Anyway, after the bed in and about 200-300 miles I think I'm starting to like them. The bite is by far less then stock and it takes a fair amount of force to get into the ABS but I have no problem getting it to come on (I run BFGoodrich g-force 205/55/15 for tires). What I am really starting to like is the fact that I can more easily controll how much brake force I'm putting down where as the stocks if I wasn't a little caefull I got the car a little jerky. The Bobcats seem more linear but need more input; the stocks need less input but were more on/off.
I might at a later date try the AX6's to see if the noise and dust isn't to bad of a trade for more of a bite and still have a good release.


Allen

 

Hey Blimey, if you run the AX6's on the Dragon how much dust and noise is there compared to the stock brakes? Do you think it is to much for every day street use?

Thanks Allen

 

I ran an R56 at MOTD last year with AX6, they scream and dust as if we were taking care of corn fields. Great pad for AX, but...

This year I drove the same R56 with XP8's and will be testing them on my R50 and if what my customers are saying is true, it's a great street pad you can take to the track on street tires and on the R56 I drove had very little noise and less dust them OEM, but more then Bobcats. I'll be starting a report thread in the Vendor Talk area later this month after I get some miles, events, pics and data.

 

As Dustin said - the AX6 pads make MASSIVE amounts of black dust. It's non-corrosive so it wipes right off when you wash - no scrubbing required - but they're VERY dusty. And they squeak like crazy. But man, do they bite... Definitely not a pad I would drive on every day. But for mountain runs, they're great. But I just swapped back to my bobcats tonight for the next couple of weeks.

I recently got my first set of XP10/XP8 pads and will be putting them on later this month for a track day - and may try them on the street a bit while they're on there.

 

I have the XP8's on the rears (although I'm switching soon to XP10's), no problems. Great for the track, and gentle enough on the rotors for everyday driving. Don't know how the XP10's will do on the rears, but I'm lazy changing rear pads, so I'll probably just leave them on. I always swap out the fronts for the trackthough, but those are much, much easier to change back and forth.

 

i have bobcats in the front and rear. my xp8's squeal like crazy in the front (part of my track set up). what are they like in the back?...i mean noise wise, i'm sure the performance is excellent

 

Note the switch from XP8 to XP10 in the rears is due to change from street tires to R-comps. If you are stepping up to R-comps you may also need to step up on the pads. If you are not sure just send me a PM.

 

i know what the fronts (xp8's) sound like...wondering what the rear xp8's SOUND like

i change from xp8's/track rotors to bobcats/street rotors as soon as i get back from the track.....i live an urban/suburban area with lots of starts/stops....the noise effects me more than my header

 

I have XP10/XP8 on my track Cooper. I do drive the Cooper to the track, so it sees very limited street use. They are not a pad for a daily driver. They are a track pad. You can drive them to the track, but they are way too noisy and dusty for me to consider using otherwise. Not to mention way too expensive.

 

Oxtox, the XP8's have been a pleasant surprise on the rears--no squeal, and they've worn well. I actually get a hint of squeal from the fronts (when I have the BP's on--street pads for the Wilwood kit); my front street pads squeal more than my rear track pads for some odd reason. However the PolyB's that I ran on the front brought a whole new meaning to the word squeal--not that it bothered me, you'd expect that.

Dustin is right about the switch to the XP10's on the rears--I'm upgrading the suspension (KW V2 coilovers), front brakes (TSW BDM), and going to R comps (Nitto-01, 225/45/15, should make things interesting), and subsequently going with a more aggressive pad on the rears. If the XP10's wear too quickly, or squeal too much, I'll swap them out after track days (my car does double duty--it's my toy, but I tend to drive it every day whenever I can). I just hate messing with the rear pads; in retrospect maybe I should have swapped out the rear calipers for a lighter set that is more friendly to frequent pad changes...

 

there aren't a lot of options for rear calipers if one wants to retain a parking brake. stock pads aren't difficult to swap after you have done it a few times. once the car is jacked up (to swap to r-comps), it only takes me 4-5 minutes to change rear pads.

 

Bean, I've done it more than a few times; you must be quicker at than I am. Maybe if I'm lucky 5 minutes a side. It's a pain to take the caliper apart each time just to change pads, plus rotate the piston back in, etc. The parking brake isn't an issue for me.

There are a few single piston kits I've seen with a cotter pin similar to what's on most BBK's on the fronts, and they aren't exorbitantly expensive. The problem is size--need to find one that's roughly OEM size, as I want to stay on 15's; it's fairly easy to find a bigger rear caliper, but harder to find a similar sized one. At any rate, I'm done upgrading brakes for the rear anyway, maybe I'll swap out the rear calipers next year.