Just came off of two track days on a new set of EBC Yellows, first time I've run EBC pads. I swapped the stock pads back in yesterday, and the condition of the pads I took out was pretty shocking:





I'm no brake system engineer, but I'm pretty sure pads aren't supposed to look like that after a few uses. My understanding is that the Yellows are supposed to be a hybrid street/track pad; did I just push them beyond their operating range, or is this defective equipment?

 

EBC makes terrible automotive pads. They're good for motorcycles but they can't seem to figure out how to make a car pad.

If you want good pads, Carbotech or Cobalt are your first two choices. It sounds like you're willing to have track-day specific pads, that's good. What tires are you running? That'll dictate what compound [mu] to choose.

 

I've got ZII Star Specs on the car now.

 

With an extreme summer tire, I'd personally go with a Carbotech XP8 for track work. They'll also work great if you choose to go with something like a Maxxis RC-1 or Nitto NT-01.

 

+1 for Carbotech pads. They have such a great bite! The application I experienced them on was an 800 whp AWD converted MKV Rabbit! haha! And man, did those pads really make that Rabbit stop. Expensive, but a very reputable pad to say the least. Otherwise, I've had pretty good experiences with HAWK and StopTech pads for track application.

 

I've always used HP+ pads on the track and never had an issue. There was a big price differential between the Hawks and the EBC's for the GP, so I figured I'd try something new this time around. I will say they held up pretty well in terms of consistent stopping power; pedal got a little longer throughout the day but nothing alarming. Just disappointed the pad didn't hold up.

 

I'm no expert, but do you think the pads were bedded in properly? to me it kind of looks like they're glazed/heated too quickly and they didn't heat uniformly.

Also they look like they were overheated judging from the discoloration on the tapered parts of the pads.

If I were you, I'd send pics to EBC, worst case scenario, they tell you that they weren't broken in properly, and best case scenario they send you a refund or a new set of pads.

I've never used the yellows but I run EBC's (reds and greens) on all my cars and mountain bikes and I've always had good results with them.

 

You cooked them. Literally. The char marks are there. 1 of 2 things occurred I think. You are a better driver then the pads can handle Or You are a poor driver over using / excessive trail braking / braking way too late etc etc

I'd move up in pad selection next track day and that will tell the story.

What do your tires look like?


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It does look like you over heated them. You are more likely harder on brakes than most. But it's good to hear that you had no issues or fade so not bad for two days. When I go run a track weekend I burn through a set of pads and rotors every 2 days. I just consider them disposable parts at this point.

 

I followed EBC's recommended "bed in" procedure, which was basically to drive normally for 200 miles without heavy braking. I was a bit wary as I normally bed in pads using the more traditional procedure recommended by Hawk, but these had some funky "break in" coating on them that I'm not familiar with so I just followed their instructions.

I ran Thompson and Lime Rock - I thought Thompson was pretty hard on the brakes, very stop-start in nature with lots of heavy braking into tight corners. The brakes smelled hot throughout the event and were actually smoking at one point. Lime Rock was much less intense on brakes, with the only real heavy braking point being at the end of the front straight. Brakes never smelled hot, but the fast corners did a number on my tires!

 

I loved the EBC yellowstuff pads we had on the STX car. No issues with brake fade with 2 drivers but it was just auto-x so the pads aren't getting as hot as they would with a decent driver on a track. It looks like you just cooked them. If the pads were smoking chances are you were melting the piston seals. I'd check them to make sure your dust seals aren't a crispy mess.

 

Lime rock is my home track. Love it. Have yet to run it with the MINI but I had run it for 3 years in my BMW 128. Lime rock is all rights and one left. True about the front straight though. It's really a double apex but most single apex and scrub a lot of rubber and speed off because they enter too fast. Everywhere else it's light braking to set the car and hard turn. I like that track. Those tires aren't so bad. It's a lot of pick up that haven't rubbed off yet. I used to drive home from lime rock on my hankook RS3's that was 3 hrs of tire hell but the next trip they were all cleaned off. And ready to go.

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Here's how my EBC yellows look after one track day (my first, and I was taking it pretty easy especially the first couple sessions). I think they got a little bit cooked (some crumbling at the edges), but not nearly as bad looking as OPs, and plenty of thickness left.

I will be going to Carbotechs (XP10/8) for the track in the future for all the reasons I've seen (better bite, modulation, durability, heat tolerance, etc.) and I plan on being harder on brakes as I get faster (was focused more on learning the track), but I may do some more events on these and/or save as a backup set.

How do these look compared to others running Carbotechs and similar?

(EDIT: I also sent pictures to EBC and they confirmed these look normal for pads that have seen Medium temps, NOT overheated as that would lead to whitening at the edges and cracking/cratering on the pad surface...)










I followed bed-in and had a lot of street miles on these by the way (like 3k+)

 

I wouldn't say they look good. Better than OP's.

I got a surprisingly large amount of recommendations for Yellow Stuff. Looks like I'll be sticking with Stop Tech Sport unless I jump to Hawk HP+

 

Yeah I saw the yellows pretty highly recommended a few places too, maybe they're ok at some tracks or with additional cooling/ducting, but I think they're a little too far towards the street/autoX end of things to handle real track duty.

Also came across another good thread on streetable track pads, this comment was very insightful:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ly-driver.html

 

The EBC yellows are not designed for real track use. Remember, autox needs fast sticky brakes with very short brake cycles. sticky brakes heat up quickly and then melt when pushed to long. Track car brakes have very long brake cycles with more progressive bite for a more controlled slowing over a longer period. On track your slowing the car from twice the speed of an autox car over a much great distance. Time on the brakes builds heat and heat kills brakes. The best pads are the Carbotechs XP10 in the front XP8 in the back. Other real track pads include performance friction, Hawk number series ones, and some stop tech pads. You can also run brake coolers and that will help to extend your brake pad and rotor life.

 

Note on my post above, EBC got back to me saying these look normal (OP clearly has the overheated look though... the EBC guy said overheated pads can crack and would look cratered like the surface of the moon).

I will reiterate it was my first time out learning the track on these, short sessions and took it very easy, so I'm not saying they're great for the track just that looking like post 13 they're ok, post 1 not.

 

Good points to know on those street/autox pads.

However, on my Miata (with a 70/30 F/R brake balance if not worse) with Stop Tech Fronts and Carbotech AX6 rears worked very well at Homestead speedway. And it was shared with another driver