Another track pad thread, woohoo!

I'm upping my power level next year and am curious to hear testimonials from anyone who's run Hawk DTC60s or 70s in their ~300whp car.

I'm aware that PFC's are better, and Raybestos pads are better, and G-Loc's are better, and every single pad that someone has an opinion on are better. But Hawk's got a sick contingency program through NASA and I'm cheap where I can get away with it, baby.

In all seriousness, I've been running DTC60's front and rear on track all year and have been happy with them. No real complaints. My car's used for TT events and some HPDE's. I'm usually out for the full length of any 15-20 minute session. Car's an NC1 weighing in at ~2,400lb, 185whp, aero, 235/40/17 Maxxis RC1's, Wilwood Superlites up front with 12.7" rotors, stock rear brakes, upsized 1" master cylinder to reduce touchiness. Next year, I'll be upping power into the high-200whp range, adding brake ducts, and upping to 255/40/17 RC1's and/or Toyo R's. Rotor wear isn't a huge concern as these RX8 rotors I'm running can be had for under $40 apiece.

The DTC60's have been great so far. No fade even on brake-heavy tracks. I'm just curious to hear your guys' thoughts if I'll be able to get away with the DTC60's next year or should move up to the DTC70's given the upgrades I'll be doing.

Edit: After typing all this out, it just hit me that I should probably throw some temp stickers on my calipers and get some real temp data. I'll do that at my next track day...

 

The temperature strips will tell you what you already know - the 60s work at this power level. Time to check the temps is when you have the upgraded power, and using the brakes that much harder.

I think I used Hawks once, and wasn't happy. But I have long forgotten what they were, and that was on my dual-duty car at much lower power.

Pad choice has two main components - heat range, and bite. A secondary one is dust, both extent and ease of removal (latter mainly a road car issue).

 

How long do the Hawks last compared to something like Raybestos ST-43?

 

Hey, thanks Gee. Good point regarding current temps. I'm going to add brake ducts when I add power as well, so multiple factors will be at play then. Given that, and what you mentioned, I'll likely stay on the DTC60's and use temp strips/see if they fade then.

I also referred to the Hawk compund chart after posting this. According to the chart, the DTC70's optimal temp range only extends 100*F above the DTC60's, so mainly they're bringing more friction to the table than heat capacity. I was off in assuming they were a substantially more fade-resistant pad.

RB, I can't say since I've never run the ST-43's before. At my current power level they wear quite well, though. Honestly the brakes on this car are overkill for my application. I've got the Keisler Automation BBK on it. 12.7" rotors and 20mm pads at 185whp are kinda silly, but should hold up great when the car's pushing another 100whp.
I currently have 23 track days on this car and have gone through one and a half sets of DTC60s. I'm usually out the full length of almost every session, so the car sees a lot of run time.

 

That's a lot of days, how long is a session?

 

Yeah, I was surprised at how well they held up over time. I might be due for another set soon, haven't looked at my current set of track pads in a while (I run BP10s on the street) but I think they have 6-7mm left still.

15-20 minute sesions for the most part, 4-6 sessions per day.

 

Thats because they are really overkill for your application. Same applies to my bro-fab brake setup with the big Afco's and 20mm thick G-Loc R12's... I went like 35 hours on a set of pads and would have gone at least 40 had I rotated the pads occasionally. I'm going up to a R16 when I do my LS swap because the 12 wont be enough.

I would stick with the 60's, put the ducts on and see how things go with 300whp. Ive heard of quite a few LS guys with at least 300whp running 60's, but most of them once they get used to the power and get "fast" seem to end up at 80's. Looks like 70's will withstand +100f over a 60, but they dont come on nearly as quickly. 80's are a big step up at like +400f over a 60, but they dont come on nearly as quickly. Its all a trade off right... To me, the 70 doesnt look like enough of a step up and thats likely why people go 60 to 80 and skip the 70's.

 

Great feedback man, thanks! Yeah, I'm aware this kit is overkill for my current application but I figured upgrade the brakes before anything else to be ready for more power later. Hell, I installed the BBK before the car's first track day when it was still running 130whp haha. When I pulled the wheels off after the weekend (back to back track days), the pads didn't look like they'd worn at all lol.

Anyways, makes sense about the jump from 60s to 80s, sounds like the biggest reason for going to the 70s is just for additional bite, which I don't really need. I'll keep on with the 60s, add brake ducts, and see where we're at from there.