Ok. 3rd track day did in the fronts. I'm going xp10's for the front now.

Hustler,

I've got 10,000 miles on the car since I picked it up at BEGI. Done 5 track days. 1 AutoX. Done maybe 25 runs on the 1/4 mile. Spent some time on the dyno. I've played with the megasquirt a bunch. It's pretty easy to work on. Bell had it decent to start I've made a lot of refinements.

ONLY issue has been keeping the downpipe bolted up tight. I've tried a couple different lock washers and the nuts still come loose. This time I'm double nutting the bolts I can get a 2nd one on. They are a pain in the butt to get to.

I guess the other problem is going through brake pads a whole lot faster! Big difference doing 120-30 vs 90-30 at the track.

Love the car at the track. Let an NA Miata guy drive it on the road a little at the track day. He couldn't believe how smoothly it pulled. ( I think I'm going to cost him a lot of money) Even with the 2860rs it feels very linear in the throttle response. I thought there would be more lag and a big "kick" when the turbo hit. Thought that would be an issue at the track. Nope. Very smooth power delivery. No harder to drive at the track than before. Just a hell of a lot more fun.

So are you haveing any of these cold start issues or tunning problems?

If your not, I need to get my car to begi.
I'm starting great. But until the car gets warm, or if I get over 80mph on the hwy, l go lean.

So what is the big deal about changing them for trackdays? It takes me about 25 minutes to do all four corners. If your street pads and your track pads are similar thickness then it is easier as you don't have to retract the calipers as much.

I am so sick of track pads on the street and their wheel etching dust, that I went to basic stock pads, which work fine.

If you want a real no-shit race pad, then use the Performance Friction PF97's - They last forever. If you think that hp+ or other street pads are fine, then you are not going fast enough!

Marek

Or use pads that have non corrosive dust.. like Carbotech's

Marek,

It's not a BIG deal but it is a pain in the butt I'd rather not do. It's dirty, dusty and annoying. Figure your 25 minutes is really 30. Times 2 that's a full hour of extra time spent on a track day. If I can find a pad I can genuinely use dual purpose that's aobut 8-10 hours of work saved that could be put toward better things. I would rather spend the time working on the car toward improving it than doing make-work like swapping pads.

By the way. As an addendum to my earlier posts. I'm now using the XP10's in the front, kept the xp8's in the rear. They 10's are significantly quieter so far. They even bite great cold. I won't see the track until next year so I'll keep my fingers crossed they'll holdup a little better at the track too.

Toddcodd,

Logging and tuning is your friend. Have you improved your cold numbers yet?

[QUOTE=cueball1;312317]After my track debaucle with Red Stuffs I decided to spend real money on real pads. Carbotech Xp8's all the way around as I have ABS and didn't want to swap pads for the street.

What was the "debacle" with RedStuffs? That's what I've been using for 2 yrs now but I'm looking into better cold bite and longer life. I change out my pads a little past half worn or when I see alot of heat discoloration on the backing plate[s]. I did have a problem with the backing shim adhesive failing causing the shim to slip out of place but I solved that problem with a punch and an old backing plate for a die.
I've just started researching Carbotech and seeing as how you have used the RedStuffs your comparision/opinion will carry more weight with me.
By the way, looking at the cost of the Carbotechs, I can get 2 sets of "Reds" for the price of 1 set CT's through certain "arrangements" I have made so that kinda works in EBC's favor.

Joeereid,

Redstuffs are fine for DD/Autox. They were fine on my car pre turbo for HPDE also. Post Turbo? They had no chance. 90mph to 30mph braking they took fine. 125mph to 30mph wiped them out. Didn't last one full track day. I dont have anything against EBC products. The red stuffs were dandy when I was putting 100hp to the wheels. I could have tried the next step and gone yellow stuff but Carbotech seemed to be the new hotness so I'm giving them a try. XP8's in the front didn't last as well as I hoped either so I'm running 10 front and 8 rear. I have ABS also and mixing the pads isn't really a problem. Carbotech suggesting the same all round for ABS cars is just them covering their butts.

Joe,
Welcome to the forum. Please go to the "Meet and Greet" section and introduce yourself to the forum. Include your car details and experience and maybe some pics of your cars.

Also, please add your location to your details so that we will all know who is local to us. You may get an invite to an event or something.

And thanks for reading up in the older posts. So many guys just start a new thread with a question that's been answered a dozen times. Kudos for searching for info. I wish all of the new guys would do that!

Welcome.

I won't ever use EBCs for the track ever again. I've had my EBC Redstuff fail on the track. I chunked the pad right off the backing plate while entering a tight turn at speed.

I since installed the Carbotech XP8/XP10 and they are awesome on the track and bite well when cold on the street. The dusting isn't too bad for my taste, but they do dust quite a bit. The brake noise on the street doesn't bother me at all. I like the fact that they alert others when I brake.

I've never heard EBC pads mentioned anywhere without someone discussing what junk they are. Use a set of Carbotechs once and you'll never go back.

I'm running xp12/10 combo for two weeks now. I have 1k street miles and 500 track miles. They are unstopable on the track, squeek when dirty and dust but who gives a crap. They are fine for the street and appear to be very easy on the rotors. I've also been running them on my spec miata for a year and they have 500 street and 1500 track miles, 30% left.

Jake

in for 12/10's.

Keep me updated on how the XP10/XP8 combo holds up. I don't care about the dust as much as I care about the rotors but it's good to know. I've still got three sets of Reds on the shelf to burn thru before making a change, probably @ May. BTW, I always carry spares and a brake change tool kit in the car.[...now you've got me even more worried...]
2 questions; 1; Are you getting them directly from Carbotech or where?
2; Has anyone found a source for the Stainless, Spring-Steel clips that snap on to the caliper where the pad tabs " locate", for the SPORT BRAKES? I checked at the dealer and at Mazdaspeed-Motorsports and it appears they are only available with the pad set(s). I ordered some from NAPA and they were WAY wrong!

in for answer.

949racing.com

I bought new carbotech blanks when I installed the pads. The rotors are still nice and smooth after 3 trackdays.
Get rid of the EBCs.

Moss sells those brake parts separately.

Mazda Miata Parts & Accessories at MiataMania.com