performance brake fluid/pads.

[project.65]

I have granada front disc and was wondering what type of brake fluid you guys use?? I want to try putting some mild performance brake fluid with some better pads. Something not too agressive that will screw up my slotted rotors. This will be for roadracing.

 

[rbohm]

you are going road racing, and you want a pad that wont mess with the rotors?? do you really want to stop the car then?

for brake fluid i would use dot 5.1 as it is compatible with dot 3 and dot 4. dot 5 is silicon

for pads i would use something from hawk pads. tell them your useage, and they will sell you the right pads.

 

[StangDreamin']

Haven't re-done the Cougar's brakes yet, and I don't see myself doing a lot of road racing; but I put EBC "Green Stuff" pads on all four corners of both pickups in the StangDreamin' household and I'm very happy with them. I sometimes haul a livestock trailer (not mine) with no brakes, it's all on the truck. I've had to go to the ragged edge of "panic braking" with that trailer behind both trucks, and had no problems other than a few moans and groans from the F150's ABS. A plus is that I spend a lot less time with wheel cleaner and a scrub brush making both my F150's "chromies" and Mrs StDr's aluminum rims look good at car-wash time.

A big +1 on the DOT5. Actually, both trucks came with it in their systems; and the Cougar will get flushed and filled with DOT5 when I finally decide on what brakes it will ultimately be using.

 

[danny clemens]

I may be wrong about this but I don't think the Granada setup on a 65 would be the best for roadracing.

 

[rbohm]

danny i agree with you, there are much better systems for road racing.

stangdreamin, its dot 5.1 not dot 5. dot 5 is silicon fluid, and not compatable with 5.1. i would also recommend not using the silicon fluid in anything but a car that is going to sit for long periods without a workout. when silicon fluid gets hot it becomes compressable and causes a soft pedal feeling, which is why the racers quit using it.

 

[coolblue65]

For fluid run ATE SUPER BLUE. It is excellent, I use it in my vette for track duty, and every street car that I work on that road races uses it as well. If you manage to boil that stuff you aren't driving right.

Pads for track duty -look at Carbotech's and see if they make a pad for your calipers, if they do I would highly recommend them as well. I run them and have more brakes then I can use at the track. (which means I need more power!) You could also consider Hawk HP+ (not HP or HPS) or any of the other Hawk pads that have the funny numbers for names (they are more agressive then HP+).

But either way, if you are worried about your rotors get a different set for the track, (track pads should have dedicated rotors anyways). Also, if you really like your crossdrilled rotors I wouldn't track them because odds are they WILL crack. Most serious track cars won't run drilled rotors because of the cracking issues- so if you do run them bring a spare set to get home.

 

[bnickel]

if you are worried about your rotors definitely DO NOT get ceramic pads, they will eat normal iron rotors in a heartbeat. a friend put some on his tahoe with crossdrilled rotors and had to replace the rotors within a year. even my wifes escape that came with rotors specifically for the stock OE ceramic pads are totally worn, i'll have to replace them on the next brake job even though i went back with semi-meatllic pads last time.


if i had a dedicated track car i might consider using the ceramic pads

 

[hhead]

x2 on the EBC "green pads". Work great with my cross-drilled rotors. Couldn't tell you the difference by themselves, I installed the pads and rotors the same time.
Can't tell the wear, since I only drive it three or four times a year. Either to the track or on a road trip to a car show

 

[chromedog]

go with the ebc pads... i put a set of powerslot rotors on my exploder, along with the greenstuff pads, and the old wagon stopped like i had just thrown out the anchor. the first set lasted better than 1 1/2 years. i replaced them with performance friction, and there was no comparison. it is recommended that you remove the glaze created by the pads with a roloc disc at every pad change.

 

[bnickel]

go with the ebc pads... i put a set of powerslot rotors on my exploder, along with the greenstuff pads, and the old wagon stopped like i had just thrown out the anchor. the first set lasted better than 1 1/2 years. i replaced them with performance friction, and there was no comparison. it is recommended that you remove the glaze created by the pads with a roloc disc at every pad change.

i already zip the glaze off the rotors with a roloc disc on every pad change anyway. i've been known to occassionally hit the new pads with a roloc disc real quick before installation as well, just a quick pass on each pad, helps to keep them from squealing. not sure if i would do that to a high performance pad or not it seems to work really well on regular street pads, both organic and semi-metallic.

 

[StangDreamin']

stangdreamin, its dot 5.1 not dot 5. dot 5 is silicon fluid, and not compatable with 5.1. i would also recommend not using the silicon fluid in anything but a car that is going to sit for long periods without a workout. when silicon fluid gets hot it becomes compressable and causes a soft pedal feeling, which is why the racers quit using it.

Oh, great! now I get to flush and refill the systems in both trucks! Oh, well, thanks for the "heads up" on that. I had wondered why "BuFord" (my '08 F250 at work) had the tendancy to stop faster and with a firmer pedal than my '02 F150 4x4.

Rolok pads? Got to get myself one of those; as -along with the "soft pedal" feel- the F150 has developed another thumpty-thump when braking. Changed the front rotors when putting on the Green Stuff; as the passenger side rotor had "a little runout" that would twitch the steering wheel in my hands, and I swear I could see the rotor "wiggle" when the rotor/hub was spun by hand. Should have done all four rotors, as now one of the back rotors has now developed a "hop" under braking. (No, the wheel/wheels doesn't really leave the ground, but it sure feels like one is trying to when the truck is "empty"!) The pads are still pretty thick; but the red "break-in coating" is long gone; so I'll have to do something to scuff up the new rotors.

For those who haven't tried the newer Green Stuff pads: the sets I put on the pickups not quite a year ago had what looked like red Bondo; but was written up as some type of "surface finisher" painted over the pad material. It's purported to scuff up the rotors for you; and squeeks and whistles itself off the pads within about 500 miles (on my 4x4). This was something that supposedly came out on the newer "SUV Supreme" Green Stuff pads that I put on the fronts of both trucks; and also came out on the "regular" green stuff pads I put on the rear. Since Mrs StangDreamin' drives in fear with both feet (one on the gas, one on the brake); I have no idea how long (or short) a period it took to burn that stuff off the Dodge's pads. I drove it twice in the first 100 miles after putting the Green Stuff on, didn't drive it again for about 500 miles (that included a trips she made to Tucson without me); so I never heard them squeek.

 

[Jimmys66]

Look into the ebc yellowstuff pads. The greenstuff is for everyday cars. They stop well but don't like track heat.

Before anyone jumps on me about the "yellows" being a race pad, I did some research. The new compound for the yellows does not require them to get hot to start working and WILL take repeated hard track braking.

I have a set on my 66 with cobra disks and they work really well. (sorry, no track time yet) I have to becarefull with them because they will lock up the fronts very easy until the tires get warm.

They claim to be easy on rotor wear. They cost me about $85 for the fronts.

You'll have to check to see if they make a set for the grenadas first.