Track pads for street tires?

MoparMap

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I know this question has been asked a million times over the years, but in reading back over old threads I'm not sure the whole story was ever told. Pad compound is a large factor and several pads are frequently mentioned (Mintex, Brakeman, Hawk, etc.), but few to no people mention what tires they are running at the time, which I think could make a fairly noticeable difference. Ultimately speaking your brakes are only as good as your traction, so what came to mind for me is whether street tires can grip hard enough to generate the heat needed for race pads to work. I'm debating trying out a new pad for my upcoming track weekend in June. Now that I've been trailering my car to the event for the past few years instead of driving it up there, it crossed my mind to get a much more track focused pad. That being said, I still run on street tires and wasn't sure if some of the higher end pads would be a good match for them or not. Anyone have some advice regarding that? I've traditionally run the StopTech sport pads (309 series) and have liked them, but was thinking maybe the lower end of a full race pad would make more sense.
 

redtanrt10

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I don’t think tires help heat up the pads. If you go to a race pad just drag the brakes on the warm up out lap. I run a Comp coupe, I lightly apply the brakes for maybe 15-20 seconds , 5 seconds at a time, to get heat in the pads and rotors

Along with the pads you need high temp brake fluid. I use Motul 600, there are other good options too. Upgrade your fluid as well as bleed the brakes
 
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Fair enough. I guess a follow-up question would be if track pads might be too "grippy" on street tires. Would I be way more likely to engage ABS constantly with a race pad or do they just tolerate the heat better? I know to some degree I can just modulate the pedal better, but didn't know if the initial bite on race pads might trigger the system preemptively and make it harder to threshold brake.
 

redtanrt10

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They bite better and stay consistent as well withstand heat better

You are going to see only a little more bite so don’t worry. Just make sure to get them warmed up before you need hard braking
 
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Good to know, now I've just got to decide which ones I want to try first. Thanks!
 
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