^ I was always taught to learn to threshold brake, get on the brakes as hard as you can without upsetting the car, just before you lock them up. This way you know well in advance if your car is going to stop. Getting on them this way is the only way you can consistantly brake the same way every time. If you have to "baby" your brakes, you arent going to have the same control as if you are threshold brake, you are more likely to ride them longer, they are going to get hotter, etc. You are beter off using a less aggressive pad so that you brake at the threshold of lock up. If you put a set of DTC-60 race pads on a car with 200+ treadwear street tires, if you are braking like you should, you WILL lock them up, there is no doubt about it. So you are telling me you rather have to baby you brakes into the braking zone just because you think using that pad is best? The best brakes arent the highest compound available. You can have too much brake, just like you can have too much tire, buts that another discussion.

Another point, when you are a beginner, your top speeds are going to be much lower, and your brake temps will be lower since you will not be slowing down. If you are on a race pad like the DTC-60 where the operating temp is over 1200 degrees I believe, the pad will never be up to temperature and wont stop nearly as effectively as a less aggressive pad....just my .02...

I would like to add something to this post.
First I am not an expert, but had many diverse opinions. I started out with stock calibers, with Zimmerman sloted and drilled rotors. I substituted the original brake pads for HAWK's HB198N.685 & HB199N0702. I also changed the oil for some high temperature ATE BLUE fluid. I was told at the time that these pads should have be perfect for my HPDE days, On my first HPDE @ Homestead, on the second time around the track I noticed fading. The car would not recognize my braking command. So it was on the other track innings. Than I was told to get another brand of oil. I changed it for TILTON BRAKE FLUID. On my next HPDE @ Sebring, I had less fading, but still present on the second time around. Later @ PBIR it really became dangerous. At that time was told that I needed better ventilation for my brakes and should install brake ducts. I cut the front brake plates and bend them @ an angle to improve the ventilation. There has been some ventilation. At the present time I changed the above mentioned HAWK's for a set of HAWK's DTC-70 for the front and DTC-60 for the rear. I still run with TILTON brake fluid. In the meantime I bought some large "used" BREMBOs which I intend to rebuilt and replace on my 928.
Sebring will let me know the result, but it is my believe that everyone has his own opinion, and it differs immensely. Listen to what everyone has to say and than make a decision, after all what works for one might not work for another. Criticism is welcome.
M. Friedmann
Thank you for your time.

Alot of good info here [thumps up]

It is not about babying your brakes. laws of acceleration are equal in both directions. If you are good with "babying" your gas pedal because you have excess horsepower and could spin the tires when positively accelerating, you should be good with " babying" the brake pedal to keep from skidding the tires when negatively accelerating. Your Quote "get on the brakes as hard as you can without upsetting the car, just before you lock them up" Just says as hard as you can without skidding. It doesn't specify that the pressure applied has to be the maximum your leg can produce. The quote implies modulation.

Given the traction of the tires, the momentum of the car (Mass and velocity) and the desired stopping distance the amount of friction you need is the result of the equation.
Example it is 3000 Lbs of car and driver, running BFG KDW Radials traveling at 110mph and you want to slow it to 40mph in 250 feet. This will solve to a single amount of friction.

Ok now we know how much friction we need. Do we create that amount of friction with low friction pads and high pressure applied or high friction compound pads and lower pressure applied?

I opt for lower pressure applied with higher friction pads as it helps the longevity of my caliper and the rest of the pressure creating system, master cylindar, seals and lines. If you think of the caliper like a "C" clamp you understand that as you tighten the C clamp tighter and tighter the back will flex and the "Open end" separates apart. The harder you press the brake pedal the more the open end of the caliper will flex open. In the extreme you can get catastrophic caliper failure. Just ask the BMW driver who put his front caliper piston through the spokes of his front wheel approaching turn 1 at Sebring a few months back.

Also see the attached photo of a High performance street/track pad (rather than the track only pad) that my friend had to "Stand on". You can see that the part of the pad near the open end of the caliper is less worn than the closed end. This can be a result of the caliper flexing causing uneven pressure.



You are spot on on the extreme track pad. In fact I don't find the need for the most extreme pad for my wilwoods either. I am one step down from the max. Also I have been advised by many that there are diminishing returns on the high end pad. IE 15% more friction for 80% more money.


Just opinions