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Brake pads for the street not adequate. An observation.

dev
 dev
(@dev)
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I had an interesting experience last year with brake pads that I use with my front Wildwood Powerlite calipers.
This is strictly for street driving so I decided to use the BP10 pads which are low dust and noise. There was a graph that was wrong because it was for a different caliper where it showed the BP10 pads have a better initial bite than the BP20 and the performance some what flat.
For the last four years they worked adequate like a pair of organic pads for the OEM calipers but as time went on I notice a reduction in braking performance as they got hot during a drive and now fade. I think what happened is as they wore down they lost their thermal capacity and are fading fast. 

 I am upgrading to the BP20 pads This is the correct graph for the Powerlite calipers. I did not realize the BP10 would be get progressively worse where the BP20s get better.  

IMG 0126

 

 

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Topic starter Posted : February 21, 2023 12:43 pm
LordTakuban reacted
haloruler64
(@haloruler64)
Noble Member

I never got my BP-10 to fade on the street or autocross in... five years I believe. Just never put enough heat into them, and they've been nothing but fantastic for the street. Low dust and no noise. However, with two people in the car and on a track on a 100F day, I absolutely obliterated them. Went from almost full pad to nothing. 

That being said, I bought another set of BP-10s to run on the street because I like them a lot. Even aggressive downhills they never faded on me. For the track I'm on Raybestos ST-43 front and Porterfield R4 rears. They squeal and dust like crazy but they're unstoppable at the track.

2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder, 2021 Lexus UX 250h F Sport

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Posted : February 25, 2023 1:40 am
Uncle Mush reacted
Uncle Mush
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Posted by: @haloruler64

They squeal and dust like crazy but they're unstoppable at the track.

But isn't that the purpose of brakes?  To be stoppable?  😜 

 

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Posted : February 25, 2023 3:23 pm
marsrock7 reacted
haloruler64
(@haloruler64)
Noble Member

That was the ULTIMATE dad joke, beautiful.

2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder, 2021 Lexus UX 250h F Sport

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Posted : February 26, 2023 12:41 am
Uncle Mush reacted
dev
 dev
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Just a member.

In hindsight it could be that I had to re-bed the pads.  I found out that one of the theoretical drawbacks with the Powerlite calipers is their rating which is not meant for the weight of our car even though they are used successfully in the MX-5 as their little brake kit.  Someone tried to contact Wildwood on their ratings and use for the MX-5 and they referred them to Flying Miata and they would not answer the question directly. I do believe they work otherwise they would not but I do think they heat up pads and caliper having to work harder than the weight of car they were designed for placing them on the noticeable decline of the BP10 pads for the street.

 The BP 20 pads are suppose to be a street pad that can do mild track work so I think I can live with a little more dust and occasional squeal. According to the graph if the pads get warmed a little just by street driving there will be an exponential increase in the braking performance from where the BP10 pads are declining. This could be a nice upgrade but I do not want the pads to work too well as I want some modulation in the brake travel so it does not kick on the ABS like a previous pair of TRD pads I had long ago that felt like an on off ABS pedal. 

 

 

 

 

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Topic starter Posted : February 26, 2023 1:44 pm
dev
 dev
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Im almost done bedding in the pads.  This is not the first time I have done this and it's interesting to smell them. 

So far the upgraded BP-20 pads are wonderful compared to the BP10.  There is better brake engagement and the modulation is also better. 

After doing some internet searching I know why the BP-10 was fading and that is because the transfer layer was wearing from the rotor. I think if I re-bed the pads it might have improved them.  This is probably a good reason why street pads are better for passenger cars. 

 In the process I found an excellent video on bedding pads and the rationale. In the past I just did what the instructions say but did not know the reason.

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Topic starter Posted : April 5, 2023 9:52 am
marsrock7 reacted
dev
 dev
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Thanks to that video I know what I am looking for and hopefully so does everyone else because the rational was never properly explained even if you asked someone you assumed to be experienced. I never realized how convoluted our hobby is with so much misinformation. 

Text book successful bed. 

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Topic starter Posted : April 6, 2023 1:53 pm
LordTakuban reacted
LordTakuban
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Nicely done!

Get your Short Antennas, Decals, and all sorts of goodies at:
https://takubanmotorsports.com

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Posted : April 6, 2023 2:21 pm
dev
 dev
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Thanks.  

 These pads might be more aggressive but it's more than that.  I would have been fine with the BP-10 pads for the street because there is no point to scrubbing that much speed to make a corner unless you live on a mountain side.  However the modulation is so good now that I can control late braking before the ABS kicks on.  I had some TRD pads long ago which had virtually no modulation at slower speeds and would kick on the ABS if you pressed the brakes a little too hard. 

 

 

 

 

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Topic starter Posted : April 6, 2023 2:39 pm
dev
 dev
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This caliper and the BP-20 pads are amazing. I should have got these pads and skipped the BP10.  I thought it would  not be used on the street but now I accelerate towards a corner and hitting the brakes makes it so much fun. The brakes feel firm and as they get heated up they get better with a lot of brake modulation. It has changed the way I drive on the street even though it's not necessary but since I am doing it for fun and feel it's worth it.  

They said the reason why you go for the BP-10 pads is less noise and less dust but I don't have any of those issues yet with the BP-20 pads.   

 

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Topic starter Posted : June 27, 2023 10:40 am
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