propellerhead

iTrader: (3)

I'm curious why use the stock pad onthe rear versus the XP8/XP9 on the front and rear? I realize that it will affect front/rear bias but I'm curious to hear what your experience has been using differing compounds. My thinking is that with the severe front weight transfer under braking that even the stock rear pads can handle the duty.

Steve

Kayaalp

iTrader: (1)

Hi Steve,

I'll be using XP-9's up front with XP-8's in the rear. The reason I'm going with a slightly less aggressive pad in the rear is I felt the Evo get a little squirrely under really hard braking with the stock pads. So I wanted to shift the bias slightly to the front. Matt from Carbotech assures me that there isn't a huge difference between the XP-8 and XP-9, so it should be a slight forward shift of the brake bias. We'll see. The rear brakes are pretty cheap anyway, so I can always swap them out to XP-9's if I don't like the feel.

Also, I tend to use some degree of trail braking (you really need it to get the Evo turned in) and I don't want the rear brakes to be too grabby. It's hard to be subtle with your trail braking if you have too much bite in the rear.

Emre

Coolguy949

iTrader: (10)

I'm not going to start anything, but because of the carbotech bobcats I needed to buy new rotors. At Thunderhill Raceway I had to stop after two sessions because braking in my evo became scary due to the fade. The bobcats are not a track pad. Not only that, regular street driving was incredibly noisy and my rotors were destroyed. I've been comtemplating shipping my remaining bobcats with the old rotors to carbotech just so they can see the damage done by them. Shipping would be a forune, so the old pads and rotors remain here on the floor of my garage. I dont want to revisit the whole carbotech fiasco. I just wanted to give an update on what happened.

I dont doubt that the panthers are excellent pads, it's just the bobcat compound is not good for the evo. If Matt would have offered to trade my bobcats for some panthers, even have me pay the difference I would have been completely happy. I was not impressed though that Matt told me in a PM that he decided to not help me out because my "fellow evo owners" caused a huge flame war months ago and caused him to take the bobcats off the market. I worked with Matt to lcoate the problem and would call him to give him status. Matt was very nice over the phone as I was to him. Its just sad that my cooperativeness and willingness to be patient with carbotech ended up screwing me over in the end.

Dan, glad to hear the Panther XP's worked out for you. I regret not buying those instead of the bobcats. I'm running project Mu pads now. They are completely silent and they stop on a dime. They were less than $120 for the front too.

Kayaalp

iTrader: (1)

As you said...the Bobcats are not a track pad. Nor are they advertized as such. Anway, this thread was about the Panthers.


The Evo is a heavy car. I've never driven a car as heavy as the Evo on the track before. Even lighter cars, like E36 M3's, need real race pads on the track. I doubt even the Panther XP's would really hold up to serious use. That's why I'm going straight to the XP-9/XP-8 combo. I've been too spoiled by years of running Hawk Blues on my BMW!

Emre

shawnhayes

iTrader: (2)

Some what of an echo here from me:

Original pads became total toast at first track weekend at VIR. Also severely scored right inner rotor surface because of total pad material disintegration.
Originals here:


Second track event at VIR:
Carbotech Bobcats

Completely toast after one weekend. In all fairness, these aren't track pads. But, then again, they held up better than the OEM pads

Third track event at VIR:
Carbotech Panthers

Removed after track event. Half the original material left. Some serious rotor wear (although rotors are still usable), but hey, it's either pad or rotor. Now rolling on OEM pads front and Carbotech Bobcats rear. I will go back to the Panthers if I go back on track, but I will need spare rotors-I think the originials will crack with another track event.

Shawn

metaphysical

iTrader: (3)

I just purchased a set of Panther Plus from RRE. I will be using them for AutoX and daily driving.

mayhem

iTrader: (9)

You know how it is. Everyone is a victim, even if it's because they either don't read or can't comprehend. Who ever said Bobcats were made for the track. I believe Carbotech has explicitly said several times NOT to use them on the track, but they'll be good for autox and the street.
They faded on the track, SHOCKING!

propellerhead

iTrader: (3)

I'm rolling with the Bobcats at the moment. I've got half a mind to put the OEM pads back in for awhile. The squealing of the Bobcats is starting to get on my nerves.

Shawn, how many miles did you have on the OEM pads before you toasted them at VIR? That's some dramatic wear you're seeing. How many sessions and laps per a session were you running?

I'm curious because I didn't see dramatic wear with the Bobcats of the course six pretty aggressive 20 minute runs. Now you've got me a tad paranoid.

Steve

erioshi

Propellerhead, find a good auto parts store and grab a bottle of their best anti-squeal goop. Use it on the "top" 3 edges of the metal backing plate, the inside of the guide pin hole on the backing plate, and where your caliper pistons ride against the backing plate. Oh, be sure the backing plates are clean first. I did that with my Bobcats and they almost never squal now, even on the track.

I did use my Bobcats for several track days because I was hoping for a good crossover pad, and the Bobcats were OK in that capacity; Panther Plus pads would probably have been a better choice.

Coolguys issue with brake fade and Bobcats is something I experienced once. I tried them at a track that needed hard braking and had speeds that reached 140+. By the end of the day, I could feel their grip fading. When I pulled the pads to look at them, they had started to glaze. I'm not mad a Carboteh for that, I was trying to use a street pad in a race type situation. I have a full set of XP-8 compound pads that I'll be trying out the next time I hit the track.

shawnhayes

iTrader: (2)

The OEM pads had maybe 8000-9000 miles on them before that VIR event. I had eight HARD sessions, some as long as 40 minutes before they completely delaminated on the right inner pad.

The Bobcats lasted through an entire track weekend. They lasted, but just barely. VIR is hard on the brakes, and gets even worse the better you get. I haven't been truly disappointed with any of the pads - they all worked as advertised, but that OEM pad totally disintegrating before any of the other pads was disconcerting.

Shawn

2Fast2Stupid

Use the XP8's or 9's on the track, the others just don't cut it unless your slow lol.

JasonS

iTrader: (1)

I attended the same VIR event with Dan and Steve, and I had a new set of Carbotech Panther Plus pads on the car. I also lightly sanded the rotors before installing and bedding in the pads to remove all OEM pad residue.
These pads were awesome. The pads do make noise on the street, but they are track pads...I'll gladly give up some silence for better repeatable braking performance. These same pads went to Road Atlanta two weeks later and again performed flawlessly. No "warped feeling", no fade.
After the track days, again sanded the rotors, and reinstalled the OEM stuff, maybe 20 minutes tops...
If you're wanting a good track pad, go Panther Plus.