Help me get a straight answer on Hawk HPS / PC

[LaN-]

So after searching through years of posts, I've come to this realization....

Hawk HPS provide better performance than the stock pads and have 50% or more less brake dust......BUT there are a large number of users complaining about super high pitch noises. Some have resolved the issue by doing Hawk's bedding procedure, while others have not.

Hawk CP 50% of people report a performance gain over stock while the other 50% report more fade. Almost all report little to no brake dust.


My main reason for new pads is brake dust. After litterally 5 miles of driving my entire rear end is covered in brake dust. I mean covered. Having a white car makes it even worse. Initially my thought was to go with the CP pads, but I don't want to lose any braking performance. Sure i'll have 0 brake dust, but i'll need a new front bumper

IF....the HPS pads greatly reduce the brake dust so I can go a few days or a week without having to wash the car I'll be happy. Although that's only if I don't have to sounds like a bus when stopping.

Also I have less than 6k miles on my car and if possible would like to just swap the pads and leave the rotors as is. Does anyone have any info regarding this as well?

Side note.....I'm not stuck on Hawk pads, they just seem to be what everyone talks about.


Thanks in advance everyone!!

[JWoj3540]

You can use your stock rotors and get new pads. I did this and you'll have to sand the rotors with 130 grit sandpaper and clean them really good (instructions on this came with my Hawk HPS pads). I too chose Hawk HPS to get lower brake dust. Overall, I am not satisfied. I suffer from the slow speed squeak (I have a post on here complaining about it) and while the break dust is definitely less than stock it does not offset the squeal in my opinion. I've grown used to the noise unfortunately, but if I had the chance to do this again I would definitely not go with Hawk HPS pads and would almost surely do more research for another brand.

[Ryanbabz71]

I swapped pads and left stock rotors around 4K miles with no issues. No stopping issues or noises. Brake dust went WAY down


Ryan

[Nick S]

Here's a couple of questions for you. Do you have an automatic or manual transmission and what are your normal driving habits like? I ask because while I know the stock pads do generate some dust I feel that driving habits and transmission can play a role in this.

By driving habits I mean looking farther ahead and letting off the gas sooner to coast down to slower speeds before having to brake as much. I always try to leave at least 3 or 4 car lengths between me and the car in front so I'm not panic stopping all the time and I read the traffic ahead of them to know when I'll actually have to stop/slow down. I also use downshifting with my manual trans to help slow me down so I don't need to step on the brakes as hard. Downshifting also gives me practice on heel/toe rev matching for down shifts. So I find I can actually go for quite a while without the wheels getting too dirty from brake dust because I'm not waiting until the last few hundred feet to stop from full speed all the time. Even with an Auto trans I know they have the paddle shifters so you could use manual control if you are in a lot of traffic so you don't have to ride the brakes as much. Every little bit of time you can spend not using the brakes will help.

I'm not saying that I'm assuming you are a person that tail gates the person in front of you or anything or always waits until the last minute and stops hard all the time. I don't know anything about your driving style. I'm just trying to point out that your driving habits can play a role in how much brake dust you generate. The more often you are on the brakes and the more pedal pressure you apply each time you apply the brakes, the more brake dust you are going to generate.

[LaN-]

Originally Posted by JWoj3540

You can use your stock rotors and get new pads. I did this and you'll have to sand the rotors with 130 grit sandpaper and clean them really good (instructions on this came with my Hawk HPS pads). I too chose Hawk HPS to get lower brake dust. Overall, I am not satisfied. I suffer from the slow speed squeak (I have a post on here complaining about it) and while the break dust is definitely less than stock it does not offset the squeal in my opinion. I've grown used to the noise unfortunately, but if I had the chance to do this again I would definitely not go with Hawk HPS pads and would almost surely do more research for another brand.

Thanks for the response. I did however order a set of HPS pads. My plan is to sand down the rotors, paint the center parts (for the hell of it) and lube every piece involved.

I figured I'd take the risk and see what happens. I have seen a lot of posts claiming the issue fixed itself after the bedding process and by properly lubricating everything.

[LaN-]

Originally Posted by Nick S

Here's a couple of questions for you. Do you have an automatic or manual transmission and what are your normal driving habits like? I ask because while I know the stock pads do generate some dust I feel that driving habits and transmission can play a role in this.

By driving habits I mean looking farther ahead and letting off the gas sooner to coast down to slower speeds before having to brake as much. I always try to leave at least 3 or 4 car lengths between me and the car in front so I'm not panic stopping all the time and I read the traffic ahead of them to know when I'll actually have to stop/slow down. I also use downshifting with my manual trans to help slow me down so I don't need to step on the brakes as hard. Downshifting also gives me practice on heel/toe rev matching for down shifts. So I find I can actually go for quite a while without the wheels getting too dirty from brake dust because I'm not waiting until the last few hundred feet to stop from full speed all the time. Even with an Auto trans I know they have the paddle shifters so you could use manual control if you are in a lot of traffic so you don't have to ride the brakes as much. Every little bit of time you can spend not using the brakes will help.

I'm not saying that I'm assuming you are a person that tail gates the person in front of you or anything or always waits until the last minute and stops hard all the time. I don't know anything about your driving style. I'm just trying to point out that your driving habits can play a role in how much brake dust you generate. The more often you are on the brakes and the more pedal pressure you apply each time you apply the brakes, the more brake dust you are going to generate.

I have an manual and drive like a.........normal person..? There are times were I get real heavy on the brakes, but that's only when I'm driving the car hard.

Next year i'd like to do HPDE so i figured these would be the best pads. Honestly I can deal with some brake dust, or some noise, but its the extremes that kill me. Literally after driving the car for....10 miles you could write your name in the car.

[LaN-]

Originally Posted by Ryanbabz71

I swapped pads and left stock rotors around 4K miles with no issues. No stopping issues or noises. Brake dust went WAY down


Ryan

Did you go with the HPS pads? Do you have any noise?

[Nick S]

Originally Posted by LaN-

I have an manual and drive like a.........normal person..? There are times were I get real heavy on the brakes, but that's only when I'm driving the car hard.

Next year i'd like to do HPDE so i figured these would be the best pads. Honestly I can deal with some brake dust, or some noise, but its the extremes that kill me. Literally after driving the car for....10 miles you could write your name in the car.

If you are planning on HPDE events from everything I have read the Hawk HPS's are not going to be a good track pad. They will over heat and then you will get pad fade. If you want to run Hawk pads for track days the popular combination for that is DTC70's for the front and DTC 60's for the rear. If you want good advice from a guy that builds track cars for people I would send Justice Pete a private message. He will tell you all you want to know about brake pads for track use.

[SPCBA]

Less dust means less stop... Hope that clears some confusion...

Hawk HPS are not a track pad. They are not a motorsports pad of any kind. Beware of danger. The brand does make pads with proper heat ranges for a variety of motorsports.

[LaN-]

Originally Posted by SPCBA

Less dust means less stop... Hope that clears some confusion...

Hawk HPS are not a track pad. They are not a motorsports pad of any kind. Beware of danger. The brand does make pads with proper heat ranges for a variety of motorsports.

Not to say you're wrong, but your comment basically means the claims that these pads produce less dust and provide 20-30% more braking power over stock brakes is false.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by LaN-

Not to say you're wrong, but your comment basically means the claims that these pads produce less dust and provide 20-30% more braking power over stock brakes is false.

Braking is simple. Braking is friction. There are two by products of friction. Heat and dust. The more friction there is, the more heat there is, the more dust there is. The dust is part pad and part rotor. They grind each other away each time the brakes are applied. Less dust means less friction. Less friction means less stopping.

Track pads squeal like a stuck pig and create piles of dust as though Pig Pen from Peanuts was there. This is because a track pad is so hard. More friction, more heat, more dust, more stopping power.

[SPCBA]

Originally Posted by LaN-

Not to say you're wrong, but your comment basically means the claims that these pads produce less dust and provide 20-30% more braking power over stock brakes is false.

Now that you know, how do those brands advertising that make you feel?

Even then 20-30% better braking (I don't even know what that means to be fair sounds very advertisy and snake oily) is not a track pad with the proper heat range for motorsports. Is 20-30% mean more longevity on pad? It drops 20-30% of my braking distance? It handles heat 20-30% better? It's kind of confusing.

LESS DUST MEANS LESS STOP. Spread the message spread the safety revolution. happy Saturday

[LaN-]

Could it be that they just produce brake dust that doesn't stick to your car/wheels?

[Wacko37]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Braking is simple. Braking is friction. There are two by products of friction. Heat and dust. The more friction there is, the more heat there is, the more dust there is. The dust is part pad and part rotor. They grind each other away each time the brakes are applied. Less dust means less friction. Less friction means less stopping.

Track pads squeal like a stuck pig and create piles of dust as though Pig Pen from Peanuts was there. This is because a track pad is so hard. More friction, more heat, more dust, more stopping power.

what do you think about the hawk 5.0 pad for a daily/autocross/1 track day a year car?