Brake Pads - Results

[mdadgar]

So as I mentioned in an earlier post, I swapped some new brake pads onto my truck last week. I was unhappy with the stock pads, as I felt there was little to no brake pedal feel and very non-linear stopping performance (ie more pedal did not produce faster stopping).

I opted to replace the stock pads with Hawk HP SuperDuty ones, sourced from TireRack.com. I chose the Hawks because I have had very, very good results with their racing pads on my race car. They were $77 for the front axle and $68 for the rear.

Hawk Pads (http://tinyurl.com/kej5)

The brake pad swap itself was basically painless with the exception of some odd hardware choices by GM (18mm caliper bolts on the front calipers, some big honkin' Torx bolts on the rear - why????).

I bedded in the new Hawks per the instructions. I did not, however, resurface the rotors as I didn't want to spend hours doing the job.

These pads ROCK. GREAT stopping power, particularly after the first stop when they've built up some heat. Very linear pedal feel, with great modulation. You can lean into the pedal more in the middle of a stop and the truck actually stops faster now! What a concept!

Brake dust seems comparable to stock. There is a little noise at at the very end of a stop, but it is disippating as the rotors wear off some of the previous brake pad material. I didn't use any of the brake pad goop or bevel the pads, both of which may have helped a bit. The noise is not irritating and should be completely gone soon (based on other people's experiences with these pads).

Overall: two thumbs up and well worth the money and time. This truck STOPS now.

- Mark

[ 08-18-2003, 03:28 PM: Message edited by: StrangeEngine ]

[Bullseye54]

Perfect timing,I was just starting to look for different pads.My problem is when towing the stock pads fade,makes it hard to set up my brake controler.Did you have any problems with the ABS with the improved pads,like on oily road,dirt,or gravel?

[mdadgar]

Bob,

The pads should have no effect on ABS engagement. Either the tires slip and the ABS engages, or not. In slippery conditions, you may find the ABS activating with less pedal pressure than with stock pads, due to the higher friction coefficient of the Hawks, but otherwise it should act as stock.

I did a bit of light towing with the pads (4K lbs or so) and they worked very well. I'll be towing a 7.5K lbs load in a couple of weeks.

- Mark

[a64pilot]

Mark,
Thanks

[AlanL]

I've found that the stock pads work very well for my towing purposes, but if you say that the Hawks are better, I'm interested in checking them out.

You mentioned that the dust is comparable to stock. Have you washed your truck (or had a rain storm) since you put the pads on? I'm curious as to how well the hawk dust washes off and if it rusts if left on the wheels during a rain storm.

I've had some hawk racing pads that really did a number on my car and wheels if I didn't wash the wheels very soon after racing. Obviously I know that these pads are street pads, but one great thing about the stock pads is their lack of dust and the ability to wash what little dust there is off the wheels easily.

Thanks for any more info,
-Al

[MadDuraMax]

I too would be interested to hear how these pads would work, but from one of our Northern members this winter. Having the ABS engage more on the snow and slop this winter is not my idea of fun.

Mark

[mdadgar]

Guys, the ONLY reason the ABS might engage more (read: earlier) is because you are getting more brake friction from the pads at a given level of brake pedal pressure than you do with the stock pads. The easy solution to this is to press less hard on the pedal.

This isn't rocket science here. The Hawk pads are not bending the laws of physics or anything. They are simply a bit more aggressive than the stock pads, in the same way that a premium sports car tire may have better grip than a cheap one.

In normal driving, there's very little difference between these pads vs. the stock ones. It's only when you get into the brakes hard that these pads shine.

Alan, I have not washed the truck yet so I don't know how the dust will react to water. I don't expec them to be a problem, but then I remember Hawk Blues, too. smile.gif

We'll see what happens.

- Mark

[6.6L&94ImpalaSS]

Mark,

How have the new brake pads been working out? How are they wearing? Noise?

Update please.

Mike

[mdadgar]

Funny you should ask. I just got back (an hour ago!) from a tow to the race track with the new pads.

Better than stock on all counts.

There's still a little noise at the very end of the stop, but it's dissipating slowly and I'd expect it to be gone soon.

I'm very happy with the pads.

- Mark