RobPhoboS Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 (edited) In short would I recommend this kit - yes Pads are only suitable for the road, not track (as it's stated on box/website). If you want to read my waffle... I was given the opportunity by Torqen to try out Stoptech Street Pads, and Stoptech Slotted discs/rotors, yes at a kindly discounted price but for an honest impartial review. And I do mean that, Adrian hasn't asked me to say anything other than what I thought. I'll be keeping the post updated as time goes on because I've only had them on the car for about a week or so as a complete package, and have had to switch the pads for a trackday this week. Of course if you guys have any questions or (relevant) requests, ask away. My car is a 2004 350z with the Brembo's, braided lines, TYP200 brake fluid on that side of things. These are the products in the review: Centric pins & clip kit: https://www.torqen.u...s-11742041.html https://www.torqen.u...s-11742056.html Discs - Stoptech Slotted: https://www.torqen.u...2642076slr.html https://www.torqen.u...2642079slr.html Pads - Stoptech Street Performance: https://www.torqen.u...o-30909600.html https://www.torqen.u...o-30909610.html My setup prior to fitting any of the above parts were EBC Premium Rotors (plain OEM type) that were skimmed by Marcus a little while back, and the pads I was using were CL RC5+ pads which are a track pad. For me these pads are fantastic but extremely noisy when they aren't able to get up to operating temperature, I found that frequently bedding them in would get rid of the noise but then 4 or so days later it comes back. With certain pad compounds this is just what will happen as the pad layer is removed from the disc after bedding them in under normal driving conditions. I have previously tried EBC Yellow Stuff, and Ferodo DS2500 on the road but not the track. I didn't have a problem with the Yellow Stuff, however I didn't really like the compressible feeling of the compound, so it was more of a feeling thing rather than an issue specifically. With the DS2500, it was a similar feeling and occasionally a bit of noise but these began fading on me after some spirited drives. I remember seeing a graph somewhere showing this but I was surprised that it happened on the road, which is why I then went to CL RC5+. I can't recommend DS2500, maybe the DS3000 is better but I'd now only look at their pure track pads if I was at all interested in the future. All 3 of these pads work from cold, the DS2500 a bit less so and they all created dust, however just over 2 years ago I coated my wheels with Plastidip and haven't washed them since so I can't truly comment on this much. Although this weekend I pulled the old coating off and will re-dip them again soon, so I should be able to say how the Stoptech pads do. For this test I thought I'd try out the pads first on my old discs, they were on these discs for around 2 weeks. Fitting was nice and easy, and you'll see the packaging is good with a nice bonus of backing pads adhered to them already. I got them on one late Sunday evening before driving back to London, so I couldn't do an ideal bedding in procedure, initially there wasn't any bite at all because of the material from the old pads - so bare that in mind. Once I got onto the main roads I thought I had better do some stops down from 60mph to 10mph as it was clear, I guess I managed about 5-7 of these before traffic started approaching. Each time you could feel it was improving so I knew that it would be ok if I needed to emergency brake. The first gigantic difference was the total lack of noise ! And once back into London I could feel them biting nicely at the start of pedal travel over the next few days, and once back in Surrey I did do a bedding in run anyway but honestly it didn't require it by that point. I liked the feel, and would say these are very good choice for daily driving with OEM style discs. About another week after this I popped on the discs, as usual my plans didn't work out the way I was hoping and ended up finishing around 3am due to other things happening that day. This was also a drive from one place in London to another, so absolutely no chance of bedding these in either, just a few pulls down from the speed limit to 5mph to get a little heat into them. Once again, no noise but not quite as much bite as before but I expected that as there wasn't any pad material on the discs. The next morning I drove down to Surrey, and did a bedding in run of 10x 60ish down to 10mph. Because the discs are new, I do feel this could be done again, so a 20x run which I didn't quite have time for. At some points I was laughing at how hard the car was pulling to a near stop, very impressive and it wasn't triggering the ABS (the RC5+ pads can do that a bit too easily). After a cooling down period I couldn't really get much of a run at anywhere due to Sunday drivers emerging thick and fast, ok technically bloody slow. I will get an early run out with these pads to push them progressively to see how they cope but so far so good, and wow it's nice not having squealing pads ! As mentioned in the beginning this review will be continued over time, however I'm happy to say that I shall run these pads and discs, then switch over to the RC5+ (or RC6) for track time. Check out these videos for an explanation of how and why to bed in the brakes. ---------------------------------------------- Update 1 31/03/17 I finally had a full DRY (in fact sunny!) track day at Snetterton 300 yesterday As mentioned before, I had popped on the RC5+ pads as this is their job. There was a considerable difference between these Stoptech discs and the flat ones I had before. They seemed to have more consistency in feel, yes the pedal travel had moved a touch by a few mm but nothing more than that throughout the whole day. Also I noticed that I didn't have any noise like I did at the other 2 track days with the flat discs. The pads didn't fade at all, as this is what they are designed for but being sintered they will nibble at discs over time. I had absolute confidence in the braking, and on the way home they felt just as good. I have probably over heated the front discs a bit, so maybe some cooling ducts for them will help in the future. And I'll pop the Stoptech pads back on after the fronts look a bit more normal. (taken after my last session) Front: Rear: Edited March 31, 2017 by RobPhoboS 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Good write up, well thought out procedure too Would be interesting to see how the pads do actually hold up on track, mind. Personally I'm not keen on swapping pads around so freely, however I can see your logic in it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich260 Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Great write up. I'm currently trying to deciding to go with the performance friction or stoptech AeroRotors. Good to hear stoptech is decent quality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Thank you Rob for taking the time to write this comprehensive honest review, much appreciated! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strudul Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Did your wheels change colour there, or was it just bad light / focus? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Honestly it's just the exposure Strudul Although technically right now, they have changed colour, and in a couple of weeks will change again Many thanks guys, the next part of the write up will be with the CL pads on the discs for a track day. Then after that, my thoughts with the ST pads back on for normal duty and some B road drives. Regarding swapping pads, it doesn't take long and the noise alone is enough for me to spend 20-30 mins doing that. There really isn't one pad that can do it all which I'm fine with, and track pads are expensive but will last longer like this and I have the bonus of keeping a close eye on the condition of both sets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargara Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Did your wheels change colour there, or was it just bad light / focus? Impressive, the power of Stoptech will also give you matt-black wheels instead of silver 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 I just added an update to the main post I guess that's probably the easiest way to add my thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willsy1980 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Im ready for new front pads, are these: https://www.torqen.uk/nissan/350z/brakes/pads/512-350z-stoptech-street-performance-brake-pads-front-brembo-30909600.html the right ones for a 2005 DE with Brembo's ? MOT is due on the 3rd May and the fronts are squealing/audible wear indicator thing :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Im ready for new front pads, are these: https://www.torqen.u...o-30909600.html the right ones for a 2005 DE with Brembo's ? MOT is due on the 3rd May and the fronts are squealing/audible wear indicator thing :/ Yes, they are. In stock, we can ship today for delivery on Monday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Rob, any further updates on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 Rob, any further updates on this? Yo ! Back on the road pads again I need to make some brake ducting, I emailed Stoptech about the heatspots I created. They've suggested skimming them, bedding them in fully fully fully - and the ducting will certainly help out. It seems that you are starting to get pad layer transfer on your rotors, this will possibly result in brake judder in the near future. It looks like that the CL pads you are using are not capable of coping with the heat you are generating when braking, resulting in them burning/depositing pad material on your rotor. The only fix for extensive uneven deposits involves dismounting the discs and having them Blanchard ground - not expensive, but inconvenient at best. A newly ground disc will require the same sort of bedding in process as a new disc. The trouble with this procedure is that if the grinding does not remove all of the cementite inclusions, as the disc wears the hard cementite will stand proud of the relatively soft disc and the thermal spiral starts over again. Unfortunately, the cementite is invisible to the naked eye. Taking time to properly bed your braking system pays big dividends but, as with most sins, a repeat of the behaviour that caused the trouble will bring it right back. They feel absolutely fine but I'll go ahead with this process or it'll just happen again. I don't know the particular downside to it (anyone feel free to chip in) but I can only think that the disc will heat up quicker in those spots. Just to re-iterate that this is down to me either not bedding them in fully with the CL RC5+ pads, or just a lot of heat generated on track with those pads (or a combo). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 That's why I love StopTech, they really know their stuff, they know what they're talking about I'd say skim the discs, use these guys, I used them on the Porsche Cayman S a while back: http://skimmydiscs.co.uk/your-nearest-service-centre and try and bed the CL pads again, properly before going on the track. I can't see any cracks on the discs from your pic, so they should be OK once skimmed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 (edited) I completely forgot to reply to this, apologies ! So I'm still using the pads and discs, and several months on I can only say that these are indeed great pads for the road. I've not suffered any issues whatsoever. Secondly, the problem I posted above - well that fixed itself after another track day ! I'll upload a photo from back in July later tonight (if I remember). Once I get a chance I'll try to measure them, most likely when I do another track day and switch over to the CL pads. If anyone else has any thoughts on them, do chip in. Edited December 21, 2017 by RobPhoboS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Butcher Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Good write up Rob I know I've banged on about them in the past but all of the above are why I use the Pagid RS29 pads, you only need one set of pads for everything. They are low noise, work from cold and give incredible stopping power when up to temp on track, good pedal feel and can deal with all the track work you can throw at them......until they are around half worn then they begin to tail off in performance I've found. They've never transferred pad material to disc as you had here with the CL's DS2500's are the most over rated pad EVER, not surprised you lost them on the roads. I wouldn't even fit them to my transit let alone a performance car. They came with my Alcon kit I had on my Evo and after one very quick session on track the disc had huge black blobs of material all round them and the most horrific vibration as a result! Ended my day and took a few hundred road miles to slowly remove it all and then they came straight out and in the bin! That was about 10 years ago and I've used nothing else other than the Pagids since. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 (edited) Howdy ! It's been ages since I've really been on the forum (bought an apartment), I'm still not used to the look of it :/ Actually I'm happy running 2 sets of pads, I'll tell you why. I'm cheap Well more specifically, I don't want to wear down my track pads on the road. So if I had the RS29 pads (lot's of mates with GT3's have used them for yonks now), I'd do exactly the same thing and just sling them on when required. I know it's a great pad, although I'm still likely to go with the CL6 pads for my next set. Also the brake fluid was disgusting when I changed it just after those photo's. I wonder if the fluid was already cooked, and the weird transfer was something to do with that too ? I need to catch up on your thread too, I'm lost ! Edited December 21, 2017 by RobPhoboS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 @RobPhoboS Any further comments on your StopTech setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 Still going strong mate ! I shall take some photo's on the weekend. The discs are looking great, zero lip on them too which I'm really surprised about ! I've diligently switched between track pads and the street pads, it's barely worn the pads which I'm impressed with. I'd definitely advise this route to anyone wanting to upgrade their standard setup. When it comes to another set of road pads I'd gladly use them again or look at some Hawk pads just to try another set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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