How many trackdays do uprated pads last?

[brendonj]

Hi,

I changed to Mintex 1155 front pads last Oct, I have done 2 trackdays on them so far.
I am planning do do a few days quite close together in Feb-Apr so was wondering if I need to change them again soon.

Any advice as to how long uprated pads last would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
Brendon

[tony d]

Best change your pads as often as you can. I change mine after every other trackday. Also check your fluid and discs too.

[brendonj]

thanks but are they normal pads or uprated ones? (which are supposed to last longer)

[m3pilot]

I'd say this depends on how hard you drive the car, the weight of the car and weather the brakes are up to the job. I used some off the shelf pads with discs that have been on the car since i bought it a year ago and this set up was fine for the whole day and is still fine a few weeks later. Having said that my car is a completely striped 205 so there is alot less weight than most.

[jacobyte]

Brake pad wear it very driver-specific, but after a full trackday of hard driving, expect them not to have much, if any, life left in them.

[peterpeter]

I was chatting with a couple of guy about this on saturday at bedford.

After getting my gt3 nearly 2 years ago now, I expected to be needing to change the pads every 2-3 track days.

Its worked out at about every 6-7

I use standard gt3 road pads (I bought the textar ones instead of the porsche one (though they are the same) for £89. delivered (on the front)

I put this down completely to Graham Clarke from the RMA.

on my first track day in the gt3 he told me to brake hard, short and sharp, and not to feather the pedal at high speed ..ever.

as a result i havent had to upgrade my disks and calipers to the 6 pots (though I am sure they do brake better)
Plus Im still on my first set of disks.(Ive done about 14 track days in 2 years)

[Alpineandy]

Have a look at them. It depends upon the car, driver and circuits so you can't guess.

Guessing about your brakes isn't a wise move...

[agent006]

peterpeter said:

brake hard, short and sharp, and not to feather the pedal at high speed ..ever.

Yep. It's far more efficient to stamp on it for a shorter time. The EBC (yes, i know, but they're cheap), pads on my BMW still look brand new after 2 trackdays and a thousand road miles.

[davyboy]

I bought some race pads for my 944 turbo, with standard calipers and discs.

They did 100 laps before I replaced them.

[jimbro1000]

Five hours of usage on my racer (not exactly over powered) was enough to grind them down to the backing. Got caught out today at Brands and lost a couple of sessions while a new set were located.

Quite possibly the quickest I've ever seen a set of pads wear out though - normally get a full season out of a set.

[greenv8s]

You should be monitoring pads, discs, tyre tread depth and temperature, oil water and brake fluid levels throughout the day. Don't just wait for something to run out. As the pads wear down you will get more heat transferred into the fluid so you may find you need to replace the pads before they are fully worn out. Also don't assume the pads are wearing flat, or evenly on either side of the caliper, or equally on all four corners of the car.

[iguana]

brendonj said:

Any advice as to how long uprated pads last would be appreciated. Many thanks, Brendon

Almost imposible to answer really, even on the same type of car pad life can be so difernt with diferent drivers its unbelivable.

For example Ive used 3 diferent sets of EBC yellow hard endurance racing pads (EBC tech fellas reckoned they use that compound on the ozzie V8 touring cars & thus to me thats a pretty good indicator of a pad that can take abuse) & for me twice have been scrap in approx 2x 20 min track sessions, & a mate with similar spec car had exactly the same issue, yet other mates with similar spec cars have got over 2 full days out of them? odd indeed.

What track also has a huge effect, this summer 500 ish hard 'ring miles in blazing summer (averaging low 9 min times- so not rocket fast, but not dog slow either) & my pads were as worn as after half an average Uk freezing winter track day- say approx 60 miles, similar driving style, but 'ring long fast brake cooling straights & only a couple of really big loose lots of speed corners, must be the reason?

Donnington & Oulton so far are the worst for pad wear that ive experienced so far.

Ive used a few diferent compounds & ended up using a fairly budget 'fast road' type pad & only get a trackday out of them, its no real issue to change in post/pree trackday check over & while they lack the ultimate grip & longevity of realy decent pads they work out a lot cheaper than a diferent sort of pad that might get 2 or 3 days but costs 6 times more. However I am looking to change again so might yet find my ideal partner in pads thats got very decent bite, lasts several days but most importantly is cheap




>> Edited by iguana on Sunday 22 January 23:17

[agent006]

jimbro1000 said:

Got caught out today at Brands and lost a couple of sessions while a new set were located.

Which car were you then, one of the Wolf Direct guys? Assuming you mean the Marshals day on the Indy circuit. I was in my BMW, first outing at Brands.

[jimbro1000]

agent006 said:

jimbro1000 said: Got caught out today at Brands and lost a couple of sessions while a new set were located. Which car were you then, one of the Wolf Direct guys? Assuming you mean the Marshals day on the Indy circuit. I was in my BMW, first outing at Brands.

I drove most of the WDR cars throughout the day plus my own (still stock) Seicento. It is my name down the side of the Punto as I was the last one out racing in it but most of Friday it was Tony driving it (the owner of TBP salvage). Thought for a moment when you said you were out in your bmw that you meant the silver alpina lookalike - dont think that fellow will ever be welcome back at a MSV event. I spotted your sticker out there but never had a chance to come and find you in the paddock.

Will you be going along to Cadwell on Feb 28th?

[agent006]

jimbro1000 said:

Will you be going along to Cadwell on Feb 28th?

I will indeed.

What did the 5 series driver do then? Didn't seem too out of the ordinary to me, but was in a different group. Found the manners on track really good this time, got a bit of hassle from some of the Pro drivers (none of your guys) at Oulton but all were OK this time.

[jimbro1000]

The Alpina driver was cutting people up all over the place - the last incident he nearly drove into the back of our Punto on the entry to Paddock after overtaking the MG ZR (the ZR was being driven by the guys son). The black westfield was black flagged for similar behaviour.

Most of the driving through-out the day was good but the first few sessions after lunch were terrible. It is a miracle no-one had an accident. The MX5 drivers were amongst the worst offenders - they just seemed to go mental after the hour break. It was the same story at Oulton - in the morning (while it was damp) they were cautious but as the day dried out they just went mad. In some ways I was quite glad the Punto started playing up (dying coilpack) that afternoon but at least at Oulton it is a big circuit with more space between cars.

We've been asked to provide 15 cars for Cadwell so I doubt I will be able to escape the long drive and I bet I'll be towing as well. The race punto will be out again, as will the 'centos but beyond that I'm not sure what we will have. Might have to dredge up a few more LMA drivers...

[agent006]

The MX5s are a right PITA for me, they're far faster on the corners, but i have to back right off on the straights to let them past, i was on the brakes on the Cooper straight once. I assume they must be 1.6? Once the BMW's got some decent suspension and tyres on then i don't think they'll be a problem . Any idea what that red "thing" was that did a few laps just before lunch? Turned up out of nowhere, blew everything into the weeds and then disappeared again.
I must admit that the novice group looked a bit chaotic, and was surprised that they let the racers out with them. Cadwell was sessioned last year, so i assume we can expect more of the same. I didn't have any problems in the Inter group, other than that red alfa being slightly slower than me and not letting me past. Just did a length of the pitlane and rejoined and all was well. Plus some git nicked my pit garage while i was on track, must take more junk with me next time (or a brolly, no garages at Cadwell).
Ended up leaving early as the low sun became a real problem going through Surtees, as i'm far too low for the standard visors now i've got a proper bucket fitted (can feel a bodge coming on).

In case anyone's wondering what we're on about... MSV run free trackdays for marshals (me) and we have some nice racing driver types (Jimbro) along to scare the pants off us with free passenger laps.

>> Edited by agent006 on Tuesday 24th January 22:26

[agent006]

Just to drag the thread kicking and screaming back on topic, front pads are still fine after the aforementioned day at brands indy, about 50% left (even though the wear sensor is telling the dash otherwise). Rear pads are quite comprehensively shagged though, but then they are standard and rather old.

[jimbro1000]

agent006 said:

The MX5s are a right PITA for me, they're far faster on the corners, but i have to back right off on the straights to let them past, i was on the brakes on the Cooper straight once. I assume they must be 1.6? Once the BMW's got some decent suspension and tyres on then i don't think they'll be a problem . Any idea what that red "thing" was that did a few laps just before lunch? Turned up out of nowhere, blew everything into the weeds and then disappeared again. I must admit that the novice group looked a bit chaotic, and was surprised that they let the racers out with them. Cadwell was sessioned last year, so i assume we can expect more of the same. I didn't have any problems in the Inter group, other than that red alfa being slightly slower than me and not letting me past. Just did a length of the pitlane and rejoined and all was well. Plus some git nicked my pit garage while i was on track, must take more junk with me next time (or a brolly, no garages at Cadwell). Ended up leaving early as the low sun became a real problem going through Surtees, as i'm far too low for the standard visors now i've got a proper bucket fitted (can feel a bodge coming on). In case anyone's wondering what we're on about... MSV run free trackdays for marshals (me) and we have some nice racing driver types (Jimbro) along to scare the pants off us with free passenger laps. >> Edited by agent006 on Tuesday 24th January 22:26

The MX5s aren't as quick as you think, they just ignored all the rules. The Punto gives them some real stick despite being the best part of 100bhp down on them. The racers were more of a problem in the advanced groups where everyone was that bit faster - in the novice group they just drove past. The intermediate group was too busy though but the advanced session was quiet and probably easier to cope with. Plenty of people forgetting to back off when someone overtakes. It was really frustrating to come up behind someone when I was driving me Sei and then spend the rest of the session stuck behind them as they could seriously out run me on the straights.

The red thing looked suspiciously like a radical but I only saw it leaving the paddock.

Cadwell is going to be very cold and probably damp if past experience is anything to go by. If you have a gazebo/instant garage it is worth bringing it along. The facilities at Cadwell are improving every year but it still has a very long way to go. I think we will be allowed to use the scrutineering bay as shelter but it doesn't keep the wind or the cold out.