Performance Friction Pads

[zygotesoup]

I was talking to my buddy who is an instructor at the Glen and he mentioned that out of all the pads he has used, he highly recommends performance friction. I did some research on these pads and had a few questions for anyone that has used them.

1. Do they make rear pads for the elise or just the front?

2. If they only make them for the front, will mixing them with Hawk pads in the rear create any issues?

3. Do these pads make any squeaking/squealing noise?

4. Would you recommend these for a novice track driver (me)?

5. On this site, it says that the pads require removal of about 1mm of pad material by filing or grinding... is this accurate? If so, how do you go about it?

Lotus Elise Products: street and track pads, tires

I appreciate any info, thanks!

[zygotesoup]

anyone?... bueller...

[Red Mist]

I've used them on a heavy BMW, & they are awesome. However, I think they would have too much bite for the Lotus, they are very difficult to bed in, probably couldn't get enough heat in them. I would not mix pads front/rear, the lotus has a lot of front bias, this will make it worse. The 01 compound is track only, they are dangerous on the street.

[Vulcan Grey]

I use the Ferodo DS2500 on my Acura and really liked them on the track. A little noisy on the street.

My friend says he has tried all the pads on his Lotus Esprit X180-R track car, and will only use the Ferodo. He uses the DS3000 though.

[zygotesoup]

thanks for the input guys, but im curious about how these will work on the elise specifically

[R T]

I've used PF97's on my '05 Elise and they work fine (hard to get them though) ...... that being said, they need a lot of heat in them to keep them to stay above their abrasive range so it would not be the correct pad on a track that's not really hard on brakes or for a novice (no matter what track).

You'll be really happy with Hawk HT-10's on the Elise!!!!

[SirBedevere]

I use the Performance Friction 01 up front, and stock pads at the rear. Absolutely amazing braking performance! Heartily recommend this for track use. The only negative is the PFs make a lot of dust that is hard to clean off the wheels.
I've gone through two sets: the first set I had to machine down a tad to make them fit. The second set went right in. I don't know why there was a difference, but I did get them from two different vendors.

[zygotesoup]

Originally Posted by SirBedevere

I use the Performance Friction 01 up front, and stock pads at the rear. Absolutely amazing braking performance! Heartily recommend this for track use. The only negative is the PFs make a lot of dust that is hard to clean off the wheels.
I've gone through two sets: the first set I had to machine down a tad to make them fit. The second set went right in. I don't know why there was a difference, but I did get them from two different vendors.

hmmm... where did you order them from when they fit?

[R T]

....... at low heat levels they're going to eat your rotors alive (just so you know)

[SirBedevere]

Rotorsandpads.com... $147
In my case, the rotor wear is not high. I have slotted and dimpled rotors up front, and these don't show too much wear from the pads. It would be easy to see the dimples going away if they wore too fast.

[zygotesoup]

i would only use these for the track and take them off for street use, so i dont think the rotor wear would be terrible.

if i do have to shave them down a bit to make them fit, how would you recommend i go about it?

[SirBedevere]

That's the way I do it... only use PFs on the track. Too much brake dust on the wheels otherwise!
The best way is to have a machine shop take off, oh, not quite an eighth of an inch. That way they're all even. A caveman method would be to scrub em around on the sidwalk till they fit. I've heard of that too.