Date:         Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:02:22 -0800
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject:      Performanc brake pads? (long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

  Scott, I can't point you to any Vanagon-specific ones, but for general
knowledge, to the list:  Some things to consider when selecting brake pads.

  Brake pad compounds are your basic compromise. When it comes to how well
they will stop you, temperature is a big factor.  The other main factor is
durability.  Those two characteristics will determine, to a large part, how
any brake compound behaves.

  Street brakes are not especially "high performance"  because they are
usually a friction compound that allows good pad life (hard) but also works
acceptably when cool.  If you want better braking on cold brakes, (as you
will most often see on the public roads) you must forfeit some longevity by
selecting a softer pad with more friction. If you want your high performance
to come during mountain driving, or descending a long pass with a heavy
load, a harder pad compound that is more effective at higher temperatures
will be "high performance" for you.  Various "temperature ranges" in brake
pad compounds are available.

  As an example,  my old Porsche used up brakes quickly.  It was equipped
with Brembos from a Twin Turbo 911, with hollow and perforated brake rotors
with four pistons in each caliper.  The so-called "Big Red" brakes that many
other makes of racecars switch to.  I used up the brake rotors in two race
weekends and the pads (depending on the compound) in about 3 hours of track
time..
  Now many Track day (not racing, but doing high speed paid-for track
events) drivers select the Pagid Orange brake pads for these and other
brakes.  The Pagid Orange compound works really well, right from the green
flag, when the brakes are cold...but when the rotors warm up, they become
less effective and must be "pushed" harder, in turn creating more heat...a
vicious circle that can eventually lead to "brake fade" .
 Pagid (just one manufacturer of many) offers perhaps 4 different compounds
for that brake, in different compounds.  My preferred one in the Pagid line
was the Yellow, configured very hard for 'endurance racing' .  It didn't
stop well at all when cold, but worked very well indeed when the brake
rotors were glowing red.
  www. RaceCentralOnline.com   is a Portland, Or. area racer supply house(if
they are still around)  that has a listing and a table (with nine offerings)
of "brake pad compound selections" for Hawk performance brakes. They show
some pads being effective from 100F-900F and others being 300F-1600F.   They
describe the characteristic of each offered compound.  They (Hawk brakes)
offer 33 VW model brake pads, mostly the "Hp-Plus" compound, which they
describe like this:
   "High Performance PLUS Race Worthy..This is the material that can take
the heat at the track and still get you home safely with out having to
change your brake pads in and out.  Great for Track Days and Autocross.
Warning!  Due to the dramatic friction levels produced by this product to
achieve race level braking: rotor wear, noise, dust and pad life may be
affected.
  Pretty much sums up the compromise you must make for "performance" brakes.
  You might Google Hawk brakes and see if you can find some in that compound
for the vanagon.  I used Hawk brakes for my Porsche 928  in the HT-10
compound usually..
  sorry for the length of this..
  Don Hanson