brake pads - Hawk HPS, Axxis Deluxe, or Axxis Ultimate?
 

Currently I have Hawk HPS pads front and rear on my 04 WRX wagon with Centric blank rotors. this setup has served me well the last two years but is now time for new front brakes. Pads are < 50%, caliper piston seals are gone, and my rotors have decent wear.

I'm a cheap bastard so I am going to buy more Centric blank front rotors, and want to get the pads from the same vendor. My options are Hawk, Axxis, and posiquiet.

I mostly do highway commuting from san jose to san mateo, but will auto-x and a few back road drives each month.

if you've used any combination of these pads, what has your experience been? i've been happy with the HPS pads but I hear a lot of recommendations of Axxis pads.

Any useful input is appreciated.

:tia:

I say upgrade to Hawk HPS+ for the front and OEM or HPS in the rear- Too bad you have an 04' b/c I have a brand new set for the 02'WRX. I don't like Axxis b/c the dust and the noise. (Too much of both) This is from personal experience.
-Jon

[QUOTE=sonic_yellow;2063011]I say upgrade to Hawk HPS+ for the front and OEM or HPS in the rear- Too bad you have an 04' b/c I have a brand new set for the 02'WRX. I don't like Axxis b/c the dust and the noise. (Too much of both) This is from personal experience.
-Jon[/QUOTE]

Thanks Jon! We need to hang out again at Dan's or go for a drive or something. I need to get back to having a personal life!

I hate axxis, for the reasons above.

I run a set of porterfield pads; they're nice and quiet and have lot less brake dust compared to my friends hawk pads. :)

I haven't tried the others, but have been very happy with the Hawk HP+ front and back for both autocross and backroad driving. I'm on stock calipers and generic discs.

Pros:
The bite is strong and even - and I haven't detected any fade even with fast driving down Mt. Hammy to Mines. My old stock pads were greasy at only halfway down. They also held up really well on the recent north bay drive, too and got soft on par with the other fast drivers' pads.

Cons:
The bite ramps up to very strong when the car is nearly stopped which can be hard/jerky on the passengers and takes a little getting used to (I have SS brake lines, too, which might contribute to this). Squeals a tiny bit. There's significant dust - don't know if it's more than comparable pads. Also, front pads are expensive for the early '02 model that I have.

These are my second set.. I like them.

I've tried Hawk HPS, HP+, Carbotech Bobcats, Panther Plus, and Axxis Ultimates. The Axxis are my favorite hands down. They're quiet, they work well in a wide range of temperatures, and they have at least as much stopping power as any of the other pads I've tried and significantly more than most. The ONLY drawback I've found is the dust... but that's last on my list of factors for brakes.

I got a stoptech stage II from speed element and it came with the Axiss, they stop very well, but yes they are very very dusty and also squeak every time I brake.Im looking at a new pair of pads myself, these are not even that old but the squeak drives me nuts.

[QUOTE=SilverBlitzkeig;2063165]I got a stoptech stage II from speed element and it came with the Axiss, they stop very well, but yes they are very very dusty and also squeak every time I brake.Im looking at a new pair of pads myself, these are not even that old but the squeak drives me nuts.[/QUOTE]

That's odd... the axxis made the least amount of noise out of anything I tried aside from the stock pads. Try a little anti-seize on the back of the pads and on the sliders... that stuff does wonders and works 100x better than any of that brake specific stuff you can get at the store.

i'll chime in here...

i have LIMITED experience with any of the aforementioned pads... i have found a combination that works for my style of driving.

get some high grip pads for the rear, and medium grip pads for the front.

the purpose of doing this is to reduce the amount of nosedive experienced under hard braking by shifting more of the braking duty to the rear of the vehicle.

my setup consists of:
EBC Green Stuff front pads
Axxis Metal Master rear pads
Napa blank rotors
Goodridge Braided Steel Brake lines
Castrol DOT4 fluid

please keep in mind that my Mr2 only weighs 2440lbs. i can use pads that are less aggressive than most what i'd go with for most Subaru applications (due to weight).

i vote for axxiss, they are cheap and work well. They are for stopping, not keeping your wheels dust free.

If you want to talk about noise and dust, lets talk porterfield r-4's

[QUOTE=EQ Tuning;2063361]That's odd... the axxis made the least amount of noise out of anything I tried aside from the stock pads. Try a little anti-seize on the back of the pads and on the sliders... that stuff does wonders and works 100x better than any of that brake specific stuff you can get at the store.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=international B;2063397]i vote for axxiss, they are cheap and work well. They are for stopping, not keeping your wheels dust free.

If you want to talk about noise and dust, lets talk porterfield r-4's[/QUOTE]

+1

I love my Axxis XBG pads since they were hella cheap, like $35 for the fronts and stop very very well for the price. They do dust a bit, but big deal...just wipe your wheels down once a week :p

I don't have experience with the Hawks or Axxis Delux so I won't vote. However, my previous pads were the Ultimates. I thought they were good for the money - really good bite and feel. They dusted a lot more than stock, but I didn't get any noise from them.

My current pads are Mintex which feel very similar to the stock pads. I may swap them back out for some more Ultimates because of the feel.

Since the OP doesn't do track... (autox is NOT track) then stick with HPS. Your car is a 100% street driven vehicle, so you can be more concerned with noise/dust/wear.

Definitely ultimates if you want stopping friction, low cost.

"The brakes, the brakes are PHENOMENAL!" - Christian Miller (driving my car around T-Hill.) That day he was braking after the 2 marker on the back straight, they never faded, never gave him any issue. I'm on regular RS rotors, ATE fluid, lines and the MRT bracket. No ABS, 235 RA1s, and he was driving the piss out of it. It it's enough brake for him (A professional race car driver), it's enough brake for any us mortals on the boards.

Yes, they dust like no other.

[QUOTE=international B;2063397]i vote for axxiss, [/QUOTE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Century Gothic"]I loved axxis metal master pads I used to have on the SC MR2. They lasted me many track days, canyons, drags racing & just overall driving & did they ever stop on a dime. [/FONT][/COLOR]