Hawk HPS Plus 5.0 Loud Clunk

[aswy6]

Hey everyone!

I just swapped the above pad to do a mild track day as they are rated a bit higher temp than OEM and should be fine for a novice like me. The problem i have is that every time i change braking direction it clunks pretty loud. For example i can stop 10 times going forward and everything is fine but then i will stop once going backwards and a loud clunk comes off. Then when i start moving forward for the first time it clunks again and does not clunk anymore after that. Question.... Am i going to stop tomorrow at the track or did i make a mistake somewhere?

Thank you!

[fanatic1]

Most of the track focused pads I have used I’ve had that famous “clunk”, perfectly normal

[aswy6]

Originally Posted by fanatic1

Most of the track focused pads I have used I've had that famous "clunk", perfectly normal

Okay thanks, that makes me feel better except that technically this is not a track pad. But still i just dont see where i could have made a mistake lol. Is your clunk pretty loud? I can feel it in my steering wheel

[Djdnav]

I have the same pads, and have never experienced the clunk you describe.

[M3SQRD]

The pad material backing plate has been machined smaller than the OEM backing plate. So you get the “clunk” the first time you change braking direction. No performance or safety issue.

I’d be careful with this pad on track. It’s probably a better auto-x pad than track pad. Novices tend to brake sooner and longer which heats things up more than late braking and shorter duration. There really is no good street-track pad. With the F8x, it takes very little time to swap pads so just switch to track/race pads before an event. Pad incompatibility isn’t as bad as people make it sound. I’ve been using Carbotech street compounds for 2+ decades and switch to PFC race compounds on the same rotors. I’ve never once had an issue with pad incompatibility even with Carbotech stating their compounds aren’t compatible with other manufacturer pad compounds.

[aswy6]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

The pad material backing plate has been machined smaller than the OEM backing plate. So you get the "clunk" the first time you change braking direction. No performance or safety issue.

I'd be careful with this pad on track. It's probably a better auto-x pad than track pad. Novices tend to brake sooner and longer which heats things up more than late braking and shorter duration. There really is no good street-track pad. With the F8x, it takes very little time to swap pads so just switch to track/race pads before an event. Pad incompatibility isn't as bad as people make it sound. I've been using Carbotech street compounds for 2+ decades and switch to PFC race compounds on the same rotors. I've never once had an issue with pad incompatibility even with Carbotech stating their compounds aren't compatible with other manufacturer pad compounds.

So just to report back. I was able to stop at the track day successfully lol. I live in Pacific Northwest and temperature was around 70 degrees which did not heat up things that much, i did however manage to melt the brake pad in one of my sessions. They are definitely a major step up over OEM in terms of bite and being able to take little bit more temperature before fading. I think i will do couple more events on these and will change to something more track oriented. They are also crazy squeaky. Im talking crazy squeaky in the street and i did put brake grease

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by aswy6

So just to report back. I was able to stop at the track day successfully lol. I live in Pacific Northwest and temperature was around 70 degrees which did not heat up things that much, i did however manage to melt the brake pad in one of my sessions. They are definitely a major step up over OEM in terms of bite and being able to take little bit more temperature before fading. I think i will do couple more events on these and will change to something more track oriented. They are also crazy squeaky. Im talking crazy squeaky in the street and i did put brake grease

I never said you wouldn’t be able to stop; rather, just compromised braking. It certainly doesn’t sound like they we’re capable of surviving a single track session. I guess I’m different because I want a brake setup that I don’t have give a second thought to while on track. I want a pedal that feels and performs the same at the end of a session as it does at the beginning. Not possible with a higher performance street pad.

[grabbou]

I had experienced this after putting DS2500 pads. Turns out the OEM break pads are slightly larger, hence they don't move when you change direction. Solution was to put a bit of silicone there and they're not moving anymore.

Pretty sure if you search the forum you'll find the answer. It's quite common amongst non-OEM break pads.

[edwinm3]

there should be no clunk, specially with those 5.0 pads

[Ferg]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

The pad material backing plate has been machined smaller than the OEM backing plate. So you get the “clunk” the first time you change braking direction. No performance or safety issue.

I’d be careful with this pad on track. It’s probably a better auto-x pad than track pad. Novices tend to brake sooner and longer which heats things up more than late braking and shorter duration. There really is no good street-track pad. With the F8x, it takes very little time to swap pads so just switch to track/race pads before an event. Pad incompatibility isn’t as bad as people make it sound. I’ve been using Carbotech street compounds for 2+ decades and switch to PFC race compounds on the same rotors. I’ve never once had an issue with pad incompatibility even with Carbotech stating their compounds aren’t compatible with other manufacturer pad compounds.

Was eyeballing these Carbotech pads; you happy with them? How is initial bite?

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by Ferg

Was eyeballing these Carbotech pads; you happy with them? How is initial bite?

CT 1521 street pads? Yes, these are excellent performance street pads with low dust. However, I would recommend not using them on the track. CT XP12-XP18 pad range is better for track use.