Hawk HPS or Hawk PC (Performance Ceramic)???

[Dru]

Hey All,

Just wondering what everybody thinks would be a better Pad to run on brand new OEM Rotors. I have a 2007 Madza 3 GS. I do mostly highway driving about 110 km commute each day and drive average speeds and downshift alot. Im looking for a pad that lasts as long as my original OEM setup did- 188 000km. I have 2mm of pad in the frts left and 4mm in the rears and the rotors have heat spots now so yea its time to replace them. Calipers are still ok but starting to stick. Funny thing also my mazda dealer mechanic mentioned that there are no wear indicators on the mazda 3 OEM Pads.

So Im looking at the Hawks because of the mostly positive reviews they have gotten and the fact that they can be had for more then $100 cheaper then OEMS. How do they compare with the OEMS in terms of wear. It seems like performace is better if not equal. Also what is a better pad-the Hawk HPS or Hawk PCs?-the ceramics are marginaly cheaper but do they perform equally? It seems the ceramics might be nosier but I have read mostly older reviews.

Thx

[nuttygent]

I put the hawk HPC's on and they were great till they started squealing...badly. Took them off, but it seems other people are happy with them. Also a seasonal brake, in the winter driving on the highway when they are cool and you have to brake suddenly you had better have lots of room to the car in front as they take a long time to bite needing to heat up. Can be quite scary.

[standsideways]

with hps and centric(stoptech) slotted rotors i have never experienced anything but perfect braking.

*the difference in rain/snow between slotted and blank rotors was SHOCKING.*
definately consider slotted rotors and hps pads, get some motul rbf600 aswell.

[07carbon3]

not to try and jack the OP thread but another question to ask about the hawk hps is what is how much brake dust do you get with these pads? compare to oem or any other street performance pads

[kickz]

not to try and jack the OP thread but another question to ask about the hawk hps is what is how much brake dust do you get with these pads? compare to oem or any other street performance pads

with hps you get quite a bit of dust

if you worries about noise or dust just stick with oem pads just make sure if flush the brake fluid when you do the pads

[S.F.W.]

with hps you get quite a bit of dust

if you worries about noise or dust just stick with oem pads just make sure if flush the brake fluid when you do the pads

what? The OEM pads create 100 times more break dust than the HPS.

[CSF]

*the difference in rain/snow between slotted and blank rotors was SHOCKING.*
definately consider slotted rotors and hps pads, get some motul rbf600 aswell.

Could you elaborate on that a bit. At some point we'll all have to replace the breaks at and I'm interested in hearing about anything that was shockingly good... or bad.

[Sonic31]

Been running HPS and Powerslots for 100k, no squealing, ok dust (rims are rarely ever covered in black dust).

The onyl thing I would recommend with the HPS/Powerslot combo, is that you drag the brakes a bit the first few times you stop in the winter. I find you need to get the HPS pads heated up a bit for them to work their best.

Also make sure that however you get them installed, be sure to follow the proper seating procedure. I made sure this was done and think that has a lot do with the non squealing, long life I have experienced.

Going to runt eh exact same set up again whenever the pads and rotors I have finally give out.

[Cab0oze]

Could you elaborate on that a bit. At some point we'll all have to replace the breaks at and I'm interested in hearing about anything that was shockingly good... or bad.

From my experience:
- drilled (or slotted most likely) + hps or ceramics are horrible in cold weather. I imagine that if i had been using blanks it would have been marginally better. Performance pads just aren't made for cold/wet weather. IMO Unless you have a summer only car, I wouldn't really consider these an upgrade for your DD if you live in canada.
- I had ceramics on my rear calipers. When I parked my car and the pads were warm, they could hold the car. When the pads were cold (eg. leaving them for a while in the rain) they would not be able to hold the car if it was on any amount of incline. Luckily I had an automatic at that time, so it was more of a weird inconvenience than anything