Brake pad wear question

[Daria]

I have a set of OEM brake pads that I use for daily driving and a set of Carbotech Panther + pads for the track. I keep switching the brake pads back and forth as I need them for the track events. Since I have 2 sets of OEM pads that are in a great shape I use them for the daily drive and not waste them.

I am going to a DE event this weekend that is 6 ~ 7 hours away. I will be driving my car to this track and it will be mostly highway driving. I was thinking of driving to the track with the Carbotech pads. Will driving 15 hours (return trip included) on the highway wear the pads excessively or should I switch to the OEM pads for the drive?

Thanks, Daria

 

[ncdogdoc]

Daria,

Street type driving should have no negative effects on pad wear for the carbotechs. Usually it creates more rotor wear than pad wear. Many NSX people use the Panther + pads on the street all the time, including me when I was tracking the red car. Do not worry about the extra travel time, go ahead and install them before the trip.

One note of caution. The first one or two stops on the street will require more pedal effort due to the cool rotor and pad temps, so keep this in mind as you are leaving your home and on the return trip. Have fun at the track.

 

[nsxtasy]

I agree with Gary, with a couple of additional comments.

On a long-distance trip, presumably largely by expressway and/or interstate highway, you will not be using your brakes much at all, so it isn't even an issue.

I don't think rotor wear is much of a factor, either. Wearing rotors down to the minimum spec for thickness takes a long long time with anything other than maybe Hawk Blue pads, so I don't think rotor wear is a consideration. (I have never worn front rotors too thin; with considerable track use, they eventually crack before getting too thin. And I have something like 40 track events on my rear rotors and they're still plenty thick.)

 

[Daria]

Thanks for the reply guys. That's just 1 less thing I need to worry about now.