Today I replaced the original brake pads on my 2004 6MT Sedan at all four corners with Hawk HPS pads ordered from the Tire Rack. Few comments.

1. Changing brake pads is one of the easiest things a weekend wrencher can do. The hardest part of the job was jacking the car and taking the wheels off and on. Other posts give the procedure in plenty of detail. Note, on the rears, I removed the top caliper bolt instead of the bottom one, because a suspension link prevented me getting my ratchet on the bottom one. Also, the inner and outer pads on the front were the same, but on the rear they were different.

2. I did not replace or resurface the rotors.

3. So far, I like the Hawk HPS pads. I followed the bedding-in procedure prescribed on the box. This involved 6-10 moderate stops from 40 mph, then two hard stops from about 60. First stop, "whew, glad there wasn't anything in front of me." Second, "ok, now they're coming in a little." Third, "aww yeah, baby." Fourth, "Ow, my neck!" And so on. These pads are strong. Improved pedal feel (more linear and firm) over stock too.

4. Don't let your pads get way down like I did. I went 40,000 miles on the original pads. Bad idea. Although I had about 1mm of friction material left on the fronts, the remaining material was starting to come apart and just generally looked scary.

5. I probably saved about $500-$600 bucks over going to the dealer, not to mention the hassle and having to deal with them hard selling several hundred dollar add-on unnecessary services (aka "snake oil").

6. Next time, the rotors will need to be replaced.

7. New Michelin Pilot A/S tires and Hawk HPS brake pads-->yeah boys, this is one badazz car.

 

nice. im planning on replacing my pads next Spring...

 

i feel that my hawk pads do not bite that well.. i dont remember what it use to be .. maybe i need to bed them in some more? I heard that as you drive, they will eventually get bedded into.. so I dunno.. I did do like 6 stops and 2 hard stops to a point where i can smell the burning rubber.. but the pads still feel weak to me.. and this is on my BBK too. The no dust is worth it though

 

1. Yup, I noticed that problem too the first time I installed brake pads on my G. The radius rod gets in the way of the ratchet. Trick is to use a small 2 ton jack and to put it under the pan the rear spring sits in and jack it up. You'll get just enough clearance from the radius rod so that you can access that lower bolt.

4. Glad to know you got 40k miles on your OEM pads. I have about 23k miles on my car now and and the last time I checked my oem pads I had about 7mm front and 6mm in the back. Hopefully I can wear them down faster so I can get a free set of pads and/or rotors before that 36k/3 year warranty expires.

 

I guess I would agree that they don't have the same kind of "bite" as the stock pads did when they were new, but the stock pads were so touchy they were hard to modulate. The HPS pads have plenty of friction but they seem to respond better to pedal pressure. I like the HPS better. Although, all of this is based on only one day of driving. If I have any other thoughts, I'll post.

dklau33: Sounds like you might get the brake campaign on your car. I thought about getting another jack and raising the control arm like you mentioned, but it was easier to just remove the upper caliper bolt instead.

Oh I also forgot to mention this: On the driver rear wheel, one of the pads--inner vs. outer--was worn a good bit more than the other, possibly indicating a stuck caliper. The caliper seemed to slide freely on the pins. I'm going to keep an eye on that!

 

My brakes are almost gone too and my warranty has expired. I am leaning toward the HPS when I get my pads changed out. Give us an update in a week or so. Thanks!

 

dudefish- do you get any squealing from the Hawks?

 

ive had my hawk break for maybe 20K miles. i def need to change them soon.

they dont stop better than the stock brakes. they do sqeak..

They DONT dust as much. i say 85 percent less than oem. they are a must for anyone who has aftermarket rims.

i think there is a vendor over at my350z who sells then cheap. i know its around 75 at pepboys.

 

HPS are horrible in cold/wet conditions ~50 degrees. I wouldn't recommend them if it's your daily driver during the winter.

 

Haha.. what can I say. I like doing things the hard way.

 

they squeak and are horribel in 50F temps...hummmm...i guess i might
just get the factory replacements then. half of the driving season in
chicago is cool/cold, so no meaning if it performs worse and still
squeak.

 

The HP+ squeak like crazy. But not the HPS so much if you use brake quiet or something similar on the back of the pads. I wouldn't give up on aftermarket just yet though. I heard project mu B-force pads are excellent. But they may leave something to be desired if you auto-x or drive agressively all the time. The next step up, the NS pads face the same problem as the HPS when it comes to cold temps. Nismo pads supposedly are good down to 0 degrees and are agressive enough for light track days. But I haven't been able to find anyone who can confirm that.

 

The HPS pads have squealed a little bit, but they're not offensive to me. Also, it was 40 deg. this morning and I didn't have a problem with them needing to get heat in them. I still like them.

 

In the dry they are fine. Just be sure to double pump in the wet under the same temps. There is zero brake feel on the first try. Sucks after you need to come to a quick stop from 50+mph.

 

oh, thanks. i'll remember that next time it rains!