What performance brake pads are currently available for the G8??


mike
dms

I'm pretty sure there are Hawks out for it. Hawk HPs if you are mainly a street driver w/occasional road course or auto-x use. HP+ if you don't mind noise and dust and track your car often.

-mike

I would assume that Axxis would have pads for the G8, but I don't see them listed anywhere.

GM doesn't have pads in stock yet either. Does any one have replacement pads in the USA at this time?

If you can get the backing plates or can send your old ones, Carbotech can make a set for you or at least thet used to do that.

I just checked a few sites and found DBA rotors for it but they didn't list the pads yet. :(

I would like to find a clean pad that stops well but reduces fade over constant braking as I'd like to do some SCCA races with it... May be impossible... Not sure...:whine:

If I could get a spare set of pads Carbotech would be my choice. The OE pad composition doesn't seem to like heat.

Have you given them a call? They may be able to figure out what the backing plate is and see if it matches up with anything out on the market.

Your stockers aren't any good? I like mine just fine. They stop well when hot, didn't fade excessively, and most importantly, don't blacken the wheel the the stockers on the Grand Prix GXP.

Your stockers aren't any good? I like mine just fine. They stop well when hot, didn't fade excessively, and most importantly, don't blacken the wheel the the stockers on the Grand Prix GXP.
The brakes felt great on the street with the car stock. They felt good after the suspension upgrade. With the ProCharger they felt inadequate. After my last track session, most of my OE brakes were sitting in the wheel rim as piles of dust, big piles of dust with a lot more pedal travel.

The brakes felt great on the street with the car stock. They felt good after the suspension upgrade. With the ProCharger they felt inadequate. After my last track session, most of my OE brakes were sitting in the wheel rim as piles of dust, big piles of dust with a lot more pedal travel.

So to have all of the bases covered: get a brake upgrade when adding FI? Is it because of the added weight on the front end, or only because of the higher speeds? Thanks Pete.

So to have all of the bases covered: get a brake upgrade when adding FI? Is it because of the added weight on the front end, or only because of the higher speeds? Thanks Pete.

We jumped from 300 RWHP to 475 RWHP. Speed kills and it is killing my brake pads....

Any word on brake pad availability? I spoke with Hawk today and they will have pads available within 2 months.

Any word on brake pad availability? I spoke with Hawk today and they will have pads available within 2 months.Witt in Muskegon was able to secuire set of Pontiac factory pads. I am sending my old pads out to CarboTech to have them lined with a compound they feel will be more suited to my use of the G8.

Witt in Muskegon was able to secuire set of Pontiac factory pads. I am sending my old pads out to CarboTech to have them lined with a compound they feel will be more suited to my use of the G8.

Can you please let us know on how quick the turn around time is for CarboTech?

I need pads on my G8 but I'm not crazy about having it up on jackstands while I wait for my pads. It's still driveable but at some point soon I need to replace the pads.

My one time at an open track day really wore my pads out.

Thanks JP.

Can you please let us know on how quick the turn around time is for CarboTech?

I need pads on my G8 but I'm not crazy about having it up on jackstands while I wait for my pads. It's still driveable but at some point soon I need to replace the pads.

My one time at an open track day really wore my pads out.

Thanks JP.They are really pretty good, but there is down time involved. William at Witt and I am sure more of my Dealers, will have a CarboTech pads available within two weeks with some kind of exchange program until they become more readily available. That will reduce the down time to next to nothing.

They are really pretty good, but there is down time involved. William at Witt and I am sure more of my Dealers, will have a CarboTech pads available within two weeks with some kind of exchange program until they become more readily available. That will reduce the down time to next to nothing.

One last question: Is that Witt Buick?

One last question: Is that Witt Buick?Witt PEDDERS Buick :wink2:

My brake pads were cooked. A couple of the pads were deeply cracked. The OE G8 pads do not like the extreme heats that builds up from running Gingerman. Thanks to Witt, my cooked pads are on the way to CarboTech. They will go on my car as soon as possible. Then we'll recycle my pads on William's G8. Once his are on, William will have a spare set for exchanges.

If any of you are in the West Michigan area there is a Pedders Day tomorrow at Witt from 9 to 2 -- even if it keeps raining. My GTO and G8 are both already there. After the event we are planning a run up to the Dog n' Suds in Montague. Come on out if you can.

My brake pads were cooked. A couple of the pads were deeply cracked. The OE G8 pads do not like the extreme heats that builds up from running Gingerman. Thanks to Witt, my cooked pads are on the way to CarboTech. They will go on my car as soon as possible. Then we'll recycle my pads on William's G8. Once his are on, William will have a spare set for exchanges.

If any of you are in the West Michigan area there is a Pedders Day tomorrow at Witt from 9 to 2 -- even if it keeps raining. My GTO and G8 are both already there. After the event we are planning a run up to the Dog n' Suds in Montague. Come on out if you can.

Are you just going to run the carbotech pads with stock rotors? Just curious, b/c I was planning on doing at least one more track day before the season ends and I really want to get decent pads for a good run (most likely autobahn or blackhawk farms). If you are using the stock rotors are you turning them before installing the new pads? If not stock, what rotors are you using? I wanted to get the Stoptech stage 2 package, but they say it wont be available for the G8 until next year :/

The pads were destroyed by the heat. They were deeply cracked and chunks had fallen off. We replaced them with GM stock pads.

The rotors are in excellent condition. We installed the new pads and bedded them to the OE rotors. When the CarboTech pads return, the process will be the same.

The G8 brake system computer has strict tolerances for volume of fluid. That is the primary obstacle to brake development with multi-piston calipers. The fluid volume must remain within the computer tolerance for fluid volume. The brake companies are aware of this. I am not sure what information I have that is really confidential, so I am being conservative with what I post.

IMO, CarboTech lined OE back-plates should be a significant improvement over stock in terms of heat resistance, improved stopping distances and pedal feel in the same way that our T2 Champion Chris Brannon found on his 2005 GTO. In T2 you are limited to OE calipers. Chris did very well with OE calipers, rotors and CarboTech pads.

So far, Carbotech has been the best pad that I've found. I run their XP12s on my racecar, and I have one of the best stopping-power cars of a race weekend. No ducting and they still have no fade whatsoever.

Basically, if Carbotech doesn't make it, I don't want it.

Contacted my dealer for a set of stock pads and they wanted my vin number. WTH would they need my vin #?

Just got off the phone with another local dealership. He can get them but they run $175 for the fronts and $160 for rears!

I hope they have gold dust imbedded in them at that price. I wanted to go open tracking this weekend but for that much $$$$ I would rather spend the money towards aftermarket pads.

One open track session killed my stockers so that would be a quick $350+ (taxes) down the drain.

:whine:

The pads were destroyed by the heat. They were deeply cracked and chunks had fallen off. We replaced them with GM stock pads.

The rotors are in excellent condition. We installed the new pads and bedded them to the OE rotors. When the CarboTech pads return, the process will be the same.

The G8 brake system computer has strict tolerances for volume of fluid. That is the primary obstacle to brake development with multi-piston calipers. The fluid volume must remain within the computer tolerance for fluid volume. The brake companies are aware of this. I am not sure what information I have that is really confidential, so I am being conservative with what I post.

IMO, CarboTech lined OE back-plates should be a significant improvement over stock in terms of heat resistance, improved stopping distances and pedal feel in the same way that our T2 Champion Chris Brannon found on his 2005 GTO. In T2 you are limited to OE calipers. Chris did very well with OE calipers, rotors and CarboTech pads.
Pete, does this mean the ordinairy shade tree mechanic will have trouble installing replacement pads? (Have yet to have to have added fluid on last 3 cars while changing out at least 6 sets pads. And are tehy screwin pistons that take a special tool (or makeshift) to collapse calipers? (old tech was simply use a c-clamp and 2x4)

Pete, does this mean teh ordinairy shade tree mechanic will have trouble installing replacement pads? (Have yet to have to have added fluid on last 3 cars while changing out at least 6 sets pads. And are tehy screwin pistons that take a special tool (or makeshift) to collapse calipers? (old tech was simply use a c-clamp and 2x4)

I think you will be able to use any brake pad that you want. The question is changing calipers.

Now Mike Haddad has the new style big caliper BAER brakes on his G8 currently. He is still testing it and will be giving a review soon.

mike
dms

Any idea if what the CTS-V has is compatible? C&D reported ONSTar calling after an extreme brake stop that setoff collision sensors. Now that's some serious braking.

Carbotech pads usually last 4-6 track hours depending on how hard you are on the brakes. With the G8 weighting more than the GTO you might not even get that. I have gotten over 12 track hours on the Raybestos ST-43 pads. There again the G8 weights more so keep that in mind. As with all performance pads the dust is considerable. The Raybestos pads do cost more but more than make up for that by lasting longer, much longer. I try to keep the cost of racing as low as possible and use the products that work the best and give good value for the dollar. You can contact them here... http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/ I don't know if they have pads for the G8 yet but if I tracked a G8 these are the pads I would buy.

Carbotech pads usually last 4-6 track hours depending on how hard you are on the brakes. With the G8 weighting more than the GTO you might not even get that. I have gotten over 12 track hours on the Raybestos ST-43 pads. There again the G8 weights more so keep that in mind. As with all performance pads the dust is considerable. The Raybestos pads do cost more but more than make up for that by lasting longer, much longer. I try to keep the cost of racing as low as possible and use the products that work the best and give good value for the dollar. You can contact them here... http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/ I don't know if they have pads for the G8 yet but if I tracked a G8 these are the pads I would buy.

Porterfield wanted me to send them dimensions of my pads so they could create new brakes as they do not have G8 pads in stock. Screw it, I guess I'll throw stockers back on and not OT my car.

You should be able to contact Porterfield back with the FMSI # (D???) and they can make up F & R pads. The CTS-V has Brembo calipers so no crossover there. The GXP looks to have the same caliper as 03-07 CTS-V and great pads are available for those. Slotted rotors, ducting and good pads are the ticket if you stay with OE calipers. The OE pads are good for street but on track will either overheat,increasing pedal pressure until they just quit working or If they don't go away,they will overheat and boil fluid in calipers then you have no pedal.
The choices listed are all pretty good but Porterfield can do any compound in any shape. Expect to pay about the same as OE pads. The R4 or R4S are relatively easy on rotors and wear pretty good. Pads are easy to change so Buy Good pads and swap back & forth.

How are the Carbotech's with brake dust? Are they horrendous? :(

Looking for some good pads but mine is a daily driver so I need them to serve two duties and cleaning my wheels all the time isn't something I need or prefer.:slap:


Cheers

We should have the Carbotech pads on the vehicles by the end of the week. They should not be very dusty at all, as they are made of a basic track compound instead of the butter soft OEs'.

CarboTech pads, new coilovers, new tune, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires, Forgeline wheels, fender roll, TommyZ paint scheme, Corsa, ProCharger, we are getting close, very close...

http://www.michelinman.com/tires/ultra-high-performance-sport/pilot-sport-cup/

i never liked Hawks. all i heard about them is how they squeek and squeel whenever you get on the brakes. I have always used Wagner Thermo-Quites. Minimal brake dust and makes no noise at all. they stop very well also. had them on my WS6 and now on my second car a dodge neon

i never liked Hawks. all i heard about them is how they squeek and squeel whenever you get on the brakes. I have always used Wagner Thermo-Quites. Minimal brake dust and makes no noise at all. they stop very well also. had them on my WS6 and now on my second car a dodge neonI beg to differ. I have Hawk pads on my Stang as of right now and they are the best brake pads I have ever had on this car. Absolutely no squeaking, minimum brake dust, and excellent braking. Pad wear isn't extreme either. I installed the pads about 5,000 miles ago and they still look new. I had squeaking problems with the pads I previously had on the car(Raybestos). I hope that Hawk come out with pads for the G8 as well. I would definiely order them. I'm very satisfied with Hawk pads.

The CarboTechs go on tomorrow. I'll do some weekend driving and post the results.

Dusty, but a HUGE improvement -- HUGE. The CarboTech pads are 2mm thicker than the OE pads. This is accomplished by eliminating the backing that was on the OE pad. The real improvement comes from the size of the pad and composition. The new pad is about 3mm larger in terms of width and length. The leading and trailing edges are not ground at an angle. Yeah I know. No pictures... The composition is more aggressive and heat tolerant. We used a Tech II tool to cycle the ABS and purge the old fluid followed by fresh. The bedding procedure is challenging on the street and probably illegal. It is a good thing I live in the middle of nowhere and had miles of uninterrupted two lane country road.

I did not do any actual testing for before and after stopping distances. I can tell you that with the new pads the ABS engages with far less pedal pressure. The ABS can be engaged at 70 MPH without jamming the pedal to the floor and repeated slows from 70 MPH to 15 MPH showed no sign of the fade previously experienced with the OE pads. They do squeal occasionally when backing up or in traffic at slow speeds and light pedal. I'll need a track session to provide further details. That will be after our Pedders Dealer Meeting next week and SEMA the week after.

In short, this is an upgrade that many G8 owners would embrace while others will find the increase in dust and occasional squeal unwelcome.

So can I order a set of pads from your company?

The DUST is the killer for me... I won't have my car on a road course so I should be OK.

The pads are available; we are currently in the transaction process of a couple more sets. Inquiries can be made through:

tmckee@wittbuick.com

They make a very noticeable performance increase. I would say the dust is about the same as the OE pads under extreme duty.

The costs:
$435 - Track Pads
$260 - Core Charge
vs.
$325 - Retail OE Pads

The core charge is quite reasonable, especially with the new GM part cost increase that is coming. Send us your old pads to send out, with no core charge. Alternatively, accept the core charge and send us the old pads when your new set has been received; the obviously more economical option.

Carbotechs are very good.

Bobcats dust is also not dark black, wont corrode wheels and wash off easily.

For the track, XP12 or XP16 would absolutely rock!

As soon as I hear back on supporting vendor status, we'll get these moving at reasonable retail. No core charges from us.

http://www.liteswap.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=L&Product_Code=CTPontiacG8