[mikedahammer]

I think I know the answer to this but I would love to hear some more input on what the hardcore track guys are running brake pad wise and the reason why. My car does not need a street pad or dual purpose pad. This is the third season for me with the Camaro and I do about 15+ track days a year at all different tracks on the east coast. I am running a ZLE with various tire setups but mostly running the factory supercar3rs but I did add a set of 18" slicks for 2026.

I have been running the Cobalt XR1's front and rear since I bought the car. I ran these pads on my old GT350 and love how these pads bite, the longevity of the pad, and that it was soft on the rotors and they don't require bedding them in. The only con is the price.

[cdb95z28]

SS 1LE A10 with the copper free brake package, 398mm front rotor. Essentially the ZL1 brakes with a bigger front rotor and slightly less pad. 3R and Pirelli DH slick use. Past pad experience is HP1000, DS2500, DS1.11 and on my previously owned '14 SS 1LE, ST43.


Just to note for a basis on the Ferodo lineup: The OE Brembo pad is Ferodo HP1000. Worked very good, a little better than the OE copper free pads. Friction drops off with more heat thru the brake zone. Fast wear. Lots of pedal travel. Good dual purpose pad but heavier braking driver and track can push them past their limits.


DS2500 was another step up with better feel and not as much friction drop off with more heat thru the brake zone. Better feel and wear. Lots more $ vs HP1000. Great dual purpose pad if your cooling on track is excellent. I'd run this all the time if it had just a little more high heat friction. Sometimes I feel right at the edge of enough heavy braking, would like a touch more reserve. Ran these at the Charlotte Roval and their capacity in the short heavy brake zone entering the front stretch chicane was barely enough.


I really like the DS1.11. Excellent bite and friction, plenty of reserve. I also like the hard pedal feel and modulation. Big $ though. I think there are comparable pads out there for a lot less. Pad wear on track was higher than expected. I will probably try something else in the future. With the big brakes my car has there is lots of heat capacity. With the DS1.1, rotor wear due to the cold running street use was evident, especially the rear rotors. I was running the BlackWing deflectors but I have gone back to the OE deflectors with no negatives at the track. Temps are still in check.


Since these are all comparable Ferodo pads, no worries on rotor cleanup on switching between track and street pads. I don't bother with bed in prior to an event anymore.I just do it session 1.

[NG329]

For this season I'll be running a combo of Ferodo DS3.12 in the front and a Hawk DTC-60 in the rear.

I ran stock ZLE Brembo/Ferodo pads all the way up until my laptimes were in the top 3 percentile at T-bolt. It took 15 minutes of having a passenger in the car to get them to misbehave on one occasion at a track with multiple hard braking zones. In the ZLE, OEM brakes are better than most people's ability -- tires are likely the wild card.

For SS-1LE, my buddy Greg (MECHANICALENG) on this forum has had great success with the Hawk pads. DTC-70/DTC-60 combo. He would have been even faster with a true R comp but he opted to stay with 200tw tires for budget reasons.

[Patriot Motorsports USA]

Originally Posted by mikedahammer

I think I know the answer to this but I would love to hear some more input on what the hardcore track guys are running brake pad wise and the reason why. My car does not need a street pad or dual purpose pad. This is the third season for me with the Camaro and I do about 15+ track days a year at all different tracks on the east coast. I am running a ZLE with various tire setups but mostly running the factory supercar3rs but I did add a set of 18" slicks for 2026.

I guess I would put myself into the "Hardcore" category since my car sees more track action than it does the street these days... although the Buc-ee's livery might reduce that seriousness a level or two!

I have been using the DTC 60s on street and track shifting to the DTC 70s all around as my speeds are much faster and the forced air ducts blast the hubs with cool air and I cut the tops off the Blackwing ducts to push that heated air from the rotors out of the wheels better. While playing on the track against Billy Johnson in the GTD Mustang, it was the first time I ever thought I might run out of brakes and run into a car... the GTD has brakes that are nothing short of tossing a Ship's Anchor out of the trunk!!

I have been planning to upgrade to the DTC 80s up front with my revised cooling but G-Loc sent a set of pads to try out... so when I can get a break from being in the shop 24/7 I will test out the new pads and offer some feedback!

[redfish86]

‘24 SS 1LE, GLoc R16/R10 here. Ran them at COTA with a new set of Trofeo Tracks last go round. Great bite, feel, and zero issues. Tires are rotating on the wheels a bit.

[Patriot Motorsports USA]

Originally Posted by redfish86

‘24 SS 1LE, GLoc R16/R10 here. Ran them at COTA with a new set of Trofeo Tracks last go round. Great bite, feel, and zero issues. Tires are rotating on the wheels a bit.

Thanks for that tidbit!! I noticed that with the DTC70s on the ZLE OEM wheels with the Continental Extreme Contact 02s, but the Goodyear SC3Rs didn't move a hair. Not even and RCH!!

I'm excited to test the GLoc pads as they are part of a special build we are doing for a very well known NASCAR Team Owner. Not sure if we will be able to share such in the future but who knows? I will definitely share my thoughts on how they feel when we test next week!!

[TransamGTA350]

Originally Posted by cdb95z28

SS 1LE A10 with the copper free brake package, 398mm front rotor. Essentially the ZL1 brakes with a bigger front rotor and slightly less pad. 3R and Pirelli DH slick use. Past pad experience is HP1000, DS2500, DS1.11 and on my previously owned '14 SS 1LE, ST43.


Just to note for a basis on the Ferodo lineup: The OE Brembo pad is Ferodo HP1000. Worked very good, a little better than the OE copper free pads. Friction drops off with more heat thru the brake zone. Fast wear. Lots of pedal travel. Good dual purpose pad but heavier braking driver and track can push them past their limits.


DS2500 was another step up with better feel and not as much friction drop off with more heat thru the brake zone. Better feel and wear. Lots more $ vs HP1000. Great dual purpose pad if your cooling on track is excellent. I'd run this all the time if it had just a little more high heat friction. Sometimes I feel right at the edge of enough heavy braking, would like a touch more reserve. Ran these at the Charlotte Roval and their capacity in the short heavy brake zone entering the front stretch chicane was barely enough.


I really like the DS1.11. Excellent bite and friction, plenty of reserve. I also like the hard pedal feel and modulation. Big $ though. I think there are comparable pads out there for a lot less. Pad wear on track was higher than expected. I will probably try something else in the future. With the big brakes my car has there is lots of heat capacity. With the DS1.1, rotor wear due to the cold running street use was evident, especially the rear rotors. I was running the BlackWing deflectors but I have gone back to the OE deflectors with no negatives at the track. Temps are still in check.


Since these are all comparable Ferodo pads, no worries on rotor cleanup on switching between track and street pads. I don't bother with bed in prior to an event anymore.I just do it session 1.

I have run the stock Ferodo HP1000 and the DS2500 and would agree with what is stated here regarding those two options. I'm running 200tw tires. A 100tw or slick would definitely cook either of those pads. With the HP1000's, I was getting taper on the front pads and pretty short pad life. The DS2500's are a little better in that department.

[N Camarolina]

Interesting to hear experience with the DS2500. Does anyone with experience on both think the benefit of the DS2500 over the HP1000 is worth the additional price (if fade is not a factor, is the pad longevity difference worth the cost)?

[Olemiss540]

Really hard to beat DTC60s for the price. Front rotor cracking is the main downside in my experience after 14or 16 track days but always stop, consistent but not much to compare against since I never have the budget for any other pads.

Have run dtc60s over 4 different makes/models over the last 15ish years.....

[nikerret]

Originally Posted by cdb95z28

SS 1LE A10 with the copper free brake package, 398mm front rotor. Essentially the ZL1 brakes with a bigger front rotor and slightly less pad. 3R and Pirelli DH slick use. Past pad experience is HP1000, DS2500, DS1.11 and on my previously owned '14 SS 1LE, ST43.


Just to note for a basis on the Ferodo lineup: The OE Brembo pad is Ferodo HP1000. Worked very good, a little better than the OE copper free pads. Friction drops off with more heat thru the brake zone. Fast wear. Lots of pedal travel. Good dual purpose pad but heavier braking driver and track can push them past their limits.


DS2500 was another step up with better feel and not as much friction drop off with more heat thru the brake zone. Better feel and wear. Lots more $ vs HP1000. Great dual purpose pad if your cooling on track is excellent. I'd run this all the time if it had just a little more high heat friction. Sometimes I feel right at the edge of enough heavy braking, would like a touch more reserve. Ran these at the Charlotte Roval and their capacity in the short heavy brake zone entering the front stretch chicane was barely enough.


I really like the DS1.11. Excellent bite and friction, plenty of reserve. I also like the hard pedal feel and modulation. Big $ though. I think there are comparable pads out there for a lot less. Pad wear on track was higher than expected. I will probably try something else in the future. With the big brakes my car has there is lots of heat capacity. With the DS1.1, rotor wear due to the cold running street use was evident, especially the rear rotors. I was running the BlackWing deflectors but I have gone back to the OE deflectors with no negatives at the track. Temps are still in check.


Since these are all comparable Ferodo pads, no worries on rotor cleanup on switching between track and street pads. I don't bother with bed in prior to an event anymore.I just do it session 1.

How many rotors have you been through?

[TransamGTA350]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

Interesting to hear experience with the DS2500. Does anyone with experience on both think the benefit of the DS2500 over the HP1000 is worth the additional price (if fade is not a factor, is the pad longevity difference worth the cost)?

The DS2500's cost about twice as much as the HP1000's, but probably won't get twice the life out of them. The bigger issue I was finding with the HP1000's as I have gotten faster at the track is that they aren't holding up. The fronts would be smoking when I come off the track after a hard session and they were wearing with a pretty significant taper. Surprisingly, minimal fade though. I would get two days out of the fronts, then flip them and get one more day out of them before they were below 50%. Rears were fine, 7-8 days out of them.

I have 2 days on the 2500's and so far so good. No smoking and no taper and wear seems better, but we'll see.

I'm doing One Lap of America this spring, so I'm wanting to stay with a combo street/track pad. After that, I may go to the DS1.11

[mikedahammer]

Thanks for the input. I have been exclusively running the XR1's and love them and they have never overheated or tore up the rotors. The last set of rotors lasted about 3K track miles. I was only questioning because I typically get about 8-10 tracks days on a set of front pads and the cost of the xr1's are getting a little salty.

I do flip the inner and outer pads every three or so days as I do get some tapering if I don't pay attention. I get two sets of front for every rear and only flip the pads on the rear half way through their life.

[N Camarolina]

Originally Posted by TransamGTA350

The DS2500's cost about twice as much as the HP1000's, but probably won't get twice the life out of them. The bigger issue I was finding with the HP1000's as I have gotten faster at the track is that they aren't holding up. The fronts would be smoking when I come off the track after a hard session and they were wearing with a pretty significant taper. Surprisingly, minimal fade though. I would get two days out of the fronts, then flip them and get one more day out of them before they were below 50%. Rears were fine, 7-8 days out of them.

I have 2 days on the 2500's and so far so good. No smoking and no taper and wear seems better, but we'll see.

I'm doing One Lap of America this spring, so I'm wanting to stay with a combo street/track pad. After that, I may go to the DS1.11

Thanks for the info. It's interesting you get 3 days out of the front HP1000s. I'm tending to get about 6, maybe 5.5 if you consider that 2 of those are usually track nights rather than full track days like the rest. But I tend to be easy on the tires as well and my lap times are a bit off what others on this forum are able to get on a bone stock setup.

[cdb95z28]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

Interesting to hear experience with the DS2500. Does anyone with experience on both think the benefit of the DS2500 over the HP1000 is worth the additional price (if fade is not a factor, is the pad longevity difference worth the cost)?

One can argue the additional cost of the DS2500 may not be worth it vs the HP1000. The wear difference is not twice as good. They do feel better, are more responsive and have better high temp friction. But I value the feel and responsiveness of pads, especially when driving on the street. I probably bought my last set of DS1.11s as they are really expensive, so I may stick with the DS2500s. On the street, the DS1.11s feel amazing but they wear the rotors because street driving temps are so cold and when race pads run cold they wear rotors. I have lots of pad inventory currently so it may be into next year when I have to buy.

Originally Posted by nikerret

How many rotors have you been through?

So, my car has the big 398mm BCD rotors. I have not had the need to replace them, which they currently have 20 track days on them. I was, however, starting to get front rotor crazing (heat cracks). That was with running the OE Brembo Copper free pads, HP1000, and mostly of DS2500 and DS1.11. I personally think crazing can also be caused by to much temp cycling. Maybe it is the only scenari that casues it. That is a large difference between the system's max temp to it's min temp within a lap. It's possible to overcool and get out of a system's sweet spot. Not too cold and not too hot within a lap. I think that is where I was with my setup. The big BCD package also has a slightly bigger rear setup (almost the same as the non BCD ZL1) than the J6M SS 1LE rear brakes. So overall the entire front and rear BCD package is larger and has alot of heat capacity for the SS 1LE. I was also running the Blackwing deflectors.

Front rotor wear was still good but my rear rotors were showing signs of wear.

I removed the Blackwing deflectors and in an effort to run 18" wheels, I swapped in a set of non BCD ZL1 390mm front rotors and calipers. Since my home track is Pitt Race, I did not have enough hard track time to see where the wear and crazing was headed with the 390mm rotors, if any. I ran the Charlotte Roval last year with the DS2500s and the DS1.11s at a rainy lat track event ever at Pitt Race. Not enough hardcore laps. FWIW, at Charlotte I wished I ran the DS1.11s as I wanted a little bit more friction for the exit off NASCAR Turn 4 into the fornt stretch chicane.


Those BCD front 398mm rotors are still good.