[mariojas]

Originally Posted by jamala00

If you track your car, drive your car on public roads like you are on track, or are simply just an all around bad driver and need to make frequent sudden stops... I'd recommend you keep the OEM Brembo pads. For the rest of us who drive the Camaro only on public roads and have some fun with some spirited driving... You'll never out drive the Z26 pads. To each his own. They work great for me and my driving and I don't have to deal with the brake dust anymore.

There is also emergency braking argument - you want 100% of your brakes in that situation. Sometimes you may need that extra 5 inches... I prefer dirty wheels and have that 5 in

[Wyzz Kydd]

Originally Posted by mariojas

There is also emergency braking argument - you want 100% of your brakes in that situation. Sometimes you may need that extra 5 inches... I prefer dirty wheels and have that 5 in

My thoughts as well. I want ever ounce of performance I can get in every aspect.

[1badtie]

Take off the wheels and ceramic coat them or drop them off somewhere that will. 250 miles later mine are still spotless. 12 month ceramic on them.

[jamala00]

Originally Posted by mariojas

There is also emergency braking argument - you want 100% of your brakes in that situation. Sometimes you may need that extra 5 inches... I prefer dirty wheels and have that 5 in

Originally Posted by Wyzz Kydd

My thoughts as well. I want ever ounce of performance I can get in every aspect.

Ya, like I said... It's a personal preference. I've had the Z26 pads on for a couple seasons now... never looked back. One of the best mods to the Camaro I've ever done.

[Whitespeed]

Originally Posted by mariojas

There is also emergency braking argument - you want 100% of your brakes in that situation. Sometimes you may need that extra 5 inches... I prefer dirty wheels and have that 5 in

Do you know if the Z26 pads actually have a longer braking distance? While they likely do, it's not inconceivable that they don't. At least for the first few stops. The trade-off may be in the number of stops they can make without fading compared with the OEM pads. That's not that critical in a one-off emergency braking situation.

Also, is the shortest possible braking distance really the end all and be all? When you're shopping for a car, do you only buy the car with the shortest absolute braking distance, just for that "extra 5 inches"? I'm guessing not. It's a balance of many competing factors and there's no one car that can achieve all of them.

Nigel

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by Whitespeed

Do you know if the Z26 pads actually have a longer braking distance? While they likely do, it's not inconceivable that they don't. At least for the first few stops. The trade-off may be in the number of stops they can make without fading compared with the OEM pads.

That's not just conceivable, it's 100% the way it is. Any modern brake pad that you put on is going to be able to lock the tires and activate the ABS. Ergo, they all have the same stopping distance for the first few stops, just as you said.

I still have the stock pads on my SS 1LE, but I used the Z26 pads on my C4 Corvette, which was heavily modified with about 2.5x stiffer springs over stock, 11" wheels and 315-width competition tires (BFG Rival S, Yokohama A052, or Hoosier A7s) and a built 396 stroker (at least as fast as a ZL1 in a straight line)...but on stock J55 brakes (2-piston PBRs, nowhere near as good the Brembos on a 1LE). For street and heavy autocross use they worked really well. As others have said, they would overheat and not be appropriate for multiple laps on a road course because that's outside their heat range.

Based on one track day at the Autobahn south course (Joliet, IL), I'm not even sure the stock 1LE pads (Ferodo DS2500, I believe) are up to the task. I'm seriously considering running z26 pads for street and autocross duty and swapping in dedicated track pads for the 2-3 track days I expect to do each year.

[mariojas]

Originally Posted by Msquared

That's not just conceivable, it's 100% the way it is. Any modern brake pad that you put on is going to be able to lock the tires and activate the ABS. Ergo, they all have the same stopping distance for the first few stops, just as you said.

I still have the stock pads on my SS 1LE, but I used the Z26 pads on my C4 Corvette, which was heavily modified with about 2.5x stiffer springs over stock, 11" wheels and 315-width competition tires (BFG Rival S, Yokohama A052, or Hoosier A7s) and a built 396 stroker (at least as fast as a ZL1 in a straight line)...but on stock J55 brakes (2-piston PBRs, nowhere near as good the Brembos on a 1LE). For street and heavy autocross use they worked really well. As others have said, they would overheat and not be appropriate for multiple laps on a road course because that's outside their heat range.

Based on one track day at the Autobahn south course (Joliet, IL), I'm not even sure the stock 1LE pads (Ferodo DS2500, I believe) are up to the task. I'm seriously considering running z26 pads for street and autocross duty and swapping in dedicated track pads for the 2-3 track days I expect to do each year.

True. But are you able to asure me that there is no "dynamics" involved when ABS is ... ABSing? No delay, same exact behavior? It's different pad. I wish somebody like EE from YT could test that

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by mariojas

True. But are you able to asure me that there is no "dynamics" involved when ABS is ... ABSing? No delay, same exact behavior? It's different pad. I wish somebody like EE from YT could test that

Yes, I'm sure. With either pad, if you're into the ABS the behavior will be the same. Whichever pad has a lower and more stable coefficient of friction, you might actually have more ability to modulate before getting into ABS.

[WhiteMale]

Here lies a Z26 pad user. If only he'd not swapped those pads.

RIP

[jamala00]

Originally Posted by WhiteMale

Here lies a Z26 pad user. If only he'd not swapped those pads.

RIP

LOL...Right!

As mentioned in previous posts... I notice ZERO difference between the Z26 pads and the OEM Brembo pads driving my car around on public roads including the spirited driving I do. I do however notice a night and day difference in the brake dust I no longer need to deal with after driving the car 10 miles.

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by WhiteMale

Here lies a Z26 pad user. If only he'd not swapped those pads.

RIP

Well, that’s the silliest thing I’ll read today.

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by jamala00

LOL...Right!

As mentioned in previous posts... I notice ZERO difference between the Z26 pads and the OEM Brembo pads driving my car around on public roads including the spirited driving I do. I do however notice a night and day difference in the brake dust I no longer need to deal with after driving the car 10 miles.

[Whitespeed]

Originally Posted by Msquared

That's not just conceivable, it's 100% the way it is. Any modern brake pad that you put on is going to be able to lock the tires and activate the ABS. Ergo, they all have the same stopping distance for the first few stops, just as you said.

After I wrote what I did, it crossed my mind that the OEM and Z26 pads may have similar friction ratings. In fact, it turns out that the Z26 may have a higher friction rating (more 'grip'). I haven't second sourced this, but one source did indicate that the Z26 pads have a 'GG' friction code, whereas the OEM pads are 'FF'. This code is a DOT requirement for brake pads and the higher the letter in the alphabet, the greater the friction.

Originally Posted by Msquared

Based on one track day at the Autobahn south course (Joliet, IL), I'm not even sure the stock 1LE pads (Ferodo DS2500, I believe) are up to the task. I'm seriously considering running z26 pads for street and autocross duty and swapping in dedicated track pads for the 2-3 track days I expect to do each year.

Actually, the OEM Brembo pads are very good, offer a good compromise of friction and rotor wear, and are very resistant to fade. There are a few people on this board who have set lap records using the OEM pads. Of course, different tracks can place different demands on brakes, and there's also personal preference for brake feel. I still run the OEM pads on the tracks I frequent and see no reason to change.

Originally Posted by Msquared

Yes, I'm sure. With either pad, if you're into the ABS the behavior will be the same. Whichever pad has a lower and more stable coefficient of friction, you might actually have more ability to modulate before getting into ABS.

Not sure if you meant to say "lower"? In any case, I agree that ABS behaviour should be the same, with the caveat that the front and rear pad coefficient of friction must remain the same. If you change that, say by putting a higher friction pad on the front, this will screw up the ABS tuning and result in longer stopping distances. However, this often gets misinterpreted as 'better' because the ABS starts intervening sooner.


Nigel

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by Whitespeed

Not sure if you meant to say "lower"? In any case, I agree that ABS behaviour should be the same, with the caveat that the front and rear pad coefficient of friction must remain the same. If you change that, say by putting a higher friction pad on the front, this will screw up the ABS tuning and result in longer stopping distances. However, this often gets misinterpreted as 'better' because the ABS starts intervening sooner.

Meant to say "lower." The lower the coefficient of friction of the pads, the more pedal force will be required to achieve a certain amount of braking force, up to 100% of available tire grip (lockup). That gives you a wider range of pedal efforts so you have more "resolution" available to make finer changes in the braking force (i.e. it allows more precise brake modulation). Too high a friction coefficient can render the brake pedal too much like an on/off switch and also makes it harder for the ABS to modulate well. There are limits to this, of course: at some point the required pedal efforts becomes so high that your inputs are unrefined near the lockup threshold.