I am currently running Project Mu NS400 pads (front & rear) with stock rotors on my ISF, pads only have 4000 miles on them with lots of life left. I can't say enough good things about these pads, especially the dusts levels compared to the stock ones. I am looking into signing up for my first track day with my ISF at either Auto Club Speedway, Willow Springs or Chuckwalla Valley sometime in the future and would like anyone with track experience at these tracks or using these pads at tracks inputs as to whether I will crash, burn and die in a ball of flames using them. I've read the threads on how these pads are street only pads but I don't want to invest in a set of track pads as I currently don't plan on tracking my car very often. Also, will these pads disintegrate into dust because of a track day? I would hate to ruin them and have to get a new set because of a track day. I would like to get my toes wet and was hoping these pads would be sufficient for a first time track day to a newb track driver. If you could recommend a cheap set of track worthy pads I may just use those but I was hoping to avoid switching out pads. If I get into it and start tracking my car more often then I would have no issues with buying a set of dedicated pads. Thanks for any inputs.

 

It's your first track day. You will be running in a beginner group and speeds especially into the braking zone will be minimal. Most people will brake super early since, as a beginners, understanding your brake threshold both mechanically and mentally is difficult and takes time. I think stock level pads will be just fine for most of your first season of track experience. As you start to bump to an intermediate group you might want to look into an extra set just for durability reasons. For your first track season just focus on your lines, tracking out (using the whole track) and being smooth. For the car just check fluid, bleed lines and replace any items out of wear specifications. Have fun and remember, at this point, your F is probably more capable than you

 

I am obliged to reiterate that NS400 is officially a street only compound and should not be used on any race track.

With that being said I'm familiar with the tracks at Willow Springs and have been to Auto Club and Chuckwalla with my own car and can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that if you are going to try and use them on a track you should either pick Chuckwalla or Big Willow at Willow Springs. Auto Club is a big no-no as far as I'm concerned; that track is brutal on brakes so it will ruin your NS400 pads (best case) and there are many concrete walls to hit if you go off (worst case). Avoid that track until you have more experience and better pads.

Big Willow is not very hard on brakes but it's a very high speed track and you might find that a bit intimidating your first time out. Streets of Willow is slower and more technical but it's also more of a brake workout and I'd be worried about NS400 there depending on your natural ability. Horse thief mile is just too small of a track to be out there with other people so I'm not sure they even do anything outside of single or tandem drift events on that track anymore.

Chuckwalla is probably the best for your first time. It's my personal favorite out of the tracks you're looking at because the layout is a ton of fun and there aren't too many solid objects to hit out there. Also it is not a hard track on brakes so you have the best chance of surviving the day there.

This is Chuckwalla if you haven't seen it before. Forgive all the sliding, I took a guess on setup for that track and went way too loose and was too lazy to adjust while I was there so I just decided to have fun with it

Bottom line is that officially you should not use them on any track but if you choose to disregard that disclaimer then I'd recommend Chuckwalla. Also try and avoid dragging your brakes into brake zones and building any excess heat if possible.

-Matt M.

 

Matt,

Thanks for the insight and first hand experience with these tracks. Nice video you posted as well, I've heard a lot of good things about Chuckwalla. Can you offer a recommendation on pads that are track worthy and lower on the price table? Like I said, I'm not sure how often I'll track my car so I'm hoping not to spend too much on a set of pads that may not get used very often, for now. For my first time I plan on going out to get a better feel for what my car is capable of and try to understand track driving a little more, no plans of going ***** to the wall or sad attempts to set a course record so I don't think I'll be too brutal on my brakes!

 

Even if you're planning on not going all out driving on a track will inherently build much more heat in the brakes. You're accelerating and braking much more aggressively than on the street and doing so *much* more frequently.

The obvious choice is going to be HC+800 because they are the best bang for the buck performance pad for this car and they are compatible with your NS400 which means you'll have no complications with the transfer layers from each pad not playing nice together when you swap back and forth.

I have a sneaking suspicion that you'll enjoy yourself out there and the track bug will bite at least a little bit haha. I do a fair bit of beginner instruction and even though your first day is geared towards learning basic track etiquette and awareness rather than speed I have yet to see someone walk away from their first event without a big dumb grin on their face. It's really a lot of fun. But if I'm wrong and you're the one person who doesn't have fun playing with your car on a race track then you will always have equity in a set of HC+800 and could turn around and sell them without taking too much of a financial hit. The full set of front and rear HC+800 brand new is only $385 shipped to your door and if you consider that you could potentially ruin a set of NS400 (which have since been replaced with the more expensive Type NS) AND in turn ruin your expensive track event it's more than likely that the safe way to go also ends up being the inexpensive way to go.

-Matt M.

 

Nice driving, Matt! You looked like Chris Harris out there!

BTW, I will likely finish off my front HC+800 pads (and rotors) at Summit Point in two weeks.. So, I may pull the trigger on the MX72 to slap on with the new rotors.

-Mike

 

While I agree with the recommendation on the HC+800 pads as one of the best track focused pads, if you truly want a cheaper pad that will stand up to the occasional track day, I have done just fine with Stop Tech Sport pads. Less than $100 a pair. I used them on my daily driver for about 25,000 miles and 3 track days (Pocono, Putnam, NCM) before getting a new set of fronts for Mid Ohio earlier this year.

 

Thank you kindly, Mike! Haha not quite Chris Harris although we do share a love for wrecking some tires

I'll make sure we have a set on hand if we don't already in case you'd like to give them a shot!

That is also another option we have available but much less popular on the IS-F. The two strong points of that pad are low price and a decently wide temp range but beyond that there isn't much. They do many things alright but nothing great. Lots of dust on the street and a very weak initial bite and midrange torque compared to other options. But they are cheap and can get the job done well enough for some.

I used to have a Stoptech BBK on my S2000 and those are the pads that came with the kit so I did some initial testing with them and kept them around as a backup set for a while. I've used them a fair bit on the street and and have even used them on track before to get me through the rest of the day after misjudging how much track pad I had left. They worked okay for a few laps but once you get used to more aggressive pads it's hard to go back... you have to use so much pedal pressure to get some decent friction levels out of them but they. But again, they are cheap.

-Matt M.

 

Thanks for the input on these pads, that price can't be beat! I'll have to look into them as I would only switch them in when doing a track day then switch back to the NS400s afterwards.

 

Anybody else have experience with the Stop Tech Sport Pads on the track?

 

If its your first track day in the ISF, there is no need to sweat it over brake pad choice. Any decent street pad will work well enough... Examples that we sell include Stoptech, Winmax W2 or W3, Or Endless MX72. Keep in mind that for your first track day, you will be in the car with an instructor, and most drivers in beginner group are slow, so even if you are fast, you will likely get held up. As long as you have plenty of pad life left and bleed your brakes prior to the track day, you will not have a problem.

That said, once you graduate to higher run groups, the best all-round street pad that can be used on the track is the Endless MX72. Endless is providing us with a special variant of the MX72 compound that can take even more heat than the conventional MX72. We also recommend the Winmax W4 or W5 for track, with the W4 being a track focused but streetable compound.

Rafi