Applicable to: '99-'05 1.8 liter
These are amazing brake pads for use everyday and weekend track. I just put them on did the bedding like it says on the box. When I stepped on the brakes I went flying fowored at the steering wheel. If it wasn't for the seat belt, I would have most like gone out the windsheild. I had the hawk's hps befor and couldn't lock my toyo r888 in the dry when cold. But with these hp plus it locks up very easy, with the tires warmed. Only bad things are they make a lot of metalic noise, and after half an hour of driving and braking hard in the city, the rotors already have a blue ring on it. I think I'll go though a lot of rotors for one set of pads.
Main point is buy this pads if you want to stop like a race car with out warming up and keeping heat in the brakes. Yes NHV or high with this pad. But its a small price to pay to have a track like pad that can be used everyday.
Under 5 minutes to remove
Applicable to: '99-'05 1.8 liter
Hawk HPS Brake Pads for the 2001 with Sports Susp.
It took me a while to learn how to change brake pads. The previous owner of the vehicle left me with some crap Sumitomo pads which wore down in the 6 months of spirited driving I would be doing in the canyon roads. I bedded them in today and when you are driving fast around a familiar course, you dont seem to notice that youre going a little faster than you tend to because of the improved braking capability. I did not buy these expecting wonderful brakes. I was just looking to an alternative to the OEM pads because I know there is a signifigant markup for Mazda OEM parts. There is about a 15 percent increase in stopping power. Brake fade is now completely gone and I have full confidence in my ability to slow the car down. The desirability of drilled/slotted rotors is almost nil now after I had these installed by a friend from the forum.
Comes with a metal shim that is supposed to eliminate brake noise and it works rather well from my limited experience with it so far. I also noticed the rears come with squealers so you know when your time is up with these pads.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
Hawk HPS Ferro-Carbon Brake Pads. OEM replacement upgrade.
My car had 75K mi. on it. I was replacing rear tires and noticed my rear pads had only a couple of mm of material left. Wouldn't be suprised if they were original, as the fronts were in much newer condition. Months earlier, I had purchased the Hawk HPS pads from Tire Rack for a pretty good price, and now it was time to put them on. Hawk claims a 20-40% improvement in braking, and I believe it! With just the REARS ONLY, I'd estimate a 20% imporvement, including much better, more confident pedal feel and responsiveness. My brake system is otherwise 100% stock and probably original. I expect even bettter gains when I do the fronts. I used the red anti-squeak compound on the back, which has been pretty effective. I haven't even seen any dust yet!
These are one of the best upgrades I've made to the Miata. If you need street pads, do these!
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
High performance brake pads for track use.
Hawk has 4 grades of performance pads from street to race use. These race pads are one step down from the heavy duty race pads (Blue). The Black pads were recommended by a Miata vendor because of the relative light weight of the Miata. See http//www.hawkbrake.com/material.htm.
My car is a '92 miata with the 1.8l brakes (although the calipers are still from the 1.6l)
I used these for about 450 miles (6 events) of track driving before the front pads gave out. Although these pads had enough material on them for another track day (50-100 miles) with a good margin of saftey, I had to throw them out because the brake material had come off of the backing plate. Fortunately the material was wedged into place and the backing plate did not destroy my rotors.
At this point, the rears have plenty of meat left on them. Possibly with my driving style, the "Blue" grade pads might work better for the front rotors, although I expect rotor wear would increase significantly.
I swap my OEM pads for these before each track day. It takes about an hour to do this (while changing to R rubber also).
The good I find it easy to overheat street brake pads on the track. Not these. These pads are just amazing! They never faded on me, and they stop magically. With R tires, you can brake amazingly late and hard, putting a serious strain on your seat belt. Add stainless steel lines and good brake fluid, and you have a formidable brake system.
The bad Well, I wasn't too thrilled about the material coming off of the backing plate. After 450 miles, there is a definate lip on the rotors where they have been worn down. These pads leave all kinds of dust and chuncks of debris on the wheels. When they are cold they make a distinctive grinding sound on the rotors. A panic stop on cold rotors would not be a pretty sight. I expect the car would stop, but you would gouge the rotors pretty bad in the process.
I gingerly drive to the track with these on, but I would not recommend these for nornal street use. However on the track, they work flawlessly.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 '99 +
Hawk Black racing compound brake pads.
I installed these pads for a lapping day at Sebring Raceway after having a bad experience with a different brand of pad. They performed very well, slowing the car from 100mph to ~40 mph or less several times per lap without any fade. Really good bite and modulation. You can tell they are doing their job because they are really noisy and dusty, and your eyeballs just about fly out of your head when you slam on the brakes.
These are NOT pads for use on the street. They will eat your rotors in just a couple track days or maybe a few weeks on the street. The dust they produce will turn your wheels black in about 2 hours of driving and it will eat the finish on your wheels. Use them on the track and then swap them out with something less extreme for the street.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Brake pads for track schools
Installed on '95 R
I am still pleased with the track performance of the Carbotech Panther pads, however I was not impressed with the construction. They insist on using glue and rivets to hold the material to the backing plate. The result is throwing high $$$ pads in the trash after they're only half worn. For me, this is not acceptable.
Hawk has recently developed a new compound called HT8. You can get this compound directly from Hawk, which means no glue or rivets. This is a good thing. They perform very similar to the Panther. They require heat to work well, stop hard and do not fade. I'd say they are a rotor-friendlier version of Hawk's Blue compound.
You can drive the HT8 to and from a track, but I wouldn't leave them on for unlimited street use. Cost was ~$105 from Stranos. Until Carbotech make pads without glue and rivets, I'm sticking with the HT8.
Not an installed item
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