What are people using for 88 brake pads? (Page 2/3)
mcguiver3 SEP 11, 09:08 PM
The Hawk HB100 plus pads work great with a bit of modification.
The pin holes need to be enlarged a bit and the metal backing plate ground down on each side a bit as well.
But they do fit and work great.
Raydar SEP 12, 03:13 PM

quote
Originally posted by mcguiver3:

The Hawk HB100 plus pads work great with a bit of modification.
The pin holes need to be enlarged a bit and the metal backing plate ground down on each side a bit as well.
But they do fit and work great.



I'll hang on to this for future reference. I just went to their page and couldn't find a "plus" version. Found a whole lot of other HB100 part numbers, though.
They listed a .480 and a .625. I'm guessing those are pad thicknesses?
Where does the backing plate need to be ground? On the edges? Not a show stopper. Just curious.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 09-12-2023).]

mcguiver3 SEP 12, 09:17 PM
.480 thickness
They need to be ground at each short edge to fit between the bridge.
When you try to fit the pads into the brake frame you will see what I mean.
Its not much maybe 1/32" each side? I forgot how much. I eventually milled the bridge to make things easier going forward.
fierosound SEP 12, 09:51 PM

quote
Originally posted by Larryinkc:

I have Porterfield R4S street compound ceramic pads on my 88, stop good and no dust. I have about 12,000 miles with them and am very happy with them.

https://porterfield-brakes....=1816&manufacturer=0

R4-S – The performance street pad, this pad offers the least dust and squeal of any of the street pads we carry. It is very rotor friendly and will last as long as your stock pad but typically they last a little bit longer. **NOT FOR TRACK USE** **NOT FOR USE WITH CCM DISCS**



I also installed Porterfield R4-S pads on my Indy. They work fantastic.
I have never had that “running out of brake” feeling with them - cold or hot.




------------------
My World of Wheels Winners (Click on links below)

3.4L Supercharged 87 GT and Super Duty 4 Indy #163

[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 09-12-2023).]

Vintage-Nut SEP 12, 11:16 PM

quote
Originally posted by Larryinkc:
I have Porterfield R4S street compound ceramic pads on my 88, stop good and no dust. I have about 12,000 miles with them and am very happy with them.



Does everyone know the 'lifespan' on Porterfield R4-S pads?

I looked at the pads; they have the 'pins' in the back of the pad to engage the rear piston holes however they aren't cheap!

Two Set (Front and Rear) Delivered
Wagner ThermoQuiet MX378: $68
Raybestos R-Line MGD378M: $68
Raybestos Element3 PGD378M: $76
Porterfield AP378 R4-S: $194

Edit: A full Porterfield set are more expensive than a full set of plain/stock rotors.

[This message has been edited by Vintage-Nut (edited 09-14-2023).]

fierosound SEP 13, 08:48 PM

quote
Originally posted by Vintage-Nut:

Does everyone know the 'lifespan' on Porterfield R4-S pads?

I looked at the pads; they have the 'pins' in the back of the pad to engage the rear piston holes however they aren't cheap!

Two Set (Front and Rear) Delivered
Wagner ThermoQuiet MX378: $68
Raybestos R-Line MGD378M: $68
Raybestos Element3 PGD378M: $76
Porterfield AP378 R4-S: $194




True - not cheap...
I have the LeBaron rotors upgrade on my GT.
That's not cheap either for "better brakes".

But what I wanted was INCREASED braking capability with all stock components on my Indy.
I didn't want to change the booster, master cylinder, install Grans AM rotors/calipers etc.

BETTER PADS was the only way to do this.
I have never had that “running out of brake” feeling with Porterfields - cold or hot. So it is worth it.

[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 09-13-2023).]

Vintage-Nut SEP 13, 09:35 PM

quote
Originally posted by fierosound
I wanted was INCREASED braking capability with all stock components on my Indy.



I'm thinking that we're talking about apples and oranges......warmed up vs. cold bite

In my experience, semi-metallic brake pads have the best stopping power when cold.......


quote
My main concern on brakes is stopping FAST on COLD pads and rotors for 'OMG' moments like a child leap into the street!



Edit

Same Discussion / Different Time (2012)

Best Brake Pads for an 88? by Rare87GT
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/089821.html

[This message has been edited by Vintage-Nut (edited 09-14-2023).]

Raydar SEP 17, 09:33 PM
Update...
I installed my cheapo eBay ceramics. Finished this evening. (They do have the pins to fit into the rear piston, BTW.)
The part # is PCD378. They were right at $60 for front and rear.
Price was really not a consideration. I just needed ceramics and needed them quickly. RFTH is this weekend, and I still need to break them in, before I go.
A quick test drive with a couple of hard stops to warm them up was promising. Modulation seemed to be quite good, as far as it goes.
FWIW, I'm running Guru's 13" brake package. Would recommend it highly.
Raydar SEP 26, 01:43 PM
Update on my new "no-name-brand" ceramics.

With really not enough time for a proper break-in, I drove the car to RFTH, this past weekend.
They did well. I experienced no detectable fade, although I tried to not heat things up too much. Most of my brake applications were "firm-to-hard, and then release".
Good modulation, even to the point of impending lockup. (The old front pads were NOS OEM - came with the NOS calipers from Calipers Online. Those things seemed to lock up quickly, and dusted badly.) The new ones also didn't seem to dust at all.

So... 200 miles of probably as hard as it will ever get driven unless it's stolen, and I have to give them a thumbs up.
Vintage-Nut DEC 13, 03:21 PM

quote
Vintage-Nut on 09-11-2023:
I ordered the "unobtainium" Raybestos Element3 PGD378M Brake Pads back in March which Summit's expected date to ship is still 9/29/2023. I checked the order last week and Summit said "YES", the date is still September. Either they'll cancel the order OR I'll have them!



I Quit!

Summit are the middlemen and Raybestos will NOT commit a ship date which makes these brake pads.

Order Date: Mar 27, 2023 / Estimated Ship Date: Jun 30, 2023
But on May 18th, Summit sent me an e-mail that Raybestos changed the ship date to Sept 30th
Summit didn't update me again, so I checked on Oct 2nd....the ship date was changed again and “the vendor expects to ship mid-November”
I checked on Dec 1st and with no surprise - the newest ship date from Raybestos now is Feb. 24th, 2024

Summit phoned me today (Dec. 12th) and asked if I really wanted to wait for the next Raybestos ship update?

Obviously, I canceled the order........

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BTW - If you look-up Summit's Estimated Ship Date for PGD378M pads on-line today, the ad says Jan 29, 2024
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/agb-pg-d378m