Grassroots Motorsports Racing Brake Test

All tests were done by James Clay in his track E46 M3, he is one of the Bimmerworld Grand-Am drivers. Each pad got fresh heat cycled R6's before he would start an 11 lap session on each pad. Testing was blind, James did not know which pads were on the car at what time, and done at VIR North Course all on the same day in back to back sessions. About as close as you can get to perfect test environment at the racetrack.

EBC BlueStuff AF66
fastest lap: 1:39.78
lap average: 1:40.20
total: 18:22.20
Race position: 6th

Porterfield R4
fastest lap: 1:38.98
lap average: 1:39.44
total: 18:13.83
Race position: 5th

Essex CL (Carbone Lorraine RC6)
fastest lap: 1:38.91
lap average: 1:39.41
total: 18:13.50
Race position: 4th

Performance Friction 01
fastest lap: 1:37.90
lap average: 1:38.81
total: 18:06.89
Race position: 2nd Tie

Hawk DTC70 Front and HT10 Rear
fastest lap: 1:38.32
lap average: 1:38.86
total: 18:06.89
Race position: 2nd Tie

Cobalt CRB XR1
fastest lap: 1:38.22
lap average: 1:38.56
total: 18:04.13
Race position: 1st

Pretty astonished to see some of the differences in lap times and especially how terrible the EBC BlueStuff did! I'd hate to see how much slower my Yellowstuff is! These are all true race brake pads though and were seriously only recommended for track use and aren't cheap! Cost ranged from $300-$475 and I'm not sure if anything other than the Hawks and Bluestuff are available for our car. There were some more details about how the pads felt from James' post session notes. Dude is sick, he could actually pick out which pads were the Performance Friction pads because they are the same as whats on his Bimmerworld racecar haha. GRM is a such a sick magazine. :thumbsup:

I'm not convinced those differences are statistically significant. The measurements were done in a race so the traffic on the track must have a big impact on lap times.

Sorry if the stats were a little confusing. The car was indeed on the track by itself. The race position means where each pad finished in the test in comparison to each other. This was not an actual race.

Thanks for the data, man. Unfortunately, Bluestuff is also unavailable for our cars! I was looking into getting them over the Yellowstuff but was told by the PerfectBrakes.com rep that they won't begin making them until enough of a demand is present. They can be made, however, as a one-off set, bringing the potential price up to the expensive range you posted. If the Cobalts, PFs, Porterfields, and Essex's also aren't available, then I guess we at least have some data that supports our confidence in the Hawk pads!

And as far as race position is concerned . . . personally, I pictured him out there racing with six other versions of himself.

Keep in mind the RC6 are noisy like a train.
Track only . . .

Wish they had some Carbotechs on there too. Had CL RC6 and kept them for 1day only. They were squealing as hell and one night, during a hard brake, someone started running after my car to tell me my wheels are on fire !