I have read all of the postings regarding brake pads and was wondering if anyone has had any experinece with Carbotech pads? Carbotech has two versions called the "Panther" and "Bobcat", two different grade pads. The comany also offers the Porterfield RS4. They seem to look more favorably on the Carbotech pads. They also claim theat the Ferodo DS2400 are harder on the calipers and dust more then the Carbotech and Porterfields. Anyone know who sells the Ferodo? This dealer in Sherborn, MA does not seem to have Ferodo and I wonder if that is why he is not too supportive of them? What do you guys do when switching from OEM pads to aftermarket pads? Are the OEM sensors built into thew stock pads or is it a small pad insert that fits within the OEM pad? Are you reusing the OEM sensors with aftermarket pads or just removing them? Thanks
I went with the Porterfield brake pads for my 456GT and I can say without hesitation, significantly superior to the Padgid (yellow) pads which came with the car. Very little dust, no squealing and no fade. As for the sensors, I just pulled (carefully) them out of the old pads and re-inserted them into the new pads which were pre-drilled...no issues. One interesting fact is when I bought the first set of Porterfields RS4s thinking they were for my 456GT, I found out Ferrari fitted my car with a different brake system. It turns out I have a 512M caliper set-up on the car. If this is the case, then I wonder if somehow when the car was being built, Ferrari put them on cause they were left overs or meant to be on the car..OR Porterfield just had their info wrong....go figure, MB
Gary, Ping Maranelloman. Dave has had more track time in a Maranello than anybody else I know. Probably the weakest point on a Shark is the brakes. A Shark ain't no 90-pound weakling. BTW, keep the pressure up on the CEL. I'm convinced that Ferrari thinks that these damn sensors are a bunch of US bs, and they're right. But when you pay this kinda money for a car, you have the right to expect that these damn idiot lights will not keep going off. Somehow, the Japanese have figured this stuff out. Dale
Gary, I have never used Carbotech--sorry. Do NOT buy RS4's if you EVER intend to track the car. Period. DS2500 Ferodos are 100% suitable for tracking. I use then street & track. They do dust more than the RS4's, but ARE track-suitable...so it depends what your intended use is. As for caliper stress? Nevewr heard of that...but the Ferodos are VERY rotor-friendly, as are the RS4's. I buy my Ferodo's from Cobalt Friction www.cobaltfriction.com. I have no personal connection ot them,, other than being a customer. Hint: the 550 front brake pad is the same as the Nissan 350Z Track Model (the one with the orange Brembos), so it is much less expensive to buy them based on this. Do NOT buy from the dealer, as you will pay approx. 800% too much. Cobalt will sell you the front & back Ferodo DS2500 pads for less than $400 total, IIRC. The OEM sensor will fit right in to the new pads...but I never rely on them anyway. Nothing beats a regular visual inspection of the pads! Dale is right about fluid: if you have ANY intention to track the car, you MUST replace the fluid when you do the pads. Do NOT use factory fluid. Use ONLY Motul 600 or Castrol SRF for this heavy car (I have not used the Girodisk fluid, so no experience there). This is very important, as the OEM pads & fluid will crap out after 4 hard laps if you are an advanced-level driver. Any other questions? Please PM me. Best, Dave
Hello We have Brembo Sport rotors and brake pads for your 550 in stock, 575/550 High performance Brake pads front $549 set 575/550 High performance Brake pads rear $306 set 575/550 Brembo Cross drilled Front rotors $411 each 575/550 Brembo Cross drilled rear rotors $411 each We offer free shipping thank you
Hello all, I've replied to Gary's e-mail regarding what Girodisc has for the 550, but I'll let you all know here as well. We have both Ferodo 2500's and Porterfield R4-S pads available. We agree that the Ferodo's will hold up better for track day events and that the Portfields will have less dust issues. Both are great choices but we give the nod to Ferodo if you plan on running track events. Our price on the 550/575 Ferodo DS2500 pads are: Front: $140 Rear: $140 Our price on the Portfield R4-Spads are: Front: $165 Rear: $85 We have three fluids depending on what you want to do. Let me first explain the way fluids are rated. There is a dry boiling point and a wet boiling point. Dry means fresh from the can. Wet means there is some moisture(water, hence "wet") in the system. If you have a race car and change the fluid after every race, you only have to worry about the dry boiling point number. If this is the case, Brembo LCF600 is the best. It has the highest boiling point at 601F. It's wet boiling point is 399F. If you seriously beat the car on the track(or street for that matter) but never change the fluid(most club racers), Castrol SRF is the best option. Any system will absorb water from the atmosphere. It seems amazing that moisture can be absorbed from the air into a "sealed" system but it does. Castrol SRF has a dry temp of 590F and an unbelievable wet boiling point of 518F. The drawback? It's really expensive. The Motul 600 is a great all around choice for the vast majority. Dry temp is 594F, wet is 421F, and price is excellent. Brembo LCF600 is $17 for 1/2 liter Castrol SRF is $65 for 1 liter Motul RBF600 is $14 for 1/2 liter We are a site sponsor, as you're surely aware, and sell two-piece replacement discs for these cars as well. We also do custom big brake kits, custom racing systems, consulting etc. Check our news page this week to see the custom systems we've been working on lately!! We are in the process of updating our web site to show all our pad choices, fluids, lines, tools etc. We have all Ferrari brake pads available. Check www.************ in the coming days for the new items as we get them listed. We will be offering all our products at the best prices, with the best service as well. Feel free to ask me or my partner Eric (velocityengineer) any questions you may have. Thank you. Hope this helps, Martin
Martin, that is a GREAT price for the Ferodos! WOW! Gary...but these...you will not do better on price, period, IMO. Welcome, Martin!!!
Martin: Checked out your web site regarding the floating disks. They look good and I may be interested, but I can not help but notice all Ferrari applications are substantially more expensive than other cars (ie. $1,100 or $1,000 versus $750 or $600). I am puzzled by this price discrepancy since they all appear to have similar specs. Can you tell me why? Thanks. Regards, cwwhk
