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brake pads

Hawk Performance Brake Pads

Feb 22, 2023

In a world where cars are getting bigger and faster, Hawk Performance brake pads are specially engineered to improve upon your OE braking capabilities. Whether you’re looking for more safety, more stopping power, or want a cleaner, less noisy brake pad, Hawk Performance has your street needs covered. Hawk has brake pads for more than 30,000 vehicles.

HPS 5.0 [High Performance Street Brake Pads]

Hawk Performance Brake Pads HPS 5.0 | STILLEN

If you’re looking for the best street performance brake pads on the planet then Hawk Performance recommends the new HPS 5.0. What Hawk has done is taken the formulation of the original HPS brake pads and tweaked it to offer more stopping power, more brake torque, and higher temperatures. Our new HPS 5.0 emits low dust and is virtually noise free, but offers the best stopping power for a brake pad. HPS 5.0 is a Ferro-Carbon compound that provides advanced braking characteristics to enhance the driving experience. This compound combines the safety and quality of aerospace design with the braking technology of motorsports. The results are shorter stopping distances, improved performance under heavy braking conditions, and street car friendly characteristics.

PC [Performance Ceramic Brake Pads]

Hawk Performance Brake Pads Permanence Ceramic | STILLEN

If you want a break pad to increase stopping power on your car or to improve the longevity on your pads and rotors then Hawk Performance recommends their Performance Ceramics Pads. The Performance Ceramics Pads are a semi-met based pad, but the difference is we sprinkle anywhere from 1-10% of silicon content. That changes the color of the brake dust making it lighter or medium gray in color so that the brake dust will be less noticeable on your wheels. Like our HPS pads, our Performance Ceramic Pads are virtually noise free and low dust.

HP+ [High Performance Plus Brake Pads]

Hawk Performance Brake Pads HP Plus | STILLEN

If you drive a performance street car and you like carving the canyons, take spirited drives or participating in track day events on the weekend, then Hawk Performance recommends their HP Plus brake pads. It’s an entry level race pad, but it’s gentle enough to be used on the streets on a daily basis. The pad comes on strong when it’s stone cold, but offers very good temperatures on the high end for spirited driving or track day events.

HPS [High Performance Street Brake Pads]

Hawk Performance Brake Pads HPS | STILLEN

In 1993, Hawk Performance developed and produced the HPS brake pads. This is their first street performance braking compound. The HPS pads offers a higher coefficient of friction over stock brake pads. They can provide you 20-40% more stopping power and higher resistance to brake fade than most standard replacement pads.

LTS [Light Truck, SUV & 4×4 Brake Pads]

Hawk Performance Brake Pads LTS | STILLEN

After the HPS brake pads, Hawk Performance developed and produced the LTS brake pads. The LTS Pads are specifically for light trucks and SUV’s. They can handle the higher heat that the truck will produce. So even if you’re towing every weekend, Hawk Performance still recommends the LTS pad.

STILLEN Nissan 370Z Brake Cooling Duct Kit

STILLEN offers this brake cooling option for Z34 Nissan 370Z owners looking to improve track times and lower brake temperatures. The Nissan 370Z‘s nose is famously restrictive, which prevents the brakes from getting enough airflow to adequately cool themselves, resulting in infamous brake fade issues on the 370Z. The airflow problem on the 370Z is enough of an issue that even high performance brake rotors, pads and fluid don’t help that much, which is what led us to develop this MUCH NEEDED brake cooling kit.

Best Brake Systems 301: Torque Friction Surface Area

Mar 8, 2017

Best Brake Systems 301: Torque Friction Surface Area

By Richard Fong

Best Brake Systems 301: Torque Friction Surface Area Practice and experience lend to improving your driving skills. As you go faster and quicker, you will inevitably uncover more limitations of your vehicle’s hardware setup. In Brake Systems 101 and 201, we explored the basic bolt-on upgrades that help to improve initial bite, heat capacity and feel while retaining the stock calipers and rotor dimensions. However, even aftermarket upgrades have their limitations, especially when it comes to heat capacity, which leads to brake fade. This is where upgrading to a big brake kit could prove an effective solution.

Understanding Big Brake Kits

As had been mentioned before, the factory equipment on most vehicles are selected as a compromise of cost versus performance – meaning that the vehicle manufacturer will offer you a safely adequate braking system necessary for your vehicle within their targeted budget. This opens the door to aftermarket improvements, and a big brake kit usually rides high on the list of upgrades. However, contrary to popular belief, upgrading to a big brake kit is not for the sole purpose of shortening stopping distances. Its greater merit is increasing the heat capacity of the braking system. Best Brake Systems 301: Torque Friction Surface Area increases the heat capacity of a braking system by incorporating larger rotors, larger pads and larger calipers. The increased surface area lends to greater heat capacity and an increased friction surface. (NOTE: Before investing in a big brake kit, consider the wheel size you are running, as some kits might require specific wheel sizing and offset to clear the rotor diameter and the larger brake calipers. Contact STILLEN for more information.)

Physics of Braking

Braking is the conversion of kinetic energy (motion) into heat (and stopping power) by way of friction generated between the brake pads and the brake rotor surface. Put simply, the greater the friction produced, the greater the stopping power. However, with more friction comes more heat. While certain pad compounds thrive in specific operating temperature ranges, the collective brake system also has particular temperature requirements. Individual systems begin to fall short once their optimal temperature range has been exceeded. Increasing the temperature capacity by way of fluid upgrades and rotor cooling strategies are logical first steps. To take upgrades a step further, increasing the heat capacity by way of larger rotors and correspondingly larger calipers and pads add to the available rotor surface area and the size of the pads that can be used to generate friction.

Best Brake Systems 301: Torque Friction Surface Area art_shop_v2

A Big Brake Kit not only benefits from increased friction surface area and greater heat capacity, it also benefits from a greater moment of torque.

Get More Torque From Your Brake System

Increasing the heat capacity and applying more friction are just two of the benefits that a big brake kit offers. Another important benefit comes in the form of increased torque. The application of torque is a matter of leverage. In the same way that increasing the amount of leverage by way of a breaker bar (torque arm) helps to increase the torque applied (moment of torque) to a bolt or nut, the same principle applies when increasing the rotor diameter and caliper size. Increasing the diameter of the rotor increases the torque arm and subsequently increases the moment of torque for braking. This is one of the significant advantages that a big brake kit has over a factory brake system.

Rotor Designs

Most vehicles come equipped with vented rotors up front, which help to facilitate cooling of the rotors in order to mitigate the potential for brake fade. A variety of vent types (radial, pillar and directional) have been developed in the pursuit of efficient rotor cooling.

Best Brake Systems 301: Torque Friction Surface Area KP_STRAIGHT

The Disc Brakes Australia proprietary “Kangaroo Paw” pillar design (left) compared to a typical radial vent design (right).

As mentioned in Brake Systems 101, the various brake pad compounds deliver varying levels of endurance, initial bite and resistance to heat. Pads designed for the street require little warm up and offer great initial bite, but sacrifice braking performance (reduction in friction under conditions of excessive braking and heat build up) when subjected to an endurance or heavy use situation. By contrast, an endurance race pad can take a lot of heat while maintaining optimal friction, but they must be heated to racing temperatures before becoming effective, which is unlikely to be achieved during normal street driving. Somewhere in between, there are pads that offer a balance of performance and endurance that suit a wider variety of driving situations.

Exotic Materials – STILLEN CCM-X Brake Upgrade

Technology and space-age materials have enhanced our world in many ways. When it comes to stopping, STILLEN and AP Racing have worked together to improve on the heavy yet nimble, Nissan R35 GT-R. Their efforts led to the development of the high thermal capacity (HTC) Carbon Ceramic Matrix brake rotor (CCM-X) that offers superior heat capacity compared to its iron counterpart. Once found only in the world’s most exotic sportscars, this is the first CCM rotor offering for a production tuner vehicle. In addition, STILLEN worked with Pagid to formulate its RSX1 pad material to offer easy bedding and greater performance for both street and track applications. During extreme performance testing at Auto Club Speedway, the HTC CCM-X rotors and RSX1 pads proved to run 142F cooler than previous generations of CCM rotors (1,346F vs. 1,488F), which validated the test results recorded on the brake dyno at AP Racing’s facilities in Coventry, England.

At the Limit

At this point the question is, how do you know when you’ve reached your brake system’s heat capacity? Since the friction between the pads and the rotor generates heat, this heat transfers into the components of the brake system (rotors, pads, calipers and brake fluid.) If you’ve upgraded these basic brake system components with aftermarket components (as outlined in Brake Systems 101 and 201) and are still experiencing unresponsive braking and/or a spongy pedal feel after aggressive driving, you’ve likely reached the heat capacity of the brake system. This condition is referred to as brake fade.

Don’t Get Faded

Brake fade occurs because the heat generated by the friction between the pads and the rotor has built up to the point that the pads are no longer able to create friction with the rotors (unresponsive braking) or pockets of air have formed in the brake lines due to brake fluid boiling (spongy pedal feel.) In both situations, heat is the culprit, which drives home the value of cooling the brake system. While adding brake ducts that direct air to the calipers and rotors certainly helps to facilitate cooling, increasing the amount of surface area available offers greater heat capacity and an increased friction surface area for use with larger brake pads and calipers.

More Surface Area

Generally speaking, improving a brake system’s heat capacity typically requires more iron and thus, larger rotors. Larger rotors offer more material to absorb and dissipate heat, as well as a larger friction area for a larger brake pad to be employed. This is also why larger calipers are an integral part of the big brake kit (to be covered in Brake Systems 401). By increasing the amount of friction surface, more heat can be stored before reaching temperatures that cause fade. The increased heat capacity also increases the usable range brake pads have that would not have been practical on a lower heat capacity setup.

Mechanical Grip Improves Braking

While increasing the size of the brake calipers, pads and rotors inevitably improves the heat capacity and overall brake performance, a brake system is limited by another factor, mechanical grip. Mechanical grip refers to the tires, the only thing between your vehicle and the pavement, ground or terrain. In the case of road vehicles, the brake system’s ability to slow and stop a vehicle depends heavily on the tires. A vehicle with worn or inappropriate tires (i.e. endurance tires being used at a track day, rain tires when its dry, etc.) will not perform optimally compared to one fitted with tires suited to the purpose at hand.

Continuing on the subject of big brake kits, the next issue of STILLEN University, Brake Systems 401, will go into caliper sizing and selection along with the mechanics of how they work. Do you need a 4-piston or 6-piston caliper? Is bigger always better? Check back with us soon!

Check out some of the available Best Brake Systems 301: Torque Friction Surface Area brake rotor and pad upgrades available at www.stillen.com!

STILLEN Sport Brake Rotors

Disc Brakes Australia

AP Racing By STILLEN

STILLEN Brake Pads

Hawk Performance Brake Pads

Ferodo Brake Pads

Mintex Brake Pads

Pagid Brake Pads

Got questions or ready to upgrade your brake system? Reach out to STILLEN :
866-250-5542
sales@stillen.com
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Best Brake Upgrades 101: How Brake Pads & Rotors Affect Your Braking Performance

Feb 8, 2017

Best Brake Upgrades 101: Rotors & Pads

By Richard Fong

There’s no point in being able to go if you can’t stop. While an engine provides locomotion to a car, the braking system is what brings your vehicle to a stop. The average automotive brake system is hydraulic and typically consists of the pedal assembly, vacuum booster, master cylinder, hydraulic lines, calipers, rotors and pads – and of course, on nearly all modern vehicles, an Anti-Lock Brake System module and pressure tank.

The braking system is not only a CRITICAL performance element, it’s also imperative for safety and the safe operation of a vehicle. That’s why STILLEN offers Brake Upgrades for a variety of vehicles, from big brake kits to performance replacement parts.

As is often the case, many standard vehicle components are designed as a compromise – balancing quality versus price, versus Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH) concerns – the end result being a pad that isn’t well suited for trackday performance. This means that in all likelihood, your OEM brake pads probably don’t do very well in ‘high performance’ conditions.

Brake Pad Construction

Brake pads are composed of a backing plate and a friction compound that creates friction when placed in contact with the brake rotors, enabling a vehicle to stop. The way your brakes work is kind of like how the brakes of a bicycle work. Pushing the pedal causes the calipers to squeeze the pads against the spinning wheel hub/rotor, slowing its rotation, much like your bike’s rubber brake pads grab the edge of the wheel of your bicycle to bring you to a stop.

Before moving on, we need to remind you that a high performance pad is going to be noisier and dustier – those are the facts. If you’re wanting a pad that offers extreme performance without dust or noise, know that it just doesn’t exist, at any price. Sorry, but if you want performance from your brake system, you’re going to have to deal with brake dust.

Your Stock Brakes Probably Aren’t As Good As You Think

With the exception of premium performance-oriented vehicles that include performance brake components from the factory, most vehicles are equipped with braking systems that are best described as “Adequate”. If you take the average stock vehicle to the track or even on a spirited drive, and you’ll quickly learn its shortcomings. The sad thing is, many car’s brake systems can start to get overwhelmed after just a few aggressive corners.

What happens if my brakes can’t deal with the demands of performance driving?

To understand the importance of a good brake compound and just how big a role it plays, let’s do a quick thought exercise.

Imagine accelerating down a stretch of canyon road, you’re accelerating hard on the straights, and then braking just before engaging a turn, or series of switchback curves. The first time you hit the brake pedal, everything works as it should, shaving speed and allowing you to hit the apex of the turn with ease. However, a few corners (or hotlaps) later, suddenly, the pedal gets all mushy, and instead of slowing and allowing you to adjust your line, the car just plows ahead, because the brakes don’t have any bite. You desperately stomp on the brakes in hopes you can still adjust your speed, correct and make the turn– but your efforts are in vain. Before you realize it, you’re way past the apex and are either off line or off track, or even worse, into the guardrail or Armco barriers. This is the biggest problem of an insufficient brake system rearing its ugly head. This is the beast known as Brake Fade.

What is Brake Fade, exactly?

Brake fade is the enemy of safe and reliable braking and it’s not your friend. Brake fade occurs when the friction efficiency and/or heat capacity of the brake pads or rotors is exceeded, and as a result, the ability of the brake system to slow or stop the vehicle becomes compromised. Whether it’s on a twisty mountain pass or on a racetrack, when you discover the limits of your vehicle’s braking performance firsthand, it leaves much to be desired in terms of performance. Fortunately, the aftermarket could be the answer to your problems, because chances are, someone offers a solution for your application. There are a few ways to mitigate brake fade.

Bring Back the Friction

One of the best performance mods for your car and most straight-forward upgrades you can make is a set of Brake Pads. Brake pads, like rotors and fluid, are wear items that can be replaced with upgraded versions of replacement parts. Most factory brake pads are designed to be as quiet as possible with as little dust as possible. These characteristics require compromises that take away from the performance of your brake pads.

Can You Put Race Pads On And Drive On The Street?

The demands of racing versus stop and go traffic are very different, OEM street pads don’t perform their best under race conditions, and outright RACE brake pads won’t perform well if used for street driving conditions. Logically, one might think, pads designed for “RACE” performance must be overkill for the needs of street driving, right? Frankly, no.

Way back in the good ol’ days of 2002, Popular Mechanics compared Jeff Gordon’s #24 NASCAR Monte Carlo against a fresh-off-the-line FWD Monte Carlo SS to get an idea how the race car performed relative to its streetcar namesake. One would think that the race car’s massive brakes would make it the obvious winner, right? Both cars were tested as is standard practice for a head-to-head – cold, like your car is when you first start driving after being parked for a while. Can you guess what happened?
(ref: Popular Mechanics, November 2002, A Tale of Two Chevys)

Well, the street car Monte Carlo outperformed the #24 NASCAR racecar’s gargantuan race brakes and the street car stopped much shorter – the polar opposite of what ‘common sense’ would suggest. That generation of Monte Carlo wasn’t exactly a performer either, making its victory over the racecar that much more shocking.

Why? Because of the temperature the brakes were designed to work at. The NASCAR race car’s brakes are designed to be used HARD, over and over again when hot, braking from speeds well over 100… to get that kind of performance when the brakes are that hot, the engineers had to sacrifice performance when cold.

This chart from HAWK Performance offers a great visual for the temperature ranges that brake pads are designed to operate in. As you can see, pads that perform well cold do not perform well past 700*f or so, and conversely, pads that perform well when hot don’t start to grab until 200-300* f.

The Right Pad for the Right Purpose

Each pad type and compound is optimized depending on your vehicle’s intended purpose. There are a plethora of High Performance OE Replacement Brake pads available from STILLEN, DBA Brakes and Hawk Performance to name a few, and these pads are offered in a variety of friction compounds ranging from organic and ceramic to semi-metallic to suit a variety of different driving demands.

The other thing to note here is that sometimes, a car is factory-equipped with high performance brake pads, but the generic replacement available from the local auto parts store might perform terribly by contrast. So, despite every part of the system working properly, underperforming brake pads mean it suddenly takes much more distance to stop than it used to- and if you’re used to the car’s original stopping distance, this increased in stopping distance could cause an accident, so be sure that the replacement pads you’re installing are able to handle the way you plan to use them, before you buy.
Pro-Tip: If the brake pad has “Quiet” in the name, it’s a safe bet that pad won’t do well on a track.

Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of different brake pad compounds so you can better determine what might be best for your needs.

Picking The Right Brake Pad Compound for the Way YOU Drive

Organic (Common OEM Material)

Pros: Less aggressive rotor wear, decent initial bite, manageable brake dust generation

Cons: Mediocre braking performance, tends to wear quickly, prone to brake fade

Organic pads offer good initial bite (initiation of friction and slowing of the vehicle) and modulation for daily driven vehicles, but generally suffer rapid wear and fade when subjected to aggressive driving.

Ceramic (Common OEM Material, Aftermarket Upgrade)

Pros: Moderate rotor wear, good wear characteristics, less prone to brake fade, moderate dust production, ideal for rotors lacking slots or cross drilling, the middle ground between organic and semi-metallic pads

Cons: Higher cost, limited compound options, less aggressive friction traits, not ideal for the track

Ceramic pads cost more but take the best traits of organic pads and can add longevity as well as reduced brake dust production. However, these pads suffer accelerated wear under heavy loads and are not ideal for track or heavy-duty braking situations.

Semi-metallic (Common Aftermarket Material, Aftermarket Upgrade)

Pros: Broad selection of available compounds, improved resistance to fade, improved heat rejection when used on slotted or cross-drilled rotors, permits tailoring of braking performance traits depending on driving conditions by changing compounds

Cons: Potentially aggressive rotor wear, excessive dust, noise (brake squeal)

Semi-metallic pads tend to resist fade better and offer superior heat capacity and dissipation compared to organic or ceramic pads. They are offered in a variety of compositions enabling the end user to choose the braking characteristics desired of their vehicle. When choosing a semi-metallic pad, aggressive initial bite could be desirable in the case of a vehicle driven hard for short intervals.

The counterpoint is that this pad could eventually suffer from fade with prolonged aggressive driving. By comparison, a semi-metallic pad formulated for endurance offers increased heat capacity for longer driving intervals, but will likely lack initial bite when cold and suffer reduced braking performance until brought up to optimal operating temperatures. This is not ideal for short driving intervals or street driving since the ideal temperatures are much higher and might not be reached under these conditions.

In other words, semi metallic endurance RACING brake pads will be unable to perform for “street use” because they will not be at their intended operating temperature a vast majority of the time – meaning it’s not smart to drive from your house to the race track on your ‘trackday’ brake pads. It won’t be fun when you roll right past that first stop sign or can’t slow down as you get off the freeway because the RACE COMPOUND brake pads are too cold.

As the only USA Distributor of AP Racing products, we’ve got a huge selection of replacement and performance replacement brake pads for a variety of applications here at STILLEN in stock and or readily available to suit your needs from the most trusted manufacturers in performance brakes. Whether it’s a daily driver or a track rat, we likely have a solution available – talk to our team today to see what we have for your application.

Release the Heat

Another common brake system improvement involves upgrading the surface that the brake pads apply friction to, the Brake Rotors. Brake rotors are not only a friction surface, they also serve another important function – they are also heat sinks. This means that they must draw away and dissipate the heat produced by the friction of the pads efficiently to stave off brake fade and ensure consistent braking performance. Factory brake rotors are typically made of iron, because it’s inexpensive and offers longevity and enough heat capacity for the average everyday driver. Trick is, the way the “average driver” drives a car is nothing like the ‘Spirited Drives’ you and I enjoy.

Not all iron is created equal, and STILLEN rotors are produced using an alloy that offers more efficient thermal transfer characteristics and features bigger, better flowing cooling vanes to create a rotor with superior cooling characteristics, but these added features and the use of more expensive materials does increase cost. As a result of cost-saving concerns, typical factory rotors do not benefit from the design elements and use less expensive alloys that lack the heat dissipation characteristics found in STILLEN brake rotors, making a set of Performance Replacement Brake Rotors an especially effective upgrade.

Fighting Fade With Improved Brake Rotors

Aftermarket brake rotors, like those offered by STILLEN, AP Racing and DBA (for example) feature a variety of benefits, thanks to engineering innovations like improved vane design (in the case of vented rotors) as well as cross drilling, slotting and other surface treatments. Many people mistakenly believe that rotors suck air in through the vanes, but it’s actually the opposite. Think about what happens when you have a dirt bike’s rear tire caked in mud, and then blip the throttle. The wheel spins, flinging mud OUTWARDS off the wheel and away. Same idea applies to how air flows through your rotor. Brake rotors draw in air from the center of the hub and the spinning of the rotor flings the hot brake gases outwards through the vanes, cooling the rotor.

It works like this, when your brake rotor turns, it acts as an air pump, drawing in cooler air at the hub and forces that air out, carrying away hot brake gases out through the vents, so it’s worth saying that a rotor’s internal design can play a huge role in its effectiveness.

In the search for improved methods of heat dissipation, some manufacturers of vented rotors have implemented proprietary vane designs to facilitate improved airflow for better cooling of the rotors.

As an added measure of cooling, some have turned to cross-drilling the rotor surface, which provides additional pathways for hot brake gases to escape, thereby enhancing cooling.

Another brake rotor type is the slotted rotor. Most commonly, simple slots are cut into the rotor surface help to optimize the friction surface area while helping to release the gasses that build up between the friction material of the pad and the rotor surface. However, the downside of this rotor type is accelerated wear on the pads, meaning slotted rotors shorten the typical service life of the pads used with them.

Some enthusiasts choose to go with both of these features and opt for Drilled & Slotted rotors, and still others go for the polar opposite and get “blank” rotors for an OEM appearance.

Step Up and Stop Better

With a better grasp of the basics of brake upgrades and the first steps toward better braking for both performance and safety, contact us to order your upgrade today! Do you have more questions about what would be right for your application? Reach out to us at 866-250-5542, at sales@stillen.com or by live chat on our website stillen.com to help you select the product that best suits your needs.

In our next installment of STILLEN University, we’re going to explore brake system upgrades in greater detail and dig into Torque Friction Surface Area in Stillen U, Brakes 301! Check back with us soon!

866-250-5542
sales@stillen.com
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How To Upgrade Your Brake Rotors, Brake Pads & Brake Fluid

Installation & DIY Articles

Jun 9, 2016

You might be wondering… When it’s time to replace your brake rotors, should you upgrade your brake rotors or just replace them with identical OEM rotors? One tip the STILLEN brake experts offer: consider how you use your car.

Is it a daily driver used for commuting and errands? Are you an enthusiast who lives for the open road and canyon carving? Or maybe you participate in autocross or track days.

Regardless, there are many choices in rotors, and one way to shop for replacement brake rotors, as well as brake pads and brake fluid is with a Good- Better – Best approach.

For more info about this approach, check out this how-to video from STILLEN expert Mark.

Brake Rotor Upgrade Level: GOOD

Drivers seeking a good rotor that offers a performance and durability upgrade from OEM rotors should consider upgrading to STILLEN OEM replacement brake rotors. They are well suited for aggressive driving and the occasional track day.

Features include straight cut vanes, zinc coating, chamfered slots and precision ground friction surfaces. Multiple machining options are available, from slotted to cross drilled to the popular hook slot hybrid finish.

Available for virtually any passenger vehicle on the road today, STILLEN sport rotors are proudly Made in USA.

Brake Rotor Upgrade Level: BETTER

For hard core enthusiasts and track day fans concerned with high temperature heat management, a better option might be the DBA 4000 series brake rotors. These discs offer more sophisticated metallurgy for longer life.

They also feature DBA Kangaroo Paw vane technology. These vanes are multi-directional, meaning they draw cooling air in from any direction.

This improves heat dissipation and also permits the rotors to be mounted on both driver and passenger side hubs. Another stylish touch is the available gold rotor vanes and hats.

Brake Rotor Upgrade Level: BEST

The ultimate brake rotor upgrade could be the DBA 5000 series. Suitable for frequent track use, these rotors offer the Kangaroo paw vane technology and improved metallurgy of the 4000 series, but add a two piece design.

The rotor hat is a separate assembly that is bolted to the brake rotor. This helps isolate the wheel hub bearings from excess heat, reduces brake vibration caused by rotor warping under heavy use, and offers weight savings as well.

One indicator the DBA 5000 series are meant for serious drivers is the brake temperature paint applied to the rotor edges. These indicators help drivers ascertain the temperature range their brake system is operating in.

This in turn helps determine proper brake pad and brake fluid selection for track use.

Brake Pad Replacement and Upgrades

It’s always advisable to replace brake pads when mounting new rotors. STILLEN Metal Matrix brake pads offer a nice blend of bite and power along with reduced dust and noise. This makes them ideal for street and occasional track use.

Other brake pads might be better suited for full-on track use, such as the Hawk HPS 5.0s or Ferodo DS2500 HP.

Brake Fluid Replacement

When you’re considering brake system upgrades, it’s essential to include brake fluid replacement in the thought process.

One popular opinion is that it’s best to upgrade to racing brake fluid.

As STILLEN brake expert and all-around good guy Mark explains, this is a common misconception.

While your OEM brake fluid does have a limited heat capacity, so does your OEM brake system. Upgrading your rotors and pads does give you a higher threshold, but your calipers still have a limit.

If you upgrade your brake fluid past what the calipers can handle, you could exceed your brake systems operating envelope without knowing it. Should it occur, brake fluid boiling is an indicator that your brake system is overheating.

Going with a little bit of an upgrade is fine, but you don’t need to go with a full-on race brake fluid.

While shooting the how to video for brake upgrades, Mark installed the DBA 4000 series rotors and STILLEN Metal Matrix brake pads on his Subaru BRZ and had the following to report:

“After we finished the install on the brakes, we moved onto the bed-in procedure then onto our test drive and you could really feel the difference. Our stopping distances were much shorter, our initial bite was much better and brake fade was much less apparent as the brakes heated up so this is an awesome upgrade for the BRZ or for any vehicle. You can really improve your driving experience.”

Questions About Brake Rotors?

Our brake experts are standing by and will stop at nothing to help you in quest for better braking. Take a brake from whatever you’re doing and call them at 866-250-5542!

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