Hawk or Performance Friction?

[dailydriver]

I have the HPSes on now (front and rear).
Probably the BEST pad I've ever used!

I don't care about dust (but they are not bad), but they ARE DEAD SILENT (NO; squeak, squeal, or grinding under ANY circumstnaces), and grab well with very good modulation, even when stone cold in the winter.

I was impressed with the braking performance of the Performance Friction Z Rated pads I had on an earlier car, at least until the friction material popped loose from the backing plate on the front passenger side pad while braking from 75 mph+!!! :crazy:

This was due to a faulty adhesive/bonding material on the VERY early (I had one of the first sets) Z-Rated pads, which I am SURE they have more than corrected by now.
But that fear stuck with me.
If they came out with something the equal of an HPS, or Carbotech AX6, I would be willing to give them another chance.

 

[mcrn]

What about them made them the best in your opinion Dailydriver? The bite? Durability? Feel? Did you notice a big difference in rotor wear? Thanks.

 

[mcrn]

Originally Posted By: bigmike
Originally Posted By: mcrn
Which pad would you recommend? I am look at the Heavy duty or LTS Pad from Hawk or the Performance Friction. I have read a lot about both and the Hawks get good reviews but the PF sounds good due to it having no fillers. This is going on a 03 Yukon that does no towing. I live in Florida but could be moving to the mountains within the next year. Any comments are welcome. Factory brakes do last a long time but the performance is not good at all. And they are starting to pulsate so I figured with taxes coming I would just replace everything to pick up some safety and get this done while I can. Vehicle has 73K on factory brakes. I know they can last longer but I want more performance. I let my parents drive this on a trip to Nebraska and my dad said the brakes were terrible coming down mountains, and yes he does know how to drive through mountains.

Stick to new factory pads and replace the front rotors with powerslots. It made a world of difference on my Silverado.


What kind of differences did you notice? Thank you!

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: mcrn
What about them made them the best in your opinion Dailydriver? The bite? Durability? Feel? Did you notice a big difference in rotor wear? Thanks.


They're only on the car since last June, so I cannot comment on their durability, nor rotor wear.
But yes, the fact that they have a good initial/cold bite, which is easy to modulate with pedal pressure, combined with their total silence, is what makes them the best so far out of what I've experienced.

The HP Plusses on the other hand were NOT so impressive. MUCH horrific noise, NO bite when cold, uneven feel, killed rotors, etc.
But then again they err on the side of a dedicated road course race pad vs. a street/streetable pad.

 

[PandaBear]

The reading on my Hawk HPS is EF FYI.

 

[charbaby]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
HAWK's are a high performance brake pad(this is what they do!)...an upgrade if you will!
If HAWK mentions ceramic in their formulation, IMHO, it's only a small amount of ceramic friction material mixed in with other friction materials. So, when HAWK mentions less dusting with their ceramics, this doesn't mean that their as "LOW" dusting as a regular replacement ceramic pad, just less dusting than their other "performance" pads(without ceramic material) as well as the competitions performance pads. And YES! They will bite into rotors sililarly to their other performance pad because this is what performance pads do! This is how to STOP! You need BITE!


I don't know why you're defending Hawk so much, especially since it sounds like you've never used their ceramic pads. Maybe it'd help if you looked over their web site and read some of the claims they make for their ceramic pads, then compare it to the multitude of complaints seen here on BITOG.

Some highlights from the site:

Quote:
Increased stopping power
Increased rotor life
Extended pad life
Ultra-low dust
Extremely quiet
Stable friction output


There's also no note that this performance is in comparison to their "other" pads. That train of thought is a bit presumptuous, don't you think?


Sorry if it sounds like I'm defending them but in reality Im not. I have read their web site and it sound like may others(all of the info you listed). My comment was/is, that you never know what your getting until you install them, only to find out that you don't like them because they(the pads) aren't doing what is claimed according to ones driving style. And there is much more to it IMHO!

 

[RH+G]

I used the Hawk Heavy Duty Pad on a van and they have excellent stopping power. They are hard on the rotors thou and not super quiet when cold. If u feel like u need that extra grip i say they are worth it.
I have used other hawk pads but on cars
I have heard good and bad about performance friction. Some people say they are great and others say Never wasting $$ on them again

 

[charbaby]

I've used PF on an Accord and hated them and I've used BRUTE FORCE on a Dodge Ram and love em'. But, you never know! Both are or claim some type of performance capabilities.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: mcrn
Originally Posted By: bigmike
Originally Posted By: mcrn
Which pad would you recommend? I am look at the Heavy duty or LTS Pad from Hawk or the Performance Friction. I have read a lot about both and the Hawks get good reviews but the PF sounds good due to it having no fillers. This is going on a 03 Yukon that does no towing. I live in Florida but could be moving to the mountains within the next year. Any comments are welcome. Factory brakes do last a long time but the performance is not good at all. And they are starting to pulsate so I figured with taxes coming I would just replace everything to pick up some safety and get this done while I can. Vehicle has 73K on factory brakes. I know they can last longer but I want more performance. I let my parents drive this on a trip to Nebraska and my dad said the brakes were terrible coming down mountains, and yes he does know how to drive through mountains.

Stick to new factory pads and replace the front rotors with powerslots. It made a world of difference on my Silverado.


What kind of differences did you notice? Thank you!


The stock rotors are aweful and were warped within 13k miles. I had them turned and they warped again at 21k miles. I'm one of the easiest brakers there is and my driving style is somewhat like my grandfather's style, so I knew I was dealing with inferior parts. I bought Powerslot rotors and installed them at 21k with the stock pads. At 48k miles, my truck's brakes are still like new. Hardly any pad loss as you already know that the stock pads last a long time. The rotors never have any pulsation and the stopping process improved. They are smoother, no squeals or noise, and braking is easier.

If you want a performance pad, you'll need to consider if you want to take the risk of something different which could yield good or bad results. Obviously, you already know what the stock pads are like.

Let me be clear that I do like Hawk brakes and have used them on multiple applications without any problems, but I've always used them with new Powerslot rotors. I can't attest to them on stock or standard rotors, unfortunately.

 

[mcrn]

Thanks Mike! Good review.

 

[mechtech2]

My recommendation is cheap rotors, and the best pads.
Expensive name brand rotors are not a guaranty of quality.
Most can be traced back to China.
My cheapest I could find rotors were a full pound heavier than the best ones available. I like this in a brake rotor.

Be wary of drilled, slotted, etc. rotors.
Some disadvantages are more noise, brake wear and dust, cracking, warping, cost, water/dirt retention, and very tough to remachine.

 

[mcrn]

SP rotors are made in the US. Which was one reason I was leaning towards them!

 

[Rob_Roy]

Originally Posted By: mcrn
Which pad would you recommend? I am look at the Heavy duty or LTS Pad from Hawk or the Performance Friction. I have read a lot about both and the Hawks get good reviews but the PF sounds good due to it having no fillers. This is going on a 03 Yukon that does no towing. I live in Florida but could be moving to the mountains within the next year. Any comments are welcome. Factory brakes do last a long time but the performance is not good at all. And they are starting to pulsate so I figured with taxes coming I would just replace everything to pick up some safety and get this done while I can. Vehicle has 73K on factory brakes. I know they can last longer but I want more performance. I let my parents drive this on a trip to Nebraska and my dad said the brakes were terrible coming down mountains, and yes he does know how to drive through mountains.


I have no experience with the Hawk pads, but I have PF Carbon Metallic pads on the front of my Grand Marquis. I have about 40k on the pads and they still have about 50% left. Be prepared for less than snappy stops when the pads are cold, but once they are warm the bite is impressive.

 

[Loogie]

I can only comment on Performance Friction pads which I used about 6 years ago, I think.

1. Absolutely no bite when cold.
2. Very linear feel. No sponginess at all.
3. Even when hot, they seemed to have marginal "bite," which translated to high pedal effort.
4. No fade--ever.
5. Last forever.

Unless PF has changed their pads, I will never again use them.

The lack of bite caused me to go with Axxis Ultimates.
They dust like crazy, but stop my car on a freakin' dime. They have excellent bite hot or cold, great stopping power, minimal fade and low pedal effort.

If the Hawk HPS are similar to the Axxis, I would go with them.

 

[charbaby]

Originally Posted By: Loogie
I can only comment on Performance Friction pads which I used about 6 years ago, I think.

1. Absolutely no bite when cold.
2. Very linear feel. No sponginess at all.
3. Even when hot, they seemed to have marginal "bite," which translated to high pedal effort.
4. No fade--ever.
5. Last forever.



Unless PF has changed their pads, I will never again use them.

The lack of bite caused me to go with Axxis Ultimates.
They dust like crazy, but stop my car on a freakin' dime. They have excellent bite hot or cold, great stopping power, minimal fade and low pedal effort.

If the Hawk HPS are similar to the Axxis, I would go with them.


My experience as well with PF! I just had to get rid of them. AutoZone gladly returned them for some standard pads. I had the PF pads for about 6-7 months. AZ didn't even argue, they ask me what other pad I wanted and even reimbursed me the money difference.

 

[UNC038]

The only thing I disagree with is #3, to me the hotter they got the better the bite.

They're also much cheaper that Hawk pads, you have to take that into consideration.