just got my order for front Hawk HPS pads from TopBrakes.com
they only let you select your car when you order (no part number is displayed at any point in the ordering process)
they sent me the wrong part - HB543F.760, which look to be for VW/Audi
this is after already getting regular MZ3 pads from my local NAPA and autozone. this is really annoying, although I suppose I am pretty lucky to only be dealing with this for the first time on my car at 3yrs./45k miles. (Just my DD, and I usually drive like a grandma)
I sent them a message, now I get to deal with mail-order exchange. yay. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
I have a 2007 Speed 3. I ran two track days with the stock pads. They faded pretty bad after some long runs. Boiled my fluid as well. I decided to put on some Hawk HP+ pads for future track days (as well as Ford 500 degree fluid). With only 14K miles on the car and two track days on the OEM pads, the OEM pads were down to about 2-3mm of pad.
After two more track days, I can say the hawk HP+ pads do offer a big improvement in grip and no fade. Great for track days. But they squeal and squeak like crazy - way too bad for daily driving. I'm serious. No joke. I sounded like a dump truck. So, now I'm resigned to swapping the Hawks in and out for each track day. Not too big of a deal, but I would like to find a better-than-OEM pad that doesn't squeak so I can just keep it on full-time. I had a friend tell me that his stop-tech pads were great for track and not noisy.
By the way, I have a new problem... My caliper piston rubber boots burned or somehow deteriorated. See my other post on this topic. My guess is that the Hawk pads don't isolate the heat from the caliper as much as the OEM which caused to much heat on the rubber boot. I'd love some feedback on this. But I don't want to be replacing the boots each track day either. Quandary.
I was thinking of getting the Red Stuff ceramic pads but first post only shows part number for fronts. Do they not make them for the rears? Any cons to going with ceramic pads?
[quote author=TiocfaidhÁrLá link=topic=96219.msg3753184#msg3753184 date=1281022985]
I was thinking of getting the Red Stuff ceramic pads but first post only shows part number for fronts. Do they not make them for the rears? Any cons to going with ceramic pads?
[/quote]
Hawk performance makes a ceramic pads for the front and rear.
im about to buy pads for my '10 speed 3, i had to add the second set of oems because i a trip to make. What i was is ceramic pads for spirited driving and reduced dust, also i want the yellow dust or some other color. tired of all that black. So, are these the right ones? the site won´t let me choose 2010, mazdaspeed3 2.3L turbo.
A forum community dedicated to Mazda 3 and all Mazda vehicle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about MazdaSpeed performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!