MJ23FE
01-06-2011, 11:16 AM
What's up duder's?
So in the search for the best pad that suites me and my driving style, I stumbled across Carbone Lorraine.
February 2009 I picked up the following parts which make up my current brake setup.
GiroDisc Magic Pads
GiroDisc Budget Rotors (blanks)
Techna-Fit Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid (BF4)
After driving on this set up for about 6 months, I suffered from bad pad transfer (judder when braking which occurs from 85mph-60mph), crappy to no bite, crappy braking power overall, and tons fade when heated up just a little. My pedal feel was great, but my brakes absolutely weren't.
Yes, I've put up with it for this long. For the 95% of "spirited" daily driving that I do, I've learned to take it easy on the brakes and learned their limits and how to drive with them safely. It's time to change.
I want my brakes to chomp down and stop me in my place when I need to slam on them. Whether that be in creeping traffic, emergency highway maneuvers, spirited mountain drives, and everything in between. I wanted a pad that I could rely on to work without the worry of fade or destruction to my rotors. It seems the nature of a sintered pad is what I was looking for.
After doing a lot of reading and searching, I stumbled across this thread: http://forums.evolutionm.net/motor-sports/476801-cl-brakes-rc6-review-best-track-pads-ever.html
I first caught wind of these pads over on EvoM in a very nice sticky. They intrigued me because they were considered a race pad, but also a street pad. With this, my investigation began and the reading commenced. Yeah, you might say, there's no way that a single pad can do it all. There are tons of companies out there that will advertise their pads to be great on the street while providing the temp range and bite needed on the track. Well, that's exactly what intrigued me about the RC5+. They are a race pad first, but are very well mannered on the street as well. They were engineered as the entry level or base track pad from CL, and were designed to provide as little dust and noise possible while also providing very good pad/rotor life. Obviously, our driving styles will effect the results we will see as with any pad.
Well, I read through the entire thread that I linked just above, and after being very impressed with the results that people had experienced, and the service provided by Jeff Ritter, I contacted Jeff over at Essex Parts Services with the more detailed questions that I had. After going back and forth a few times via e-mail, which by the way Jeff was very prompt in answering, I made the decision to go with the CL RC5+ brake pads. Jeff went above and beyond to help me with anything I needed and I would highly recommend doing business with him and EPS.
I contacted Mike over at Touge Factory before the New Year break, and he replied informing me that these were currently out of stock but would be back in on Monday. On Monday I contacted Mike via phone and spoke about the pads and what I was looking to get out of them and what I would be putting them through. I had all my questions answered, and he even informed me of a couple of guys that he knew running the RC5+ and the success they were having with them. They were back in stock at Essex as he said they would be, and after receiving his PayPal address, I proceeded to send him payment. I placed my order Monday, and they arrived at my apartment today, which is Wednesday. Mike at Touge Factory did a great job being extremely helpful and answering all my questions and I would highly recommend doing business with him and TF.
Now, I know I said I would review these pads, but it won't be for about a week until I get them installed on my car. Living in an apartment with a crappy parking lot and a lack of tools makes things difficult until I can get over to a friends place.
My setup at the time of the review will consist of:
Carbone Lorraine RC5+ Brake Pads
GiroDisc Budget Rotors
Techna-Fit Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid (BF4)
The nature of these sintered race pads is that they are abrasive when they are cold. With that said, it was recommended to me by Jeff, and later Mike, that I take it easy during the first week of driving and basically baby the car. I was instructed not to heat them up and to keep them as cold as possible. This would allow for the pads to work their abrasion at low temps and basically scrub my rotors which are littered with pad transfer. My hope is that after at least a week of babying the car, my rotors will be nice and clean and I'll be good to go. If not, I'll be purchasing a set of Centric Premium front rotors from Touge Factory and will hopefully be good to go. I also plan on purchasing some ATE Super Blue brake fluid and bleeding my lines, but that won't be until after I get some results from these pads and determine how effective they are.
I took some photos of the CL RC5+ pads, and I must say, they are built great. The back plates are of awesome quality and almost look like brass. It's definitely a heavy duty product built to last. It puts the obviously cheaper GiroDisc Magic pads to shame.
I hope this encourages people to do business with 2 great vendors. As a consumer with no association with either company or individual, and with over a decade of working experience in customer service myself, I have complete confidence that both Jeff and Mike would take care of you.
Enjoy the photos.
-Jalal
Canon EOS 30D
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5010/5328660923_ac45fc54e6_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660923/)
IMG_8412 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660923/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/5328660791_6d7bb35e5c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660791/)
IMG_8417 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660791/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5329271660_39af31aa2e_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271660/)
IMG_8424 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271660/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5165/5328660517_7a381fe47d_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660517/)
IMG_8443 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660517/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5045/5329271436_3690be999d_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271436/)
IMG_8489 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271436/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5127/5329271338_86890990eb_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271338/)
IMG_8492 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271338/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5043/5329271246_afac73967e_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271246/)
IMG_8494 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271246/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5162/5329270556_9ffd2584b5_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329270556/)
IMG_8549 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329270556/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5045/5328659635_2cbf1bb5aa_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328659635/)
IMG_8548 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328659635/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5084/5329270978_93c433d448_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329270978/)
IMG_8544 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329270978/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5250/5329271106_eee68f6c79_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271106/)
IMG_8496 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271106/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/5329271042_9579247af7_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271042/)
IMG_8533 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271042/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5204/5328659723_856f4fa35c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328659723/)
IMG_8545 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328659723/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
So in the search for the best pad that suites me and my driving style, I stumbled across Carbone Lorraine.
February 2009 I picked up the following parts which make up my current brake setup.
GiroDisc Magic Pads
GiroDisc Budget Rotors (blanks)
Techna-Fit Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid (BF4)
After driving on this set up for about 6 months, I suffered from bad pad transfer (judder when braking which occurs from 85mph-60mph), crappy to no bite, crappy braking power overall, and tons fade when heated up just a little. My pedal feel was great, but my brakes absolutely weren't.
Yes, I've put up with it for this long. For the 95% of "spirited" daily driving that I do, I've learned to take it easy on the brakes and learned their limits and how to drive with them safely. It's time to change.
I want my brakes to chomp down and stop me in my place when I need to slam on them. Whether that be in creeping traffic, emergency highway maneuvers, spirited mountain drives, and everything in between. I wanted a pad that I could rely on to work without the worry of fade or destruction to my rotors. It seems the nature of a sintered pad is what I was looking for.
After doing a lot of reading and searching, I stumbled across this thread: http://forums.evolutionm.net/motor-sports/476801-cl-brakes-rc6-review-best-track-pads-ever.html
I first caught wind of these pads over on EvoM in a very nice sticky. They intrigued me because they were considered a race pad, but also a street pad. With this, my investigation began and the reading commenced. Yeah, you might say, there's no way that a single pad can do it all. There are tons of companies out there that will advertise their pads to be great on the street while providing the temp range and bite needed on the track. Well, that's exactly what intrigued me about the RC5+. They are a race pad first, but are very well mannered on the street as well. They were engineered as the entry level or base track pad from CL, and were designed to provide as little dust and noise possible while also providing very good pad/rotor life. Obviously, our driving styles will effect the results we will see as with any pad.
Well, I read through the entire thread that I linked just above, and after being very impressed with the results that people had experienced, and the service provided by Jeff Ritter, I contacted Jeff over at Essex Parts Services with the more detailed questions that I had. After going back and forth a few times via e-mail, which by the way Jeff was very prompt in answering, I made the decision to go with the CL RC5+ brake pads. Jeff went above and beyond to help me with anything I needed and I would highly recommend doing business with him and EPS.
I contacted Mike over at Touge Factory before the New Year break, and he replied informing me that these were currently out of stock but would be back in on Monday. On Monday I contacted Mike via phone and spoke about the pads and what I was looking to get out of them and what I would be putting them through. I had all my questions answered, and he even informed me of a couple of guys that he knew running the RC5+ and the success they were having with them. They were back in stock at Essex as he said they would be, and after receiving his PayPal address, I proceeded to send him payment. I placed my order Monday, and they arrived at my apartment today, which is Wednesday. Mike at Touge Factory did a great job being extremely helpful and answering all my questions and I would highly recommend doing business with him and TF.
Now, I know I said I would review these pads, but it won't be for about a week until I get them installed on my car. Living in an apartment with a crappy parking lot and a lack of tools makes things difficult until I can get over to a friends place.
My setup at the time of the review will consist of:
Carbone Lorraine RC5+ Brake Pads
GiroDisc Budget Rotors
Techna-Fit Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid (BF4)
The nature of these sintered race pads is that they are abrasive when they are cold. With that said, it was recommended to me by Jeff, and later Mike, that I take it easy during the first week of driving and basically baby the car. I was instructed not to heat them up and to keep them as cold as possible. This would allow for the pads to work their abrasion at low temps and basically scrub my rotors which are littered with pad transfer. My hope is that after at least a week of babying the car, my rotors will be nice and clean and I'll be good to go. If not, I'll be purchasing a set of Centric Premium front rotors from Touge Factory and will hopefully be good to go. I also plan on purchasing some ATE Super Blue brake fluid and bleeding my lines, but that won't be until after I get some results from these pads and determine how effective they are.
I took some photos of the CL RC5+ pads, and I must say, they are built great. The back plates are of awesome quality and almost look like brass. It's definitely a heavy duty product built to last. It puts the obviously cheaper GiroDisc Magic pads to shame.
I hope this encourages people to do business with 2 great vendors. As a consumer with no association with either company or individual, and with over a decade of working experience in customer service myself, I have complete confidence that both Jeff and Mike would take care of you.
Enjoy the photos.
-Jalal
Canon EOS 30D
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5010/5328660923_ac45fc54e6_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660923/)
IMG_8412 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660923/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/5328660791_6d7bb35e5c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660791/)
IMG_8417 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660791/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5329271660_39af31aa2e_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271660/)
IMG_8424 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271660/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5165/5328660517_7a381fe47d_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660517/)
IMG_8443 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328660517/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5045/5329271436_3690be999d_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271436/)
IMG_8489 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271436/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5127/5329271338_86890990eb_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271338/)
IMG_8492 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271338/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5043/5329271246_afac73967e_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271246/)
IMG_8494 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271246/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5162/5329270556_9ffd2584b5_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329270556/)
IMG_8549 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329270556/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5045/5328659635_2cbf1bb5aa_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328659635/)
IMG_8548 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328659635/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5084/5329270978_93c433d448_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329270978/)
IMG_8544 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329270978/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5250/5329271106_eee68f6c79_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271106/)
IMG_8496 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271106/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/5329271042_9579247af7_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271042/)
IMG_8533 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5329271042/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5204/5328659723_856f4fa35c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328659723/)
IMG_8545 edited resized (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267835@N03/5328659723/) by MJ23FE (http://www.flickr.com/people/9267835@N03/), on Flickr