Stoptech Sr34 Vs Pfc-08

Sebringjetta · 03-23-2014, 11:46 AM

ok so i will do the best i can to describe my experience.... i went from a pfc-08 to a stoptech sr34 pad... first off one of the biggest things is the price...the pfc-08 cost right around 800$ f/r ad the sr34 f/r is around 500$..now of course prices will very but none the less there is a large difference between both...

ok so bedding in the brake pads.... i followed both manufacturer recommendations for bedding in the pads... the pfc pads were very easy to do... did not create alot of smoke, and you could tell right off that the pads were bedded in..grip felt right, you could feel a slight amount of friction through the peddle and no deposits were left on the pads or rotors....

installing the pads...very straight forward...pfc pads dropped straight in no issues...sr34 pad

i expected some issues with this pad as other members have stated it was a tight fit...thats an under statement... i had to grind down the metal back plate on the front set quite a bit... i called and questioned st about this and they stated the pad is used for different kits so its a generic pad shape so in some cases the back plate have to be shaved down

the rear pads on both pfc and st dropped in no issue...

bedding in the sr34 pads was a little different...1st off while going through the bedding in process i noticed a huge amount of smoke towards the end like something was on fire...was almost a little concerning at first..not sure if any of you have experienced this... second it was not apparent right off the bat if the pads were fully bedded in like the pfc pads...i followed the st recommendations exactly for bedding in their pads but i did not notice a difference from start to finish like i did with the pfc pads... also the rotors appeared to have deposits on them when i was finished...

ok so for street driving... the pfc pads are incredibly annoying... very loud and it never goes away.. they create an extreme amount of dust... dust did not appear to be corrosive like some of the old school race pads... peddle feel on the street was good but if your not used to a abrasive friction feel in the peddle it might catch you off guard.. the sr34 pads make some noise but do not come close to the pfc... now if you are used to a quiet street pad these may seem loud but once again coming from the pfc pad it was a nice change...now of course like any race pad the sr34 creates dust but significantly less then the pfc...so far i have not noticed any corrosive issues....

track use... ok so these pads were like jekyll and hyde.... ok so lets start with pfc.... right off they were smooth with 0 rotor or pad deposit issues...it was apparent they were bedded in... from cold to hot the friction feel in the peddle was consistent..i personally have never had this feel in the peddle, its not bad or good just different but you could feel the abrasive friction feel in the peddle...peddle feel was consistent from the top to the bottom until he pads got hot... this is where they caught me off guard... when the brakes became extremely hot the peddle was firm up top then at times became noticeably softer once pressed harder almost to the point where i wanted to double pump the peddle. so i would say torque lowered with temperature rise .. so my only complaint for the pfc was its not predictable at times and not consistent when they became extremely hot... the pads wore like steel and showed o signs of damaging the rotors... friction material on the pads looked great on was not cracked or falling apart...ok now for the sr34 pads

...ok so for the first few laps the pads felt good then MR. hyde poked his head out... after a few laps i got a violent shutter like a set of rotors was warped to the extreme...i ran a few more laps then the vibration got to a point i thought something was F$%#ED up!!!!!!!!! i returned to the paddock and removed all tires and did a quick run through of the front a rear brakes to make sure nothing was broken or i forgot to tighten something... rotors, pads and everything looked fine... everything was tight...the only thing i did notice is what appeared to be deposits on the rotors formed from the pads... so i let the brakes cool completely and waited for the next session...so once on the next session the 1st 3 laps felt great and thought everything was back to normal...about the 5th lap the violent vibration was back

...i continued to cautiously finish the session...once the session was over i pulled into the paddock and inspected everything and found nothing except for the deposits were not as noticeable... 3rd session i went out i expected the same thing but about 6 laps in no vibrations or shakes.... so what i concluded it was pad/rotor deposits that caused the issue for the first 2 sessions... ok so peddle feel and stopping was amazing!!!!!!!! the sr34 did have a higher initial torque bight.... torque did rise when temps got higher when the pfc did the opposite.. even though the the initial torque was high and rose a little when hot they were always predictable and knew how they would react..... rotors did not appear to be damaged...i have not removed the pads for inspections so can not comment o the friction material but do not to appear to be worn down and look like they are wearing like the pfc

ok so conclusion unless for some strange reason the sr34 begin to all of a sudden wear fast i have no plans of going back to the pfc-08...the peddle feel and stopping was not consistent and was not predictable at times... they wear like steel and appear to be a good endurance pad but i lost my confidence in them....once i lost my confidence it began to screw with my head on the track...

the sr34 pad has shown to be an amazing pad and just may need a more extreme bedding in....as of right now im blown away by these pads will continue to use them...i will keep this updated as the season goes...now of course all of this is based off of my driving style and my opinion...some out there may have a different driving style or opinion but i hope this may help someone out there when looking at the 2 pads... i have in the past ran different pfc compounds, along with hawk HP+ (very cheap but only really get 1 day out of them)...i have found that for an endurance pad the 08 compound was the best...

so in the end i will be harder on the bedding in process and expect to have to grind down the back plates on my next set of sr34 pads but as of now will by another set when these are gone

edwinm3 · 03-23-2014, 12:16 PM

Nice review, thanks

Sebringjetta · 03-23-2014, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edwinm3

Nice review, thanks

no problem..hope you could make sense of it ..not the best at doing reviews...

aus · 03-24-2014, 05:22 PM

What brake calipers are you running? Not all of us can grind down the backing plate.

I had bad pad deposits too with the street sports pads they ship with their ST60/ST40 kits and followed the bedding procedure per the directions. At least you can feel a difference with them once they're properly bedded.

STALKER · 03-24-2014, 06:26 PM

Just get some Pagid RS19 or RS29s and be done with it if they fit your application.

Sebringjetta · 03-24-2014, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aus

What brake calipers are you running? Not all of us can grind down the backing plate.

I had bad pad deposits too with the street sports pads they ship with their ST60/ST40 kits and followed the bedding procedure per the directions. At least you can feel a difference with them once they're properly bedded.

Ya I love them now!!!

aus · 03-24-2014, 10:38 PM

I think you have a Stoptech BBK??
The pads dont fit their OWN CALIPER???

.

Sebringjetta · 03-24-2014, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aus

I think you have a Stoptech BBK??
The pads dont fit their OWN CALIPER???

.

yes sir st bbk and yes if you do a search you will see others that have had problems with their pads fitting their kits....crazy huh

03-23-2014, 11:46 AM	#1
Sebringjetta Brigadier General 313 Rep 3,675 Posts Drives: E46m3 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Sacramento iTrader: (39)	Stoptech Sr34 Vs Pfc-08 ok so i will do the best i can to describe my experience.... i went from a pfc-08 to a stoptech sr34 pad... first off one of the biggest things is the price...the pfc-08 cost right around 800$ f/r ad the sr34 f/r is around 500$..now of course prices will very but none the less there is a large difference between both... ok so bedding in the brake pads.... i followed both manufacturer recommendations for bedding in the pads... the pfc pads were very easy to do... did not create alot of smoke, and you could tell right off that the pads were bedded in..grip felt right, you could feel a slight amount of friction through the peddle and no deposits were left on the pads or rotors.... installing the pads...very straight forward...pfc pads dropped straight in no issues...sr34 pad i expected some issues with this pad as other members have stated it was a tight fit...thats an under statement... i had to grind down the metal back plate on the front set quite a bit... i called and questioned st about this and they stated the pad is used for different kits so its a generic pad shape so in some cases the back plate have to be shaved down the rear pads on both pfc and st dropped in no issue... bedding in the sr34 pads was a little different...1st off while going through the bedding in process i noticed a huge amount of smoke towards the end like something was on fire...was almost a little concerning at first..not sure if any of you have experienced this... second it was not apparent right off the bat if the pads were fully bedded in like the pfc pads...i followed the st recommendations exactly for bedding in their pads but i did not notice a difference from start to finish like i did with the pfc pads... also the rotors appeared to have deposits on them when i was finished... ok so for street driving... the pfc pads are incredibly annoying... very loud and it never goes away.. they create an extreme amount of dust... dust did not appear to be corrosive like some of the old school race pads... peddle feel on the street was good but if your not used to a abrasive friction feel in the peddle it might catch you off guard.. the sr34 pads make some noise but do not come close to the pfc... now if you are used to a quiet street pad these may seem loud but once again coming from the pfc pad it was a nice change...now of course like any race pad the sr34 creates dust but significantly less then the pfc...so far i have not noticed any corrosive issues.... track use... ok so these pads were like jekyll and hyde.... ok so lets start with pfc.... right off they were smooth with 0 rotor or pad deposit issues...it was apparent they were bedded in... from cold to hot the friction feel in the peddle was consistent..i personally have never had this feel in the peddle, its not bad or good just different but you could feel the abrasive friction feel in the peddle...peddle feel was consistent from the top to the bottom until he pads got hot... this is where they caught me off guard... when the brakes became extremely hot the peddle was firm up top then at times became noticeably softer once pressed harder almost to the point where i wanted to double pump the peddle. so i would say torque lowered with temperature rise .. so my only complaint for the pfc was its not predictable at times and not consistent when they became extremely hot... the pads wore like steel and showed o signs of damaging the rotors... friction material on the pads looked great on was not cracked or falling apart...ok now for the sr34 pads...ok so for the first few laps the pads felt good then MR. hyde poked his head out... after a few laps i got a violent shutter like a set of rotors was warped to the extreme...i ran a few more laps then the vibration got to a point i thought something was F$%#ED up!!!!!!!!! i returned to the paddock and removed all tires and did a quick run through of the front a rear brakes to make sure nothing was broken or i forgot to tighten something... rotors, pads and everything looked fine... everything was tight...the only thing i did notice is what appeared to be deposits on the rotors formed from the pads... so i let the brakes cool completely and waited for the next session...so once on the next session the 1st 3 laps felt great and thought everything was back to normal...about the 5th lap the violent vibration was back...i continued to cautiously finish the session...once the session was over i pulled into the paddock and inspected everything and found nothing except for the deposits were not as noticeable... 3rd session i went out i expected the same thing but about 6 laps in no vibrations or shakes.... so what i concluded it was pad/rotor deposits that caused the issue for the first 2 sessions... ok so peddle feel and stopping was amazing!!!!!!!! the sr34 did have a higher initial torque bight.... torque did rise when temps got higher when the pfc did the opposite.. even though the the initial torque was high and rose a little when hot they were always predictable and knew how they would react..... rotors did not appear to be damaged...i have not removed the pads for inspections so can not comment o the friction material but do not to appear to be worn down and look like they are wearing like the pfc ok so conclusion unless for some strange reason the sr34 begin to all of a sudden wear fast i have no plans of going back to the pfc-08...the peddle feel and stopping was not consistent and was not predictable at times... they wear like steel and appear to be a good endurance pad but i lost my confidence in them....once i lost my confidence it began to screw with my head on the track... the sr34 pad has shown to be an amazing pad and just may need a more extreme bedding in....as of right now im blown away by these pads will continue to use them...i will keep this updated as the season goes...now of course all of this is based off of my driving style and my opinion...some out there may have a different driving style or opinion but i hope this may help someone out there when looking at the 2 pads... i have in the past ran different pfc compounds, along with hawk HP+ (very cheap but only really get 1 day out of them)...i have found that for an endurance pad the 08 compound was the best... so in the end i will be harder on the bedding in process and expect to have to grind down the back plates on my next set of sr34 pads but as of now will by another set when these are gone Attached Images __________________ Last edited by Sebringjetta; 03-23-2014 at 11:53 AM..
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03-23-2014, 12:16 PM	#2
edwinm3 Brigadier General 980 Rep 4,002 Posts Drives: F82 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Broward iTrader: (32)	Nice review, thanks __________________ Grigio Telesto M4, 6MT. Coyote 5.0 F-150 991 GT3
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03-24-2014, 05:22 PM	#4
aus Major General 894 Rep 9,034 Posts Drives: Odysse Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Seal Beach, CA iTrader: (10)	What brake calipers are you running? Not all of us can grind down the backing plate. I had bad pad deposits too with the street sports pads they ship with their ST60/ST40 kits and followed the bedding procedure per the directions. At least you can feel a difference with them once they're properly bedded. __________________ Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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03-24-2014, 06:26 PM	#5
STALKER Brigadier General 169 Rep 3,832 Posts Drives: 997.2 GT3, Golf R Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Toronto, ON iTrader: (5)	Just get some Pagid RS19 or RS29s and be done with it if they fit your application. __________________
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03-24-2014, 10:38 PM	#7
aus Major General 894 Rep 9,034 Posts Drives: Odysse Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Seal Beach, CA iTrader: (10)	I think you have a Stoptech BBK?? The pads dont fit their OWN CALIPER??? . __________________ Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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