Dave@ddmworks
Supporting Vendor
I know this is a little bit of a wall of text, sorry about that.
After having the Sonic for a little bit, one of the first things we wanted to modify was the brakes on the car. The stock pads do pretty good, but I tend to brake a little late, which puts some higher thermal spikes into the pads.
When we first bought our little tester there was not really anything available, but now we have a couple options that we have been testing over the past couple months and here is how we tested them and what our subjective and objective results were.
Before we started testing any of the pads, we upgraded the rotors on our tester to the J hook rotors that we make for the Sonic and also bled the brake system with ATE superblue.
To test fade resistance, we came up with an objective test that we did with all of the pads was to test brake fade, since most of the other aspects of the brake pads is kinda subjective. To test fade resistance, we used the same place on a road close to the shop with no traffic on it. We marked off a spot on the road so that we would always start braking from the same spot with all of the pads. Then what we would do is set a cone up at that spot, drive 70mph and at the cone apply full brake and let the ABS bring the car to a full stop which was taking around 110 feet with stock tires. Once the car was at a full stop, we would mark the position of the front tire with a cone, then turn around, go back to the same start point and repeat. This completed 1 brake testing cycle.
All the pads we have tested have been what we consider to be the brands street performance pads.
Stock pads - $143 Front pads
Fade reistance - After 4 cycles the stock pads started to fade and the braking distance started to be noticably longer. After the 5th cycle the stock pads were heavily fading and braking distance was 30-40 feet longer.
Noise - During the entire time the stock pads never made a noise, around town or under heavy braking.
Pedal feel - The stock pads have a nice pedal, not super firm, but not soft either.
EBC Greenstuff - $113 for Front pads
Fade reistance - After 4 cycles the stock pads started to fade but the EBC Greenstuff pads kept going. Starting at 6 cycles the pedal started to get soft, and the braking distance increased by just a couple feet. Once I got used to the different pedal feel, the braking distance came back down and stayed the same. We did a total of 10 cycles and the EBC's held in the entire time.
Noise - During the time we had the EBC pads on the car, they were mostly quiet, but occasionally would make some noise at slow speeds coming to a stop. Not like race pads, but just enough to be a little annoying sometimes.
Pedal feel - These pads have about the same pedal feel as stock, and very similar initial bite when braking.
Carbotech 1521 - $136 for Front pads
Fade reistance - After 4 cycles the stock pads started to fade and after about 6 stops the Carbotechs were done also. Unlike the EBC Greenstuff pads, the Carbotechs felt great all the way up to the point that they started to fade. Once they reached that point the braking distance increased pretty quickly.
Noise - During the entire time the Carbotech pads were on the car, they were nice and quiet, and never made a sound.
Pedal feel - The best part about the Carbotech pads is the initial bite on these pads is much better then stock when we ran them. Like most performance pads they did like to have a little heat in them, but these pads were very easy to modulate with really good initial bite.
Hawk HPS - $90 for Front pads - Hawk brake pads, Chevy Sonic
Fade reistance - After 4 cycles the stock pads started to fade and after 10 stops the Hawk pads didn't seem to really care what we threw at them. They felt like we could have kept doing the cycles all day and they would have been fine with that. They felt slightly softer after 10 cycles, but pretty much the same as the first stop and the stopping distance stayed very consitant the entire time.
Noise - During the entire time the Hawk HPS pads made no noise and they have stayed on the car now for about a month and have not made any noise during that time.
Pedal feel - The Hawk pads feel better then stock, but not quite as good as the Carbotech pads on initial bite. They are still very easy to modulate, and like the Carbotech like having just a little heat in them for the best braking.
Conclusion -
There are really 2 recommendations that I have depending on particular driving style:
If stock brake pads have not faded on you - If this describes you, but you still want something that is a little more aggressive then stock, the Carbotech pads are great. They have a nice initial bite, can take a little more heat then stock, but do not have the annoying sound that the EBC pads would have occasionally.
If you want the best performing pad for the Sonic - The Hawk HPS pad is the pad staying on our little tester for now. The Hawk pad offered the best fade resistance, was nice and quiet, and the Carbotech pad was just slightly better then it in pedal feel. The Hawk pads are also the lowest cost of all of the pads we tested, which in our mind makes this an easy win for Hawk.
We have all of your braking needs for the Sonic:
Here is the link to the Hawk pads we used in testing -
Hawk brake pads, Chevy Sonic
Here is the link to the Rotors that was used in all of the testing -
Chevy Sonic, performance rotors
Here is the link to the ATE superblue that we use in our test cars -
ATE Superblue Brake Fluid
I hope this sheds some light on different brake pad options for those looking to upgrade. We definitely recommend bleeding the system with high quality brake fluid at the same time when doing brake pads, something like the ATE superblue is what we put in our test cars here.
If there is anything else I can answer about the testing, feel free to let me know,
Dave
After having the Sonic for a little bit, one of the first things we wanted to modify was the brakes on the car. The stock pads do pretty good, but I tend to brake a little late, which puts some higher thermal spikes into the pads.
When we first bought our little tester there was not really anything available, but now we have a couple options that we have been testing over the past couple months and here is how we tested them and what our subjective and objective results were.
Before we started testing any of the pads, we upgraded the rotors on our tester to the J hook rotors that we make for the Sonic and also bled the brake system with ATE superblue.
To test fade resistance, we came up with an objective test that we did with all of the pads was to test brake fade, since most of the other aspects of the brake pads is kinda subjective. To test fade resistance, we used the same place on a road close to the shop with no traffic on it. We marked off a spot on the road so that we would always start braking from the same spot with all of the pads. Then what we would do is set a cone up at that spot, drive 70mph and at the cone apply full brake and let the ABS bring the car to a full stop which was taking around 110 feet with stock tires. Once the car was at a full stop, we would mark the position of the front tire with a cone, then turn around, go back to the same start point and repeat. This completed 1 brake testing cycle.
All the pads we have tested have been what we consider to be the brands street performance pads.
Stock pads - $143 Front pads
Fade reistance - After 4 cycles the stock pads started to fade and the braking distance started to be noticably longer. After the 5th cycle the stock pads were heavily fading and braking distance was 30-40 feet longer.
Noise - During the entire time the stock pads never made a noise, around town or under heavy braking.
Pedal feel - The stock pads have a nice pedal, not super firm, but not soft either.
EBC Greenstuff - $113 for Front pads
Fade reistance - After 4 cycles the stock pads started to fade but the EBC Greenstuff pads kept going. Starting at 6 cycles the pedal started to get soft, and the braking distance increased by just a couple feet. Once I got used to the different pedal feel, the braking distance came back down and stayed the same. We did a total of 10 cycles and the EBC's held in the entire time.
Noise - During the time we had the EBC pads on the car, they were mostly quiet, but occasionally would make some noise at slow speeds coming to a stop. Not like race pads, but just enough to be a little annoying sometimes.
Pedal feel - These pads have about the same pedal feel as stock, and very similar initial bite when braking.
Carbotech 1521 - $136 for Front pads
Fade reistance - After 4 cycles the stock pads started to fade and after about 6 stops the Carbotechs were done also. Unlike the EBC Greenstuff pads, the Carbotechs felt great all the way up to the point that they started to fade. Once they reached that point the braking distance increased pretty quickly.
Noise - During the entire time the Carbotech pads were on the car, they were nice and quiet, and never made a sound.
Pedal feel - The best part about the Carbotech pads is the initial bite on these pads is much better then stock when we ran them. Like most performance pads they did like to have a little heat in them, but these pads were very easy to modulate with really good initial bite.
Hawk HPS - $90 for Front pads - Hawk brake pads, Chevy Sonic
Fade reistance - After 4 cycles the stock pads started to fade and after 10 stops the Hawk pads didn't seem to really care what we threw at them. They felt like we could have kept doing the cycles all day and they would have been fine with that. They felt slightly softer after 10 cycles, but pretty much the same as the first stop and the stopping distance stayed very consitant the entire time.
Noise - During the entire time the Hawk HPS pads made no noise and they have stayed on the car now for about a month and have not made any noise during that time.
Pedal feel - The Hawk pads feel better then stock, but not quite as good as the Carbotech pads on initial bite. They are still very easy to modulate, and like the Carbotech like having just a little heat in them for the best braking.
Conclusion -
There are really 2 recommendations that I have depending on particular driving style:
If stock brake pads have not faded on you - If this describes you, but you still want something that is a little more aggressive then stock, the Carbotech pads are great. They have a nice initial bite, can take a little more heat then stock, but do not have the annoying sound that the EBC pads would have occasionally.
If you want the best performing pad for the Sonic - The Hawk HPS pad is the pad staying on our little tester for now. The Hawk pad offered the best fade resistance, was nice and quiet, and the Carbotech pad was just slightly better then it in pedal feel. The Hawk pads are also the lowest cost of all of the pads we tested, which in our mind makes this an easy win for Hawk.
We have all of your braking needs for the Sonic:
Here is the link to the Hawk pads we used in testing -
Hawk brake pads, Chevy Sonic
Here is the link to the Rotors that was used in all of the testing -
Chevy Sonic, performance rotors
Here is the link to the ATE superblue that we use in our test cars -
ATE Superblue Brake Fluid
I hope this sheds some light on different brake pad options for those looking to upgrade. We definitely recommend bleeding the system with high quality brake fluid at the same time when doing brake pads, something like the ATE superblue is what we put in our test cars here.
If there is anything else I can answer about the testing, feel free to let me know,
Dave
I'm sure HPS pads will be fine for my needs.
