Porterfield R4-1 compared to Hawk pads?

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07miata
Posts: 112
Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:17 am

Porterfield R4-1 compared to Hawk pads?

Post by 07miata »

I've been running Hawk pads for years. These days I use hawk blues at the track, which I love, but I'm getting tired of swapping them in and out every time I go to/from the track. HP+ are nice, but they squeal so much I end-up having to swap those too. The Hawk black compound looks ideal for me, but after speaking with Hawk they're just not going to offer blacks in our NC miata size. So I'm looking at the Porterfield R4-1, which seems like a good pad for both street/track. Can the R4-1s be used on the street? Do they squeal like the HP+? I don't care about dust or rotor wear. Thanks for any advice!
Brian
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Re: Porterfield R4-1 compared to Hawk pads?

Post by Brian »

I am a fan of the R4-1. It is much more friendly on the rotors than the Hawk Blue, and you can leave it on the car for drives to and from the track. Whether you leave it on the car for daily driving depends on the temperatures in your area. It certainly can make some noise when cold, particularly on the first use of the morning. Once you get a little heat in them that noise will usually go away. This is my everything pad on our supercharged 2007 front and rear.
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
v67gsr
Posts: 285
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:53 pm

Re: Porterfield R4-1 compared to Hawk pads?

Post by v67gsr »

I have ran R4-S and like it a lot. Now I run R4 and it is even better as a road/track pad. I have no issue with temperature and I live in Vancouver, Canada. R4-S is very quiet. R4 does make noise after track day but the noise will go away after a week or two of street driving. Both pads produce very little brake dust (compare to Hawk HP+) and very easy to clean. As far as I see they are very rotor friendly as well. I had about 7 track days with them on the same set of rotor and the rotor wear evenly. They are a bit more $ compare to Hawk but I have no problem with that.

If R4-1 carry any of the R4 and R4-S character, I say it has to be good.
07miata
Posts: 112
Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:17 am

Re: Porterfield R4-1 compared to Hawk pads?

Post by 07miata »

Thanks for the feedback, sounds like the R4-1 will be my next set of pads. One thing I like about Porterfield is they list tech specs like coefficient of friction relative to temp, unlike most brake pad manufacturers. I don't mind a little squealing, and here in S. Florida it's rarely cold.
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