Hawk Pads... never again.

[Cab0oze]

Ok so if you search around on google, you'll find that I've never been very happy with Hawk HPS brake pads. On my old 2004 mz3 I had an issue with no brake bite in the wet or cold. It would be like 2s between brakes ON to actual decel on the highway. Very scary.

I vowed back then never to buy them again. Well... when I bought my speed3 and was looking for brakes, I bought dba T2s at an awesome price from a local sponsor which came with Hawk HPS for free. Well... ok not going to throw away free parts. I installed them, and they worked great for the first year, but then my rotor developed hot spots. Now i'm going to stick with my old story (once again, search) that it was crappy dba prodcuts, and so I won't ever buy those again either.

HOWEVER - just got back from the garage from a generic pre-sale inspection and it seems as though one of the 2 year old (like new, I don't use the brakes much) Hawk HPS has suffered a catastrophic failure - delamination / pad separation from the backing plate.

Totally unacceptable, and dangerous. I will never touch Hawk (or dba) garbage again, I have seen no-name pads perform better/last longer.

[Kiewan]

Damn, I hope I don't run Into the issue you had with your Mz3 with my Halk pads.

Out of curiousty - How long were they on the car before the scary highway braking issues started? and what rotors did you have on the Mz3 at the time?

[ottoyu34]

For whatever reason, I get promoted a lot of Hawk's products during my research/inquiry of performance brake products from various vendors.

While I was asked for Stoptech, Project Mu quotes.

[Cab0oze]

For whatever reason, I get promoted a lot of Hawk's products during my research/inquiry of performance brake products from various vendors.

While I was asked for Stoptech, Project Mu quotes.

Hawks are very popular and/or push their products very hard. But the quality just isn't there (at least not in recent years in my experience)

Damn, I hope I don't run Into the issue you had with your Mz3 with my Halk pads.

Out of curiousty - How long were they on the car before the scary highway braking issues started? and what rotors did you have on the Mz3 at the time?

I put them on in the spring and observed very linear braking, in the fall the terror started. Still linear, but with a 2s lag. That was with cheap ebay rotors (made in Missisauga or something, crossdrilled. I think magnum was the name). Note that I didn't have the same issue on my speed3, but it is a different pad compound most likely.

Moral of the story is I believe Hawk is just a big name now that sells tons and now have zero quality control.

[Shizuka_Osamu]

ive used hawk pads on a couple of previous rides and never had issues.mind you I dont ride the brakes and just do in city driving.

[Kiewan]

With New OEM rotors I have not had any issues in the past few months...*knock on wood*
I'll keep this in mind going forward. Thanks for sharing.

[Dynames]

With OEM rotors I have not had any issues in the past few months...*knock on wood*
I'll keep this in mind going forward. Thanks for sharing.

Same here. New OEM rotors when I replaced my pads with Hawk HPS, no problems as of yet.

[brucewayne]

i swapped my old hawks for brand new hawks and oem rotors in the fall, fronts.... all good. downtown driving, lots of braking

[Jackal]

Have Hawk hps and no problems with mine. Have had them on for at least a year. Pad separation sounds scary though. Probably won't go with them next time.

[Kiyomi]

I ran hawk hp+ all around. countless track days. never an issue

[RedRaptor]

OEM BBK (Mazdaspeed 3 Front, Mazda5 Rear).

I've been on DBA (4000xs) and Hawk HPS for a few years now. Like the OP, I won't use those two products again. DBAs were warped within 2 years of 90% highway driving. Hawk HPS don't have much grip during wet conditions at all. I also don't like the linear stopping power (you need to push down on pedal hard and for long period of time). Plenty of meat left on brake pads, but I'm looking for a brake job in the next 8 months.

Thinking Stoptech + OEM pads.

[Cab0oze]

OEM BBK (Mazdaspeed 3 Front, Mazda5 Rear).

I've been on DBA (4000xs) and Hawk HPS for a few years now. Like the OP, I won't use those two products again. DBAs were warped within 2 years of 90% highway driving. Hawk HPS don't have much grip during wet conditions at all. I also don't like the linear stopping power (you need to push down on pedal hard and for long period of time). Plenty of meat left on brake pads, but I'm looking for a brake job in the next 8 months.

Thinking Stoptech + OEM pads.

Wow, I was thinking it might have just been the T2s, crazy that there are problems with their other rotors too!

Yeah, going forward I think my go-to will be stoptech or centric premium + OEM pads regardless of the price.

[FD22]

There's always been this split when it comes to these pads. Seems to be really hit or miss with their quality. A lot of members have had no issues at all. And then a handful of people have had issues.

Personally I've used HPS pads for a few years now, and haven't had any sort of issues. And I hope it stays that way, with the replacement set of pads I have waiting to go in this Spring.

[Dubcee]

Stoptech 309 + Powerslot rotors is love
Stoptech 309 + Powerslot rotors is life

I've used that combination for DD, autocross and track for years on my C30 and Civic SIR. Both summer and winter plenty of bite and stopping power. Quiet as well. Also pretty decent fade resistance.

The only drawback is they are dusty. But given all the good things about them who cares?

[MAZDArati]

I personally do no ride my brakes I run stoptech drilled and slotted rotors on hawk pads. During good weather breaks are great but when left out in damp or raining conditions they react terrible not to mention loud as sin. I dont know if this offers closure but I think the pads come with lifetime warranty but as seen your experience dought you will want to use them again.

[nigvlb_]

stoptech ftw

[Cjcoolen]

Are stoptech's that great?

[nigvlb_]

Are stoptech's that great?

I prefer them over Hawk. Better brake feel, no noise/squeaking, less brake dust, longer longevity, they haven't heated up on me when tracking etc. (Just personal experience and opinion, had hawks originally, hated em lol)

[genericmoniker]

HPS on my Mazda2, definitely lack bite when they're wet or cold. But once they get warmed up, zero problems. I'm going on about 40k now, zero problems with Centric rotors.

[murdaspeed]

I thought the Hawk 5.0 street pads were replacing the HPS line? I installed 5.0 pads with Centric HC blank rotors and its a great combination.

[patrickdominick]

I heard Akebono had great brake pads, Im leaning towards those over Hawks now..

[SomeGuy]

I had the HPS pads on my old MZ3, didn't like them much either...they did not inspire any confidence at all.

I'm on corksport pads now on my MS3 and they're miles better than the HPS ever were. They don't have the bite of OEM, but at least I can be confident they're there and will stop me.

[Cab0oze]

I had the HPS pads on my old MZ3, didn't like them much either...they did not inspire any confidence at all.

I'm on corksport pads now on my MS3 and they're miles better than the HPS ever were. They don't have the bite of OEM, but at least I can be confident they're there and will stop me.

LOL well that's the important thing!

I'm surprised nobody has said anything about EBC pads... I thought they were one of the better manufacturers, but I never seem to hear people talk about them with respect to Mazda3s?

[rzapata]

Hmmm, I guess different experiences for different people...

I've had my HPS for maybe 3 years now and paired with DBA T2s. It doesn't have the initial bite but that's not much of a concern for me. No squealing, and not too much dust as well. Stopping power is definitely there for me when I needed it.

At the track, I did cook it a few times and experienced a tiny bit of brake fade but it went away shortly.

Overall, it wasn't a bad combo compared to OEM pads and discs. I might try Stoptech when it's time for a new set just to see what the fuzz is all about.

[Zuluwun]

I heard Akebono had great brake pads, Im leaning towards those over Hawks now..

I vaguely recall someone saying that Akebono made the OEM pads.

LOL well that's the important thing!
I'm surprised nobody has said anything about EBC pads... I thought they were one of the better manufacturers, but I never seem to hear people talk about them with respect to Mazda3s?

They are a great manufacturer but the Greens are meh and the early Reds were noisy so everyone stopped trusting them. I had Yellows on OEM rotors for a while, maybe 1.5 to 2 years? Loved them on the street and even more so at autox, I'm fairly sure I posted a review somewhere though probably as a reply to someone else's thread.