Brake pads for racing

Hi guys,

I need some advise regarding brake pads for racing,

I have quite some issues, regarding wear and drag.

When I put new pads on the bike - the calipers get cleaned and checket for smooth piston movement - no problems.
After app. 0,5 - 1 hour on the track - I get more and more drag. Reason is found to be warped brakepads.... see pic. Gap is app 4 mm
Pads is worn out after app. 2 hours / 300 Km

Expirence sofar:
OEM: worn out after app. 200 km - Very warped, more than 5 mm
Lucas/TRW/SBS Dual Carbon: Worn out after app. 300 Km - warped
SBS Dual Sinter: Worn out after app 350 km - Warped

For the app 2000 km - I have now used 1 set OEM - 3 set Dual Carbon and 3 set dual Sinter.

The wear, I can accept - But the warping - drives me nuts

What do I do wrong with my pads / brakes - and how do I get a better / more stable brake performance without the pads is warping.

I use standard discs and calipers.

Could it be the pads are expanding enough to jam in the calipers? If so maybe taking a file to the pads and removing a bit of metal at the ends to make them a looser fit in the caliper may work. Just a suggestion,I aint ever seen pads warp that way before. Seen them warp/bend the opposite way when seized in the caliper due to corrosion. Thats a head scratcher.

They are free moving in the caliper - the warp end is the upper end while mounted in the calipers.

The warping must be due to overheating - but why mine ???

BowHunter said:

They are free moving in the caliper - the warp end is the upper end while mounted in the calipers.

The warping must be due to overheating - but why mine ???

Click to expand...

Are they free moving when hot? If yes then its obviously just down to the pads.

Wow I've never seen the backing plates warped like that. It almost looks like there's a problem in the caliper where you are not getting even pressure across the pad. have you double checked the pistons in the calipers to see if they might be getting hung up.

Have you checked pad and rotor temps after a session to make sure you are not out of the heat range on the pad?

I run the dual carbon SBS pads on my R1 and R6 race bikes and have got incredible wear out of them and no signs of the kind of warping you are seeing.

what may be the cause of that is the systematic cleaning of the pistons.
as they get very mobile in the caliper, after a long straight with the disks also moving a bit, they get pushed back far back into the calliper. and giving the pads a bit of room to move..

and perhaps when applying pressure it then initially wears them out unevenly as not all of the 100% surface immediatly at 100% of the same time..

i know my pistons were clean when i bought them and some sticky grease was applied to make sure they did not go back. all that happens is they let just enough room for the disk to turn but the pads are kept as close as possible to the disk.

i haven't heard off this one yet but it may be anoter side effect of the thing is described before. the pistons were greased to steady the feel everytime i get on the brakes and to shorten respons time... no good arriving at 180mph to find your brakes did not work as they did last lap...

i'll show the pic to my knowledge mechanic..