Fast road pads for OEM "big brakes"

[HarryB]

Time to renew my braking system, and I am thinking of brake pad options. Car is a daily, so I need something for fast road use but able to hold up for the occasional trackday.

So far the most popular options are as following:

Mintex 1144
Axxis Ultimate
Ferodo DS2500

Mintex seem to be the cheapest of the lot, and I am getting positive reviews, so leaning towards these. However I would love to hear some 1st hand experiences, so if you have any, fire away!

Cheers!

[JamieH]

I believe the G-Loc GS1 pads are in the same category as those. I have them and am pleased. They are fantastic for heavy "spirited" street use. I can only assume they'd be OK for the occasional track day auto-x use.

The initial bite is good when cold and better when hot. No bedding procedure needed (according to G-Loc), just drive as you normally would and they'll break in just fine. But they do (did for me) take a few miles to break in. I also installed new Centric Premium rotors while I was at it. As to dusting, it's not too bad and requires cleaning every 2 weeks.

If ya didn't know, G-Loc was formed by two guys that left Carbotech to start their own company. And the GS1s are comparable to the Carbotech 1521 compound which I believe is comparable to the 3 you listed. Just another option for ya to look into. But from what I've found there doesn't seem to be that many people using the GS1s, or at least those that are talking about them.

[HarryB]

Thanks a lot Jamie! They indeed look extremely promising; issue for me is that they do not seem to have an EU distributor (besides a Swiss guy that does not list any miata parts on his website)