They feel terrible. I've had them on the car for about 1K miles now.
I had the stock rotors turned and installed a set of Hawk HPS pads. Two days later I had the brake fluid flushed with DOT4 synthetic.
I tried bedding them in by basically stopping in a hurry several times from 50 mph. They seem to have somewhat improved. Before tonight's bed-in procedures, I couldn't even get the ABS to so much as peep, the pedal would just hit the floor and the car would stop in a what I feel excessive distance.
They simply don't bite like the stockers and I understand that ceramics will feel different than carbon pads, but these things don't stop as well as they are able to stop my Subaru Legacy which is several hundred pounds heavier.
Has anyone else had these pads on and regretted the decision?

 

I have had them on my R53 for about 6,000 miles. When i first got them I was disapointed because they did not have near the bite than oem. But after about 1,0000 miles they turned around and perform great, I am now very happy with them and will continue using hawk, (also got them for my VW R32). Love them now...Also i changed my rotors with the pads

Maybe they need a bit more break in? At 1,000 miles you should def. be broken in...

 

I have had them on my R53 for about 6,000 miles. When i first got them I was disapointed because they did not have near the bite than oem. But after about 1,0000 miles they turned around and perform great, I am now very happy with them and will continue using hawk, (also got them for my VW R32). Love them now...Also i changed my rotors with the pads

Maybe they need a bit more break in? At 1,000 miles you should def. be broken in...

I got them because i have white wheels on both of the cars and i wanted to cut down on some brake dust, and i didnt lose any performance (but i dont think i gained any braking performance)

 

I have a set front and rear with new DBA 4000 rotors on my 07 MCS. They are fine and getting better.

I did stainless lines, rotors and pads plus a full flush, the work was done at my local Denver South MINI dealer.

No issues, give your setup time. It is possible since you turned your rotors you are under spec on rotor thickness or right on min. spec. which could be causing some of your issues.

Don

 

It's probably not the pads. You most likely have air trapped in the ABS module from flushing your fluid. While I haven't done it on a Mini, every other car I've had requires the ABS valves to be cycled to release trapped air. The dealer can do this with their diagnostic tool, but you can sort of cheat the system by doing several full ABS stops then re-bleeding your brakes. You may have to do it more than once, but it should work.

 

I wasn't all that happy with the initial bite of my pads a while back. I happened to do some dyno runs while tuning and 6 or 7 stops from 110 really made a difference. While I don't think the speed is what did it, I think that finding a spot on the highway to do 6 or 7 high speed to 20 mph stops or until you get brake fade might make a difference. Just so you know, once you get the brakes red hot like that it take 15 mins or so for them to cool (or alot longer than you think). Keep crusing without stopping for a while. Next time you drive, there might be a much better feel to the pedal. For me there was.

 

Op, Bleed your brakes and you should be fine. You should not have to brake all the way to the end of brake pedal travel to stop.

 

same experience, drive hard in the canyons, will bleed and report. 5K on them now!

 

The flush was done by Meineke. I noticed today that once the pads and rotors are hot, ie up to operating temp, they bite better. But the initial emergency braking is kinda scary.
I'll give them some more time and hard braking, we'll see

 

I just put them on my new-to-me Mini, the pads on the car were on the backing plates.

The first cold stop is a touch lazy, like a cheap pad. After that, they're great. My pedal is great though - I agree with the posters above you may have another issue.

 

Keep in mind that pads are always a compromise. Those that work well in high heat range often are not as good for initial bite.

 

Hawks HPS is a street pad compound. Should not be a problem with cold bite.

 

My issue may be bed-in. I can squeak the tires if I push the pedal as hard as I can. I may go for another round of bed-in stops when I have a chance.

 

We've seen the Hawks not have good cold bite several times, heck one car wouldn't even get the ABS to activate so we don't recommend them.

 

Not looking forward to winter then ...

 

HPS or HP plus or both?

I have used Hawks HT10 for my rears (not street) so I do not know much about HPS or HP Plus. Just expecting street pads such as HPS to have better cold bite.

 

Hated my HPS pads and replaced them with the Cool Carbon pads from Bavarian Auto and love them. Best daily driver pad I have ever had.

 

What did you hate about them?

 

Same reason the OP and Way have mentioned......lousy performance. Real quick to fade, lousy when cold, very poor initial bite when they did warm up.

 

We have the same pads on a G35, and as the members have previously mentioned above, they suck ****. I would not recommend them on any car. We are switching back to OEM, when they wear out.

 

Here is a good site on bedding pads. You just don't need to do it once, it is needed over and over to get things optimal.

http://www.essexparts.com/learning-c...ost/Bed-in?v=2

 

I own the HPS myself, and mine work well. I have found often times complaints with this pad come from a lack of appropriate burnishing, and/or not enough miles to build the transfer film.

Hawk posts the burnishing instructions right on the box.

In my personal experiance, I do each step of Hawk's sugested burnish 5 times, rather than 3. It takes about 200 street miles after burnishing to achieve full braking potential.

Alex

 

^This.
I have them in my StopTech calipers. Great on the street, but NOT for the track.

Jim

 

FWIW, I'm up to about 700 miles on mine now and they have become excellent. Good initial bite without being grabby, firm progressive pedal, low dust, dead silent.

I did reuse the old rotors, so perhaps my earlier cold stop issues was due to material incompatibility with the previous pads.

 

I went up on Pikes Peak Labor Day weekend. I should have taken the MINI up instead of the Subaru, those suckers would have been bedded in big time
I'm going to have another serious go at bedding them in. I have plenty road choices here in the middle of nowhere Nebraska.