Corvette Forum Project C4: Hawk HPS Brake Pad Review

Performance pads totally transformed the braking performance of Project C4.

You might recall that the last time you saw me and the Corvette, I was overhauling the brake system. I’ve had a chance to put some miles on the new setup, and I thought it would be a great time to share my thoughts about the Hawk HPS Brake Pads I installed, with special thanks to Corvette Forum sponsor KNS Brakes.

First off, some context. For me, high performance brakes and suspension are what separates a true sports car like the Corvette from a muscle car like, say, an old Camaro. While both can make short work of a straightaway, the Corvette excels by tackling those corners as quickly and confidently as possible.

Brakes work by using friction to convert kinetic energy into heat. Mario Andretti once said, and I’m paraphrasing here, that “It’s amazing how many drivers think that the brakes are for slowing the car down.”

With good brakes, you can carry more speed into a corner and push the braking point further into the turn. If you’ve got a set of pads that convert more of that energy in less time, that’s just more time you can spend on the throttle — and that means faster lap times.

Unfortunately, most factory brake pads are not designed for high performance use. Sustained heavy use will result in brake fade. Brake fade is what happens when the pads and the rotors get so hot that they can’t generate enough friction to slow or stop the car effectively.

Time For an Upgrade

The Hawk HPS brake pads are made from a ferro-carbon compound. According to Hawk, their formula increases stopping power by between 20 and 40 percent while dramatically reducing fade.

HPS stands for “High Performance Street,” and since these are primarily a street pad, there are other concerns that Hawk has addressed, namely noise and the dreaded spectre of brake dust.

In my experience so far, these pads have lived up to those promises. I’ve enjoyed squeal-free braking with remarkably low levels of brake dust since installing them, which is a real accomplishment considering the performance of these pads.

I chose the HPS pads because they’re an ideal fit for this project car. I want this to be a fun street car that sees occasional autocross use and maybe the odd track day. Street performance is my primary concern.

That’s important to note because most performance pads require a few stops to warm them up to their ideal operating temperature, where they work best. More aggressive pads require additional warm-up, and the most race-worthy pads feel awful and mushy on the street for this reason — they just never get hot enough.

It’s true that heat is the enemy, but performance brake pads require some heat to work properly. Too much and you’ve got brake fade; not enough, and your brake pedal feels like you’ve stepped into a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Additionally, many full-race pads have a strong initial bite that make street driving downright uncomfortable. I love a good set of brakes, but I don’t like to experience whiplash if I so much as breathe on the pedal.

The Verdict

With the HPS compound, Hawk struck a very satisfying compromise between braking performance and daily-driven comfort. It takes just two or three stops to get these up to operating temperature, which means I’m more or less good to go by the time I leave my neighborhood.

Initial bite is soft, and ramps up progressively (and quickly) as you press the pedal further. Under normal driving conditions, these pads feel just fine. When things get hot and heavy, though, they do an impressive job of hauling the Corvette down from speed.

When it comes to early C4 Corvettes, I would consider the factory braking system to be a weak point. Compared to some other sports cars of its era, the Corvette just does not inspire the same level of confidence.

There are plenty of brake upgrades out there for the C4 Corvette, and most of them cost a pretty penny. You’ll spend several hundred dollars on beefier calipers and custom mounting brackets. That’s before you even get to buying pads and rotors.

For my use, the Hawk HPS pads are more than good enough. The brakes on my Corvette finally feel like a sports car should, and they make navigating the twisty backroads of the nearby Cuyahoga Valley National Park a lot more fun.

Thanks for watching, and thanks again to KNS Brakes. If you’d like to upgrade the brakes on your Corvette, they should be your first and only stop. Tell ‘em the guy with the mullet sent you.

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