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Carbotech Brake Compounds

So, which compound is best for me?

There is no one answer for every person and/or every car.  One persons driving style and their vehicle might find the performance of our XP10™ the best, while another person with the exact same car might find the XP12™ to suit them the better, a third person with the same car but different tyres might find the XP8™ to work best for their car, driving style and tyres. 

We can help you narrow it down to one or two compounds based on what you tell us, then we can give you the different characteristics of the two and let you decide (we will obviously give our opinion to which one we think will suit your needs the best).  

Read the more detailed compound description section below first, then if you are still unsure or have any questions at all please give us a call or send us an email. At Carbotech all of our customer service specialists are also racers and track day enthusiasts that have the technical knowledge and on-track experience to assist you in every way.

PAD COMPOUNDS

The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound. This compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness.  Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds the Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non corrosive dust. Bobcat offers good performance even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. Our Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 480°C making it a good alternative to often costly and under performing OE pads. This compound is NOT recommended for fast road or any track use, see below. 

The AX6™ was specifically engineered for Autocross applications in the US. A high torque brake compound delivering reliable and consistent performance over a very wide operating temperature range of 65°C to 675°C+.  Advanced compound matrix provides gives excellent initial bite, high coefficient of friction and very progressive brake modulation and release.  The AX6™ offers high fade resistance, rotor friendliness at all temperatures, excellent cold stopping power with non corrosive dust.  As a result, AX6™ is an good choice for fast road & novice track day drivers, eliminating the need to change brake pads at the track.  Many drivers use the AX6™ for road use as well even though Carbotech doesn’t recommend street driving with AX6™ due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise. AX6™ is not a race compound, and should not be used as such and shouldn’t be used by intermediate or advanced track day drivers. Cars in excess of 300hp and/or 1400kgs should not use AX6™ for hard track use.  

The XP8™ is an even higher torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range of 90°C to 740°C +. Carbotech XP8™ is the first of our racing compounds with outstanding initial bite at race temperatures, a high coefficient of friction and excellent modulation and release characteristics. This coupled with extremely high fade resistance, very rotor friendly and 100% non-corrosive dust make this a perfect choice for novice, intermediate and advanced track day users with any tyre, also proving to be the pad of choice in the UK sprint and hillclimb scene with many class wins and championship titles. The XP8™  can also still be driven safely to and from the track.  Carbotech does not recommended XP8™ as a daily driven street pad due to elevated levels of dust and noise, however it is proving popular for the fast road users of high performance vehicles who can compromise in there quest for the braking performance and control they need.

When Carbotech unleashed the XP10™ to the general public in the US it was an instant success, gathering multiple regional, divisional, and national championships.  The XP10™ is a very high initial bite material with a coefficient of friction, and rotor friendliness unmatched in the industry with fade resistance in excess of 900°C.  Due to the high level of friction and bite, this material is recommended for cars weighing around 900kg or more with semi slick or slick tyres.  The XP10™ is also ideal for advanced/instructor level drivers.  Our XP10™ still maintains the highly praised release and excellent modulation, rotor friendliness and 100% non-corrosive dust that have made all Carbotech compounds so popular.  XP10™ is not recommended as a daily-driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise, but can safely be used to drive to and from track due the excellent control and modulation it gives even at road use temperatures.

Another highly successful XP™ series compound with an excellent initial bite, torque and fade resistance over and above the XP10™ compound. XP12™ has temperature range of 121°C to 1093°C+. The XP12™ has that excellent Carbotech release and modulation that has made all other Carbotech compounds so successful. The XP12™ is recommended only for expert/advanced drivers and is found to be most affective on race cars weighing 1100kg or more using R-Compound tires, or street cars weighing 1500kg or more for hard track use. The XP12™ is more rotor aggressive than XP10™, but compared to the competition the XP12™ is still very rotor friendly. XP12™ is NOT recommended for use as a daily driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise

Carbotech™ XP16™ is a step up from the highly successful XP12™ compound. With a more aggressive initial bite, torque and fade resistance higher than our XP12™ compound. XP16™ has a temperature range of 121°C to 1093°C+. Carbotech™ XP16™ has outstanding release and modulation that has made all other Carbotech™ compounds so successful. The XP16™ is the most rotor aggressive compound from Carbotech™, but compared to its competition the XP16™ is still very rotor friendly. Carbotech™ XP16™ is NOT recommended for use as a daily driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise.

The latest iteration of the highly successful XP™ series of compounds. XP20™ is a step up from the highly successful XP16™ compound. With an extremely aggressive initial bite, the most linear torque curve to date and excellent fade resistance the XP20™ leads the highly successful XP™ series line of compounds from Carbotech™. XP20™ has a temperature range of 135°C to 1093°C+. Carbotech™ XP20™ maintains our tradition of having the outstanding release and modulation that has made all other Carbotech™ compounds so successful. The XP20™ as with other Carbotech™ compounds is very rotor friendly. Carbotech™ XP20™ is NOT recommended for use as a daily driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise

The RP2™ compound was engineered for endurance racing based on our highly successful XP™ Series formulations. RP2™ is our longest lasting compound that we offer. RP2™ has strong initial bite, a little less modulation than our XP12, but still maintains the rotor friendliness of our XP™ series compounds. With a good initial bite and one of the most consistent torque curves in the market the RP2™ compound is easy to keep a consistent bite and torque throughout the braking zone. Great fade resistance with a temperature range of 121°C to 898°C. RP2™ is as rotor friendly as our XP™ series compounds. Carbotech™ RP2™ is NOT recommended for use as a daily driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise

BRAKE SHOE COMPOUND

Carbotech Kelated Metallic (CKM) achieves a very high coefficient of friction by taking advantage of a chemical reaction within the friction mass, which creates a tri-alloy metallic film at the liner/drum interface when subjected to heat and pressure.  Designed to overcome the shortcomings of other liner materials, CKM is very versatile and provides excellent braking performance in a wide variety of applications.  Excellent wear characteristics and a very high resistance to lock-up under hard braking.  Optimal recommended operating temperature range is from ambient to 400°C.