Hawk Performance HB485F.656 HPS Performance Street Brake Pads

tl;dr: These pads are amazing and you should buy them if you have any need to brake harder than stop or go traffic requires. Not intended for track use on cars over about 3200lbs.I've run these pads twice in the past on previous vehicles. They never cease to amaze me but this time it went a step farther. I've been having braking issues on my 2012 Mustang GT for a while now. I've tried swapping pads (generic ones) and flushing/bleeding fluid but with minimal improvement. Last night I installed these pads and wow what a difference they made. The pedal used to sink to the floor with only moderate amounts of braking available but after bedding these pads properly and letting them cool my pedal feels better than factory new and the bite these pads provide is INSANE.You HAVE to bed these pads properly as per the factory instructions to get good performance out of them though. On first install my pedal actually felt way worse than it did with the old worn pads. The pedal had almost no feel to it and sank to near the floor. After doing the required bedding procedure 45mph-10mph hard braking about 6 times and then 70mph-10mph hard braking about 8 times they had a very strong smell that let me know it worked. Rotors blued evenly as a visual confirmation of the proper temps being reached. You must drive around without stopping for about 10min to let them fully cool or you can cause warping. Once fully cooled if bedding was done right the pedal should feel firm and the brakes should bite very hard.Pros:Affordable for the performance you get from themThe harder you use them (for hard street/non track purposes) the better they will work as they reach optimal tempsLong lasting for a performance padLow wear on the rotorsWork great when cold which is not always the case with performance padsSilent if installed and bedded properly. No squeaking brakes coming up to a stop lightStronger then stock retaining springsTons of high temp brake greaseExcellent install and bedding instructionsCons:If you drive them too hard with a heavy vehicle and they get too hot (hotter than you'll see on the street, I tracked them once) they can glaze over and become fairly useless. Get the HP+ ones for track cars.Aggressive bedding procedure can be hard to do depending on location. Empty back roads are a mustThis might sound counter intuitive but the pads are so thick it can make installing on certain vehicles hard as the caliper might need to be maxed out in travel which is difficult on crank and push type calipers towards the endFinding the right part number for your vehicle can be hard. Use Hawk's website and then buy on Amazon as everywhere else is much more expensive.

For a street compound pad, these perform well above reasonable expectations. Initial bite is firm without being grabby. No problems with good braking before heating up and when driven at a very spirited pace on tight twisty mountain roads, they manage heat very well. Never had any problems with overheating/brake fade.No problems with excessive dust and zero brake squeal.All things considered, best brake pads I have ever used.

I paired these pads with EBC slotted and dimpled rotors on my 2006 Mustang (the EBC pads were much more expensive). I drove the combination 80,000 street miles before they both needed to be replaced. This included two seasons of autocross.Street braking performance is consistently excellent, even in wet or snowy conditions. Seasoned track instructors were surprised at how effective my brakes were on such a relatively heavy car.At 140,000 miles I replaced all 4 corners with the same brake combination, plus braided stainless lines. Looking forward to another exciting 80,000 miles!

Hawk pads are the best. Actually replaced my previous Hawk pads sooner than I needed too (these last so much longer than OEM without the dust!).

Quality brake pads and a great price.

HAWK - GREAT NAME, GREAT PRODUCT, GREAT QUALITY, GREAT PERFORMANCE! GREAT GREAT!

Works as described. Best I've used (3rd or 4th different brake pad).

Used with a 2011 Shelby GT500 Convertible - works great and increases braking-power.I would no longer use OEM brake pads.

Gets the job done.

Dust was cut down at minimal 50% from stock pads.

Haven't had a chance to hit the track, but I'm still impressed with how much better these are compared to my stock pads.Worth every penny.