Carbone Lorraine Rc5+

[2052006 10]

Anyone with experience of using the new compound? My Mintex 1144s are simply not up to the job on track. Any new pads need to be good for an everyday car though, so what are the new RC5+ like?

 

Thanks.

[McDude 33]

Can't comment on the RC5s, but agree that the 1144s aren't up to heavy braking on track. 1155s seem to be though - and are fine on road conditions.

[Gman 29]

any new experiences of these pads? Looking to get something decent after going cheap with yellowstuff and killing them in one easy going track day

[SweetBadger 94]

I've used the RC5s and they're fantastic; better than both the Mintex 1155s and 1144s, they also work from cold too. In fact better than the DS3000s we're currently racing with (unfortunately just far more expensive). Problem is if you use them on the road with the softer braking they'll eat your discs in no time at all and the dust will make a right mess of your alloy wheels.

 

The RC5+ on the other hand didn't work well for me at all and the pad material fell of the pad back plate! May have just been an isolated batch but I wouldn't recommend them based on my experience.

 

Mintex 1155s were just about ok for road use and took a lot of abuse on track, but I found they did not inspire much confidence from cold.

[Batfink 201]

I'm a dealer of CL Brakes and although i've used them on the road I don't recommend this as their primary role. They are not sealed and painted like a road pad and I think this makes them a little susceptible to the elements. Its still rare but there have been the very occasional failure as Alex has had, but its not happened with one of my customers for at least a year, maybe longer and in total I maybe have had less than 5 people in all the years I've been selling them. I used RC5+ on a road car and was happy with the pad and disc wear though they did squeal when cold. Dust is an issue if you do not regularly clean your wheels.

 

I'd probably go for the Ferodo DS2500 on an everyday car though as it works at higher temperatures than the Mintex M1144

 

I find a number of customers of mine dont go for the allrounder but now run OE/Mintex m1144/ferodo DS2500 for road use, then have a separate set of CL Brakes and discs for the track day.

 

I'm still on a quest to find a better pad for an allrounder, but they require more clever use of materials and that means they are not cheap.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Batfink

[2052006 10]

I fitted 5+ pads after this original post. They were pretty impressive on track to be fair, didn't overheat - did the job I was after in this respect really. However, I found they needed heat in them to work properly, and more heat than I could get in them driving sensibly on the road. I'm not sure what the problem was exactly, but for road use, they didn't inspire confidence for me. It could be they were affected by the elements and just got progressively worse, I don't know. That said, they were good on track.

 

Changed to gti6 calipers now though, with DS2500 pads, but haven't done enough miles to comment on their performance yet...