Hawk brake pads - worth it?

jbc426 said
Wilwoods have no dust seals. Does it rain, snow or have dirt on the road sometimes where you live. I went with the Mopar 11.75 unicast rotors and '76 single piston calipers from a Dodge Monaco. Rears are Dr Diff's Econo-kits with 2006 Mustang Cobra R discs and calipers all powered by a 15/16" master cylinder without power assist. The car is so light it doesn't need it. All big bolt pattern stuff though, including the upgrade to an 8 3/4" rear end, aftermarket axels and now 3.91's with TrueTrac. It's the best balanced brake system I've ever driven in a Mopar. It's very predictable. I also run an anti-lock-up valve to the rears. (see pic) It doesn't lower brake pressure, just takes out the pressure spike to stop rear wheel lock-up in a sudden panic type stop. It's amazing.

I live in NY. I don't drive the car in inclement weather if I can avoid it. My car is also pretty light. (3,000 lbs)

Again, I stayed with the KH type setup because I wanted to keep the front wheels in the same place. The later factory stuff and most of the aftermarket kits push the wheels out almost an inch. I don't like the look and pushing the wheels out can also cause tire fitment issues. My old '71 Dart had this setup and the front tires would rub all the time, even with 14" wheels. Plus, factory iron calipers and rotors are ridiculously heavy, probably 30+ lbs on either side over my current parts.

My issue here is either 1) not enough pressure at the calipers or 2) need better pads.

If it comes down to being a poor combination of parts that can't do what I'm asking them to do, I will start over and get a different brand. These SSBC calipers are basically the only option in an aluminum caliper if you want to stay with the OE KH type setup.