KFP Magnum Pads are now availible!

[Opie]

After about a month of waiting KFP Magnum has released their brake pads for the Subaru line. '99+ pads are availible now and any other year can be manufactured with an approximate month lead time.

KFP Magnum pads feature a carbon/kevlar blend and a ceramic heat sheild between the friction material and the metal backup plate. This reduces heat transfer from the pad to the caliper, fluid & seals. They are availible in several different compounds:

Red #1101-
Very high torque, moderate wear, effective up to 1200 deg. F, Most effective with Formula Ford weight asphalt duty cars or light weight dirt cars.

Blue #4211-
High torque, moderate wear, very rotor friendly, effective up to 1500 deg. F, Most effective on light weight asphalt duty cars or for heavy weight dirt race cars.

Gold #42A-
High torque, low wear, quick release, optimum performance over a wide range. For small asphalt cars to 3000 lb. sedans. A premier compound for severe duty.

Purple #42F-
Moderate torque, low wear, for applications where heat saturation is high. Still very rotor friendly. For endurance, american sedan to Winston Cup cars. Bedding-in is critical for optimal performance

Silver #1935
Street compound, high torque, quiet running, low dust.

I just received my order today, KFP Magnum Blue's for my 2000 Impreza 2.5RS.
Fronts P/N: 721/4211 $125.00
Rears P/N: 770/4211 $ 80.00

They will be installed tomorrow and a full review, with 60mph to zero stopping distances will be posted on www.subarureview.com within 2 weeks.

For more information check out the article in the latest Grassroot Motorsports magazine or call Larry Berry @ KFP - (407) 892-1841

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[Opie]

OK got the pads installed on Saturday and then performed the required "bedding-in" procedure. KFP's bedding in procedure consisted of: 10 stops from 20mph, followed by 10 stops from 40mph, followed by 10 stops from 70mph! The brake's just kept getting more & more grip! Literally amazing, I then went home and let the brakes cool as recommended. Sunday morning I went out for a spirited drive to get a feel for the pads. When I first started out the pedal feel was a little light, braking distance was not increased but the pedal did not feel as firm as I was used to. After about 5 normal stops the firmness was back and the pedal feel was great (I guess they had warmed up). Pedal feel is very linear under hard braking, once you have reached about halfway through the pedal travel be prepared for some g's. If you seatbelt isn't tight you will leave your seat! I have never stopped so quickly in my life! I will definitly have some g-tech 60-0 measurements by this weekend.!

So far the only "bad" of these new pads are they are somewhat noisy (as any true performance pad would be) squeaking occurs occasionally when braking lightly. Other than that, I am truely amazed with these pads.

On the drive to work this morning the pads were very "street" friendly, I had no problems at all.

[Jon Bogert]

Stock RS calipers & rotors? I'd love to see the G-tech distance for the 10th back to back stop from 70-0 vs the first.

Also, what kind of brake fluid are you using?

[Opie]

Jon Bogert - Stock calipers, Brembo cross-drilled rotors, Goodridge lines and Castrol GT-LMA fluid.

I will be doing the G-Tech stopping distances this weekend (8/18-8/19) and will post the results as soon as I can. I'm hoping for a 100ft - 110ft result...Porsche territory. I'll list the distances for all the stops and I'll do at least 15.

As far as my impression of the pads...I am still, simply amazed as to their stopping power. Normal driving feels the same as stock pads (with the addition of annoying squeaks when the pads are cold ), but once you hit the pedal hard, it is an almost immeadiate stop. I think my eyes are now permenently bugged out from the force!

[Opie]

Spent some time with the G-Tech this weekend to get some numbers with these new pads, here are the details:

2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS
Braking Mods: KFP Magnum Blue Brake Pads, Brembo cross-drilled rotors, Goodridge Braided Brake lines and Castrol GT-LMA brake fluid.
Tires: Kumho ESCTA Supra 712's - 205/55R16
Conditions: 7:00-7:30 pm, dry-blacktop.
Temp: Low 90's
Humidity: High 90%

Distance from 60mph to 0: (In order from first stop to last)
109 ft
109 ft
108 ft
107 ft
107 ft
106 ft
105 ft
104 ft
104 ft
104 ft
104 ft
105 ft
106 ft
105 ft
105 ft

Average Stopping Distance: 105.86 ft
(Calculated by adding all 15 stops and dividing by 15)
Shortest Stopping Distance: 104 ft

Previous testing results:
2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS
Braking Mods: None
Tires: Kumho ESCTA Supra 712's - 205/55R16
Conditions: 9:00-10:00 pm, dry-blacktop.
Temp: 82
Humidity: 93%

Distance from 60mph to 0: (In order from first stop to last)
135 ft
124 ft
118 ft

Average Stopping Distance: 125.66 ft
(Calculated by adding all 3 stops and dividing by 3)
Shortest Stopping Distance: 118 ft

Conclusion:
Net Improvement: Braking distance (from 60mph) reduced by 19.8 ft

I have yet to experience any brake fade since swapping to the Brembo rotors, the KFP pads have brought a whole new meaning to "braking".

After driving on these pads daily for the last 9 days here are my impressions:
Pros - Great linear pedal feel, no warm-up needed. Tremendous stopping power. Large operating temperature range, no fade under hard braking. Uses factory calipers (GS & STS legal). Daily drivable. Average cost.

Cons - Moderate amount of brake dust, brakes squeak badly when brake dust build-up is present (Goes away after cleaning).

Overall Impression: Very, very pleased with the pads. Should be able to drive deeper into the corners during auto-x as well as being able to stop more effectively on the street.

[Opie]

Bumpidy for all those "Which pad should I buy" guys!

[Jon Bogert]

Well, duh! Why didn't you just say they were Cool Carbons? Of course they're amazing. If they're Cool Carbons, "moderate amount of brake dust" is a relative term. Also, It'll be interesting to see how the rotors hold up.

[Opie]

Jon - I'll be keeping an eye out for excessive rotor wear, I don't really want to shell out the cash for another set of Brembo rotor's any time soon! The pad manufacturer claims these are very rotor friendly...I guess that would explain the amounts of brake dust . As long as they keep stopping the car like they are now, I'll deal with it.

[Jon Bogert]

I'd be more concerned about warping. With the Mintex pads, I was very worried about rotor wear, since they're notorious for that. I shouldn't have worried: the stock rotors warped after one day on the track.

I think that--by not fading and forcing you to back off--very effective brake pads and good fluid allow you to take the factory brakes waaay beyond where they're supposed to go. The weak link is then the rotors.

[Opie]

Fade was why I replaced the rotors in the first place, after back-to-back autocross runs I was getting serious fade at the end of the second run (I'm sure the left foot braking wasn't helping ). The cross-drilled cured that problem, I did the pads for a little extra grip, I like to late brake.

We'll see how everything holds up.

[NickSTi]

Opie i missed this thread. Thanx for the info.
But how much stopping power does the 4 pots have? in braking distance? Still looking into braking options