Hawk Performance HP Plus Brake Pads - Front Pair (07-12 GT500, 12-13 Boss 302)

I’m Justin with AmericanMuscle.com, and today I have with me 3 different brake pad options, all from Hawk Performance. We’re looking at the ceramic, the HPS, and the HP+, for both front and rear that will offer a broad range of performance that will suit everything from a bone stock daily driver, to an all out race course monster. Any one of these pads will far outperform your stock pads in just about every way, more braking performance, less fade and dust. However it’s very important you select the right pad for your application, so with that in mind, let’s break these 3 options down a little further. First up is the ceramic option from Hawk. These are going to be an ideal OE replacement and be perfectly suited for any daily driver, they’re going to bite strong without needing to be hot, be very quiet, and offer very minimal dust. This is all thanks to that ceramic compounds, which offers a nice balance between performance and everyday streetability. The next pad, the Hawk HPS will be right in the middle between the ceramics and the HP+ and will be for a daily driver or a weekend warrior, whose car does see a little track time and are just looking for a little bit more bite, and less fade. These pads utilize a therocarbon compound which does benefit from a little heat in order to perform their best but still offer great performance when cold. It is worth pointing out that these pads can be a little noisy when cold, and will definitely put off a little bit more dust than the ceramics, but all around, the HPS are a solid performer. Finally, we have the HP+. These are going to be for someone who subjects their Mustang to road courses and auto crossing where repetitive fade and high heat can kill lesser pads. Can you use these pads on the street? Yes, however, these pads feature a high temperature specific compound with a very high friction coefficient, which means these pads need to be hot and stay hot in order to perform at their best, like on a road course or an auto cross track. Once hot, these HP+ pads will bite hard, and offer great performance with very little fade, these pads tend to be very noisy and put off a good amount of dust, however since they’re geared more towards a race car versus a show car, most folks should be fine with that. Installing these pads from Hawk or any brake pads at that matter is a pretty simple task if you’ve never tackled brakes before. Due to the aggressive compounds of these pads, Hawk included a grease, to be used in conjunction with the included shim located on the back of the pad just to keep the noise level down. It’s very important that you use the grease on the back of the pad and not on the front of the pad, just so you don’t mess up your new brakes. Overall, getting the fronts and rears installed should only take you about 2 hours from start to finish. When it comes down to it, brake pads and tires are 2 of the biggest factors when it comes to helping your car stop faster. So try upgrading your Mustang to a quality pad like one of these Hawk options, and discover the difference in your braking performance.... HIDE