CARBOTECH Engineering
1100 N.W. 53rd Street
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
954-493-9669 / FAX 954-493-9667
On 12/12/00 I visited CarboTech’s main facility located in Fort Lauderdale Florida. The owner Larry was gracious enough to give me a tour of the plant, show me the production processes, and then spend over an hour talking about his brake pads.
Larry gave me some interesting statistics about his manufacturing production levels and classes of pads. CarboTech brake pads are classified into four groups: Class A, B, C, & D. The classifications are based on demand and subsequent production levels. See the chart below:
Class Reorder Qty. Production Qty.
A 5-10
B 3-5
C 0<5
D Make to order only
The Gen 3 SHO pads (#598 Front, #610 Rear) have been upgraded from Class C to Class B for 2001. This means that the current 30-day lead-time required for SHO pads will be substantially reduced. It is Larry’s goal to predict demand based on prior years sales, then schedule production so that Class A & B pads are always available. During 2000, CarboTech produced 23 sets of the #598 front pads, and 17 sets of the #610 rear pads. This demand level earned the upgrade to Class B.
I asked Larry about using CarboTech Street F pads on the front and stock pads in the rear, due to "budget restraints". He advised me that this could potentially be dangerous under some driving conditions. During hard breaking the front end would tend to dip and the rear end lift, due to the difference in stopping force from front to rear. This situation would be more dangerous during hard breaking while cornering. Larry estimated that the weight distribution would go from 55/45 as the car sits idle, to 70/30 if Street F pads were only installed on the front.
CarboTech produces several difference pads for the Gen 3 SHO. Larry believes that the Street F pads are the best choice for street use. This recommendation has been confirmed by Tim Wright (AKA The SHO Godfather). The Panther pads are designed for Track Use Only. Of course the Panthers can be used for street driving. However, the consequences will be heavy brake dust and occasional brake noise.
At the end of my visit I eagerly handed Larry my Visa and I placed an order for a complete set (front & rear) of the Street F pads.
Eric Eaton
96 Silver Frost
Eric, I need your E mail Address & please resend the photos so I can finish this page! Thanks, Tim Wright
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CarboTech’s Customer Service Line. Larry explains to an M5 customer why Panther pads are not recommended for street use. |
| This rotor was removed from a Honda Prelude after one month of use. This customer, against Larry’s warnings, used Hawk Blue racing pads for street driving. Notice the lip around the outer edge of the rotor. The Hawk Blue pads actually cut into the rotor. | |
| Another shot of the Honda Rotor. | |
| This is a shot of Richard and Larry assembling the backing plates and friction material for Ford Expedition brake pads. | |
| The main production area of the CarboTech plant. | |
| Backing material inventory. | |
| The backing material for the #598 SHO front pad. | |
| The friction material is custom cut to fit the backing plate. | |
| Two holes must be drilled into the backing plate so the friction material can be riveted to it. This backing plate is for the #598 pad. | |
| Here you can see the new drilled and counter bored holes. This backing plate is for the Ford Expedition pads. | |
| Matching holes are drilled and counter bored into the friction material. This is for the Ford Expedition pads that were in production during my visit. | |
| Here Richard uses a special epoxy to bond the friction material to the backing plate. At this point Richard wanted to know just what was planning to do with these pictures J . | |
| When Richard learned that he would be immortalized on the V8SHO.com website, a smile came to his face. | |
| Immediately following the bonding, Carlos rivets the two pieces together. The pads are then sanded and prepared for shipping. | |
| Here is a picture of the CarboTech stock room. These are boxes of pads produced by CarboTech. The picture is a shot of the Hawk Blue racing pads that CarboTech sells, but does not manufacture. Again, Hawk Blue pads are for RACING ONLY. See the picture above of the Honda rotor after a run in with Hawk Blues and street driving. | |
| Hawk Blue brake pads. | |
| Upon completion of my tour of CarboTech, I eagerly handed Larry my Visa for the purchase of front and rear Street-F pads for my SHO. No reading my Visa numbers J | |