Model S Plaid Brakes Are Terrible!

[TESTI]

My only problem with Gloc is that I need to wait 2 weeks for them to get made, with carbotech they are ready to be shipped.

 

[THX723]

Does anyone have experience with the Carbotech 1521 brake pads on stock rotors? I do not plan to track my plaid but I want a better initial bite. it gets really cold here in Canada so I'm not planning on running track pads.

I like the Carbotech pads, but if you’re looking for better cold-bite, then the 1521 will likely not cut it for you. You’re trading cold-end performance for the hot-end.

What year is your Plaid? If pre 2023, have you considered Tesla’s newly announced pad upgrade?

Below is the email communication I got from Tesla…

​

​ ​ Next-Level Brake Pads, Bold Red Calipers​ Get better pedal feel, braking predictability and slower brake fade onset with a brake pad upgrade—available for both Model S and X vehicles. A separate upgrade kit for red calipers is now also available for Plaid vehicles.​ ​ Note: Plaid vehicles built from January 12, 2023 come standard with both the brake pad and red calipers upgrades. Schedule a service appointment in the Tesla app to upgrade your vehicle. Learn More​ ​ ​

 

[lolachampcar]

Picking up the CCM converted product this am. Looking forward to the reduced upsprung and rotational inertia.

Interesting point. Mine was an early Plaid and needed all four ball joints changed before the car could accept the brake conversion.

 

[MarcG]

Interesting point. Mine was an early Plaid and needed all four ball joints changed before the car could accept the brake conversion.

Did Tesla say why?

 

[Awiner]

Picking up the CCM converted product this am. Looking forward to the reduced upsprung and rotational inertia.

Interesting point. Mine was an early Plaid and needed all four ball joints changed before the car could accept the brake conversion.

You mean knuckles. Pre 3/2002 builds needed new knuckles for clearance of the bigger rotors and calipers.

 

[WilliamG]

You mean knuckles. Pre 3/2002 builds needed new knuckles for clearance of the bigger rotors and calipers.

This. ^ Pretty much tells you that Tesla (as usual) didn’t know exactly what it was doing in regards the Model S platform in general when it released the refresh.

 

[bhzmark]

Carbotech 1521 brake pads on stock rotors? I do not plan to track my plaid but I want a better initial bite. it gets really cold here in Canada

Ask Carbotech what their min temp operating range is for the 1521. Their website only says "ambient" -- ask them if that includes ambient sitting overnight outside in Canadian mountain winters.

 

[MFrunkerOG]

My only problem with Gloc is that I need to wait 2 weeks for them to get made, with carbotech they are ready to be shipped.

That is true! But once you get them, they’re absolutely fantastic I run the R12 compound on my car for most of the spring thru fall period. I’ll switch to the autocross R6 when the all season tires go on Dec to March.

There is also this Canadian company (NRSbrakes dot com) that makes galvanized pads designed specifically for the harsh salt road winters. Good product I hear

 

[TESTI]

That is true! But once you get them, they’re absolutely fantastic I run the R12 compound on my car for most of the spring thru fall period. I’ll switch to the autocross R6 when the all season tires go on Dec to March.

There is also this Canadian company (NRSbrakes dot com) that makes galvanized pads designed specifically for the harsh salt road winters. Good product I hear

How do you like the R6 compound? I heard it's noisy at low speed.

 

[Gninoked]

This. ^ Pretty much tells you that Tesla (as usual) didn’t know exactly what it was doing in regards the Model S platform in general when it released the refresh.

The inside scoop that I got suggests that one reason the track pack took so long to appear is that they had a Brembo version all spec'd out (the one that people saw testing at the ring and elsewhere) but Brembo wasn't willing to make any changes requested by Tesla after testing... Which is fine, even if a little strange because of their relationship on all the other parts/cars. Ultimately without changes Tesla didn't like the performance/cost. AP Racing was willing to work with Tesla and the end product in my opinion is even better than the Brembo setup and at a much lower cost. This is all good, however the AP calipers had different physical dimensions than the Brembos hence the need to replace the older rev knuckles and it took an extra year plus to get released.

 

[MFrunkerOG]

How do you like the R6 compound? I heard it's noisy at low speed.

I’ve never had any noise with any Gloc pads. Even the R12

 

[TESTI]

I’ve never had any noise with any Gloc pads. Even the R12

I just found an authorized G-Loc supplier here in Canada that can get me the pads without having to pay for customs, since I'm sticking with the stock rotor I'll go with the R6 compound to give me a little more headroom with temperature when I push it hard. Appreciate your feedback!

 

[TESTI]

I’ve never had any noise with any Gloc pads. Even the R12

Do you happen to have the part number for the R6 pads?

 

[bkcyk]

AP Racing was willing to work with Tesla and the end product in my opinion is even better than the Brembo setup and at a much lower cost. This is all good, however the AP calipers had different physical dimensions than the Brembos hence the need to replace the older rev knuckles and it took an extra year plus to get released.

Any documentation or pics showing that the Track Pack calipers are made by AP Racing and not Brembo? Interesting!

 

[Awiner]

Any documentation or pics showing that the Track Pack calipers are made by AP Racing and not Brembo? Interesting!

I have the track pack and can confirm they are AP racing calipers.

 

[THX723]

The inside scoop that I got suggests that one reason the track pack took so long to appear is that they had a Brembo version all spec'd out (the one that people saw testing at the ring and elsewhere) but Brembo wasn't willing to make any changes requested by Tesla after testing... Which is fine, even if a little strange because of their relationship on all the other parts/cars. Ultimately without changes Tesla didn't like the performance/cost. AP Racing was willing to work with Tesla and the end product in my opinion is even better than the Brembo setup and at a much lower cost. This is all good, however the AP calipers had different physical dimensions than the Brembos hence the need to replace the older rev knuckles and it took an extra year plus to get released.

...meanwhile, AP Racing's parent company is Brembo.

 

[lolachampcar]

These are the old control arms from one end of the car (front I guess) to give an idea of components that needed to be replaced to fit the AP brakes. No small task. Also lost adaptive damping (left rear to zero rebound reported) within 100 miles of picking the car up. That's a bit disappointing.

 

[Awiner]

These are the old control arms from one end of the car (front I guess) to give an idea of components that needed to be replaced to fit the AP brakes. No small task. Also lost adaptive damping (left rear to zero rebound reported) within 100 miles of picking the car up. That's a bit disappointing.View attachment 978466

Front knuckles.

 

[Vettepartz]

Has anyone tried out just the new pads from Tesla? I am wondering how they compare to the older Plaid brakes. I have a set of the new pads on order from Tesla now.

 

[Awiner]

Has anyone tried out just the new pads from Tesla? I am wondering how they compare to the older Plaid brakes. I have a set of the new pads on order from Tesla now.

The newer pads a a tad bit better I am told. Flushing out the dot 3 brake fluid and replacing with dot 4 makes a bigger difference.

Since 1/11/2023 builds, all S and X plaids have been switched to dot 4 factory fill.