Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™: The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser, and has won multiple SCCA Solo 2 and Prosolo National Championships. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. Bobcat 1521™ compound has also been found to extend the life of your rotors 2-3 times. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.
Carbotech™ AX6™ (1106™): The AX6™ takes the place of the Panther Plus™ compound that was so successful. AX6™ was specifically engineered for Autocross applications. A high torque brake compound delivering reliable and consistent performance over a very wide operating temperature range (150°F to 1250°F +). Advanced compound matrix provides an excellent initial “bite”, high coefficient of friction, and very progressive brake modulation and release characteristics. AX6™ offers high fade resistance, rotor friendliness at all temperatures, excellent cold stopping power, and non corrosive dust. As a result, AX6™ is an excellent choice for Autocross & novice track day drivers and beginner high performance driver education (HPDE) drivers on street driven cars using street tires eliminating the need to change brake pads at the track. AX6™ has gained tremendous popularity with SCCA Prosolo/Solo2 competitors for its fantastic bite, release & modulation. Many drivers use the AX6™ for street driving as well, even though Carbotech doesn’t recommend street driving with AX6™ due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise. AX6™ is NOT a race compound, and should not be used as such. AX6™ shouldn’t be used by any intermediate or advanced track day drivers, and should not be used with “R” compound tires (racing tires). Cars in excess of 300hp and/or 3,000lbs should not use AX6™ for any track use.
Carbotech XP8™ (1108™): A high torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range (200°F-1350°F+). Carbotech XP8™ is the first of our racing compounds. Outstanding initial bite at race temperatures, high coefficient of friction, excellent modulation and release characteristics. Extremely high fade resistance, very rotor friendly with 100% non-corrosive dust. Excellent as a front brake pad for lighter ITA, ITB, ITC, SRF, H4, H5, and other cars that weigh less than 2,400lbs. Perfect for novice, intermediate and advanced track day (HPDE) use with any tire, and can still be driven safely to and from the track. There are several vehicles that use XP8™ on the street, autocross, and at track day (HPDE) events. Carbotech does NOT recommended XP8™ as a daily driven street pad due to elevated levels of dust and noise. XP8™ is also a great rear brake pad for almost any race car (Spec Miata-T1/T2/CMC). XP8™ is a great compound on the front & rear of most open wheel and sports racers.
Carbotech™ XP10™ (1110™): When Carbotech unleashed the XP10™ to the general public, and it was an instant success, gathering multiple regional, divisional, and national championships. The XP10™ is a very high initial bite friction material, with a coefficient of friction and rotor friendliness unmatched in the industry. Fade resistance is in excess of 1650°F. Due to the high level of friction and bite, this material is recommended for cars weighing around 2,000lbs or more, not including formula cars and cars with brake bias bars weighing less than 2,000lbs. This is the preferred compound for the front of Spec Miata racers, SSC,SSB, T3, SRF, ITS, ITE, H1,H2, H3, H4, 944 Cup, ST, GS, Factory Five Cobra’s and many more Grand-Am/ALMS/SCCA/NASA classes. XP10™ is also ideal for advanced/instructor level HPDE drivers. XP10™ still maintains the highly praised release and excellent modulation, rotor friendliness, and 100% non-corrosive dust that have made all Carbotech compounds so successful. XP10™ is not recommended as a daily-driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise.
Carbotech™ XP12™ (1112™): The latest iteration of the highly successful XP™ series of compounds with an extremely high initial bite, torque and fade resistance than compound XP10™. XP12™ is a world leading friction compound that is unmatched as a Ceramic racing compound, with a temperature range of 250°F to 2000°F+. The XP12™ still has that excellent Carbotech release and modulation that has made all other Carbotech compounds so successful. The XP12™ is the most rotor aggressive compound Carbotech offers, but compared to the competition the XP12™ is still very rotor friendly and contains 100% non-corrosive dust. XP12™ is recommended only for expert/very advanced drivers. XP12™ is found to be most affective on race cars weighing 2,400lbs or more using R-Compound tires; or street cars weighing 3,200lbs or more for track use only. Ideal for LMP1, LMP2, DP, T1, T2, T3, H1, H2, GT1, GT2, GT3, TC, GT, ST, GS, MX-5 Cup, etc… XP12™ is NOT recommended for use as a daily driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise.
Carbotech™ XP16™ (1601™): The second compound to be released this year from Carbotech. It is a step up from the highly successful XP12 compound. The XP16™ leads the highly touted XP™ series line of compounds from Carbotech. With an extremely, and we mean extremely high initial bite, torque and fade resistance than compound XP12™. XP16™ is a world leading friction compound that is unmatched as a Ceramic racing compound, with a temperature range of 250°F to 2000°F+. Carbotech XP16™ still has outstanding release and modulation that has made all other Carbotech compounds so successful. The XP16™ is the most rotor aggressive compound Carbotech makes, but compared to it's competition the XP16™ is still very rotor friendly and contains 100% non-corrosive dust. XP16™ is recommended only for expert/very advanced drivers. XP16™ is found to be most affective on race cars weighing 3,000lbs or more using R-Compound tires only. Ideal for sprint use only in classes such as T1, T2, H1, GT1, GT2, GT3, GT, GS, DP, P1, P2, etc… Not recommended for use as a daily driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise.
Carbotech™ 912 Kelated Metallic™: An advance organic-metallic compound specially formulated for drum shoe applications in lighter weight race cars and/or high performance street vehicles. High friction coefficient of 0.46 to 0.48, providing excellent braking without any risk of lock-up. Very good brake modulation throughout the entire brake pedal travel range, with excellent wear characteristics, providing an outstanding value. With a price-point significantly below other compounds offering similar performance, 912 ™ is an excellent choice for the budget-minded racer or high-performance driver. Optimal recommended operating temperature range is from ambient to 650°F.
Carbotech™ 913 Kelated Metallic™: A D.O.T.-approved high-performance compound for brake shoes on high performance street vehicles and race cars. Carbotech Kelated Metallic (CKM) achieves a very high coefficient of friction (approx. 0.48 to 0.50) by taking advantage of a chemical reaction within the friction mass, which creates a tri-alloy metallic film at the liner/drum interface when subjected to heat and pressure. Designed to overcome the shortcomings of other liner materials, CKM is a very versatile and provides excellent braking performance in a wide variety of applications. Excellent wear characteristics and a very high resistance to lock-up under hard braking. Optimal recommended operating temperature range is from ambient to 750°F.
There is no one answer for every person and/or every car. One drivers driving style and their vehicle might find the performance of our XP10 the best. Another driver with the exact same car might find the XP12 to suit them the best. A third driver with the same car, but different tires might find the XP8 compound to work best for their car, driving style, and tires. So, we can help you narrow it down to one or two compounds based on what you tell us; then we can give you the different characteristics of the two and let you decide (we will give our opinion on which compound we think will suit your needs the best). You might know just based off what you read on our site. Read the entire compound description section first, then if you still don’t know or have any questions at all please give us a call or send us an email. At Carbotech all of our customer service specialists are also racers and track day enthusiasts that have the technical knowledge and on-track experience to assist you in every way.
Carbotech Overview & Philosophy
Carbotech Performance Brakes™, the world leader in Ceramic friction materials™. Carbotech is the only brake pad manufacturer in the world with a complete line of Ceramic compounds for street, autocross, and track use. Carbotech-Ceramic™ compounds are known for their unsurpassed release & modulation, while maintaining very consistent torque control characteristics. Carbotech brake pads are extremely rotor friendly, that’s something that has been unmatched by any other brake pad in the industry.
Carbotech Performance Brakes™ are also leading the way with HPDE (track day) groups and drivers. We can help you find the perfect set up for your vehicle by having a whole line up of track pads to customize for your front & rear brake applications. Carbotech uses advanced friction technology to perfect all of their compounds for the street & track. Research & Development (R&D) is not just a company philosophy, it’s a way of life at Carbotech, a 365 days a year job that never has an end in sight. Continuous improvement is a cornerstone in Carbotech’s solid reputation, because great compounds are not engineered overnight.
You’ll find that no one else in the industry releases new compound formulations like Carbotech consistently does. We don’t believe in finding a good compound and trying to ride it as long as possible, we have a saying around here that is imbedded into every employee’s thought process; it’s called “continuous improvement, with no end in sight™”. We strive in constantly improving our existing compounds as new technologies and materials come to market. In fact, the Bobcat 1521™ compound is arguably our most successful compound, and it continues to gain enormous popularity among the performance industry. But we did rest on its success; we have just improved the Bobcat 1521™ compound to be even quieter and smoother for the driver while keeping its legendary performance.
Currently Carbotech is developing another track compound that will exceed the XP12™. Also in the works is an endurance compound that will be suitable for all endurance applications. You will most likely find a Carbotech employee at most SCCA/NASA events as well as a great number of HPDE events providing customer support and trouble shooting any brake issues; even if they aren’t Carbotech brake pads. We don’t just sell you a set of brake pads; we deliver unmatched customer support and technical help.
