CL RC5+ Brake Pads
FMSI Number: D1001
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The RC5+ is CL’s latest offering, and was developed with the autoX and track day crowd squarely in mind. It is a well-mannered race pad, with lower noise, low dust, and a lower coefficient of friction. The beauty of this compound is that despite its mild manners, it still retains a very high max operating temperature. It is a great choice for lighter cars on race tires, or heavy, high power cars on street tires. The failure mechanism of this pad is one of its greatest strengths. If you do happen to push it over its temperature threshold, bite slowly tapers away rather than falling off a cliff, so you’ll easily recognize when it’s time to back off. It’s extremely wear resistant, and doesn’t destroy rotors with pad deposits like the majority of street pads do when pushed to their temperature envelope. The RC5+ is a great rear pad option for those who like a more front biased setup with the RC6 or RC6E compound up front.


While most pads are formed from fibers and organic materials bonded together by resins, CL Brakes Sintered Pads begin as powdered metals such as iron, bronze, and copper, mixed with roughly ten other constituent materials including graphite and carbon. The mix is compressed in a tool under extreme pressure to give it shape, and then brazed onto a backing plate in an oven at 1800F. The resulting material is characterized by a consistently high coefficient of friction, stability at high temperatures, and an extremely low wear rates.
CL Brakes originally created sintered brake materials for military applications such as tanks, helicopters, and airplanes, as well as high speed freight and passenger trains like France’s TGV. After extensive development, the technology was successfully introduced in motorcycle applications. The most recent development has focused on aligning the sintered technology with racecars. CL Brakes have now been used successfully at the highest levels of motorsport, including World Rally Championship (WRC) and NASCAR Sprint Cup.
| Essex Part # | 07 4066 16.0 RC5+ |
| Manufacturer Part # | 4066 16.0 RC5+ |
| FMSI # | D1001 |
| Composition | Sintered |
| Category | Club Sport/Full Race |
| Max Operating Temp* | 1800F |
| Dust | Moderate |
| Noise | Low to Moderate |
| Bite / Mu | Moderate to High |
| Judder/Vibration | Very Low |
| Pad wear | Low |
| Rotor wear | Low |
Because of their high metal content, CL Sintered Pads don’t rely on a pad transfer layer to generate high levels of friction. The only recommended bed-in after install is to do a few moderately hard stops to seat the pads flush with the rotor face. That’s it. When the pads heat to a certain point, they will deposit a layer material on the face of the rotors, just like other pad types. That pad transfer layer is extremely thin however, and contains graphite (a lubricant), which protects the rotors from wear. Because of the abrasive nature of the sintered material when cold, that thin transfer layer will quickly be removed from the rotors during any cold brake applications. The transfer layer of CL pads is essentially self-curing, and only develops when required to protect the rotors.
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| Product | Similar | Similar | Similar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add To Cart | Out of stock | View Details | View Details | |
| Product Name | CL RC5+ Brake Pads | AP Racing C200 Brake Pads | Hawk Blue 9012 Front and Rear Brake Pads | Ferodo DS2500 Front and Rear Brake Pads |
| Price | $270.18 | $281.64 | $208.28 | $240.72 |
| Essex Part # | 07 4066 16.0 RC5+ | 03 CP1001T16.0 C200 | 04 453 .585E | 11 FCP1334H-N |
| Manufacturer Part # | 4066 16.0 RC5+ | HB453E.585 | FCP1334H | |
| FMSI # | D1001 | D1001 | D1001 | D1001 |
| Compound | RC5+ | C200 | Blue 9012 | DS2500 |
| Composition | Sintered | Semi-metallic | Semi-metallic | Semi-metallic |
| Category | Club Sport/Full Race | Full Race | Club Sport | Street/Club Sport |
| Max Operation Temp | 1800F | 1700 | 1000F | 1300 F |
| Dust | Moderate | Moderate | Very High | Moderate |
| Noise | Low to Moderate | Moderate | High | Low to Moderate |
| Bite/Mu | Moderate to High | High | Moderate to High | Moderate |
| Judder/Vibration | Very Low | Low | Very Low | Low |
| Pad Wear | Low | Low to Moderate | Moderate | Moderate to High (on track) |
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Learning Center
How to Choose the Best Street and Track Brake Pads
How to Choose the Best Street and Track Brake Padsby Jeff Ritter
IntroductionI'm going to share a little secret with you: As delivered from the factory, the brakes on your car are not capable of handling repeated lapping on a racetrack. They're also probably not very good for Autocross, drifting, or rally racing. I don't care if your calipers are painted red or gold, if you have gigantic carbon ceramic rotors, or if your car is advertised as being optimized on the Nordschleife. Do you know why your brakes are not up to the task of a serious thrashing as delivered? It's the lowest common denominator rule.
In the US in particular, manufactur...
