How soon after driving can I change pads?

[dj330xi]

Silly question. I am driving 5 hours down to VIR on Friday and was planning to change front pads to track pads when I get there. But then I realized calipers and pads will likely be pretty hot after a 5 hour drive.

Can anyone give me an idea of how long would the car need to sit to cool down the calipers and pads before it would be safe to swap pads for track event the following day? Would it be a pretty quick cooldown or need a few hours idle? Just trying to plan how early I need to get there on Friday.

Thanks in advance.

[roastbeef]

you should be good to go pretty quick. give it 15 minutes as you unload the car and take your pre-race dump and you should be good to go. they will be a slightly warm, but not even close to being warm enough to burn you.

[-BEASTMW-]

Can always wear mechanic gloves. I do that anyway. A few minutes + gloves = should be alright.

[SpartaEvolution]

As long as you're not braking too heavily right before you get to the track, they should be pretty cool from highway driving.

Give it a few minutes after parking, maybe follow roastbeef's excellent advice.

Originally Posted by roastbeef

take your pre-race dump and you should be good to go.

[dj330xi]

Thanks all! Will definitely take the dump advice!

[VictorH]

Why not change them before you leave? Almost all track pads give acceptable street performance and when you drive back the track pads will start eating away the pad material that's on the rotor after your track event. I leave my track pads on a week after the event to get the pad material off and then put my street pads on the following week.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by dj330xi

Thanks all! Will definitely take the dump advice!

taking a dump seems to calm my nerves and clear my head, plus you lose 1/2 lb.

seriously though, give it 10 minutes and you'll be good to go. if i'm driving ~130 miles to the track, i'll just run race pads, but for the 400 mile trips, i'll swap at the track. i like to take a box of these heavy duty gloves with me. i don't get my hands dirty, and they last as long as you wear them. they are thick and nice. i tend to like them more than a thicker mechanic's glove for the extra dexterity. toss them when you're done and don't worry about it.
https://www.autogeek.net/laorhedunigl1.html

[1MOREMOD]

It's after the day going back to stock pads that's the issue. Heat will stay in them longer cuz actually used