Founded in England in 1897, Ferodo was the first company in the world to be entirely dedicated to the design and manufacture of friction products!

Ferodo is an OEM supplier to the world's leading car manufacturers, and are used by many of the top names in motorsports. The Ferodo Racing pad range includes some of the most advanced braking materials available today, and are produced in Mondovi, Italy.

Essex is the exclusive North American importer and distributor of Ferodo Racing brake pads. We have been working with and recommending Ferodo Racing products for over a decade now, and we have weekly shipments of their pads arriving from Italy. Below are our general pad compound recommendations. However, please don't hesitate to ask for our recommendation for your specific usage environment. That's why we're here!

Essex primarily focuses on Ferodo Racing's following compounds for the North American market:

DS3.12

The DS3.12 is the latest evolution in Ferodo's incredible DS line. Every new sports car today has more of everything: More horsepower, more aero, a higher curb weight, and stickier tires. These attributes all place greater demands on the vehicle’s brake system. The Ferodo DS3.12 is the modern pad compound designed from the start to explicitly to handle those demands. The Ferodo Racing DS3.12 pad compound is proving to be a tremendous asset for our Porsche clients participating in club racing, HPDE, and time trials. The DS3.12 shows the flattest torque curve across the broadest temperature range we've ever tested. That means your brake pedal is going to feel exactly the same heading into every turn of every lap, providing tremendous consistency and repeatability. The DS3.12 has a higher mu than Ferodo's other compounds, so not as much leg pressure is required to initiate the desired response. It is also unfadable, showing no drop in performance at any temp your brakes will ever see. In dyno testing, the DS3.12 has shown superior wear rates to the other Ferodo compounds, while remaining kind to the discs. We believe the DS3.12 will become the gold standard to which other race compounds will be compared. See more details on the DS3.12 on the Essex Blog.

DS2500

Although we always recommend using a dedicated race pad for the track, the DS2500 is one of the best hybrid street/track pads on the market. It features the moderately high bite and solid fade resistance of a track pad, with the relatively low dust and noise levels of a street pad. When used as a street pad, it can produce some squeal on certain vehicle platforms. During aggressive driving the DS2500 is known for its flat torque curve, which means as temperatures go up, the response through the brake pedal remains consistent. If you drive aggressively on the street, do some canyon runs, autocross, and maybe some light track duty on street tires, the DS2500 is tough to beat.

When used on high HP, heavier cars (3000+ lbs.) on the track with race tires, pad wear rates tend to be higher than on Ferodo Racing's other pad compounds. Under those conditions, Essex would recommend the Ferodo DS1.11 or DS3.12

DS1.11

The DS1.11 is one of Ferodo Racing's latest endurance race pad offerings. It has slightly less bite at high temps. vs their older DS3000, but doesn't decompose nearly as quickly under extended heavy use on the track. The DS1.11 is known for its extremely flat torque curve, which means that as temperatures go up, the response through the brake pedal remains consistent. The DS1.11 can be thrashed all day without having it burn up or fade, it's easy on discs, and doesn't have many of the judder or vibration issues that competing products have. If you want an extremely solid, all around race pad that will perform well and last a long time, the DS1.11 is the perfect choice.

DSUNO

For our customers who enjoy the performance of the DS1.11, but just want a little more bite, we recommend the DSUNO. It doesn't wear quite as long as the DS1.11, but it does offer a higher overall mu once it reaches track temperatures.

DS3000

DS3000 has been Ferodo's most popular racing compound since 1998. The predecessor to DS1.11, DS3000 offers high initial bite with excellent feel and release. Popular among rally teams, DS3000 has a relatively low cold temperature threshold while still offering high temp stability for tarmac. DS3000 is very easy on discs at the expense of pad wear.

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Below are the official compound descriptions from Ferodo Racing Italy. Please note that the primary value of these graphs is to compare the Ferodo Racing compounds against each other. Comparing the absolute numbers below to published numbers from other manufacturers is of little value, and would be akin to comparing engine dyno graphs from different dyno types (Dynojet vs. Mustang Dyno, etc.). Again, if you're unsure which compound is right for your needs, please contact us for a recommendation.