07/15/2026
You've got maybe fifty seconds. The pads might be warm from the last run, or they might be stone cold from an hour in the staging line. The first braking zone comes at the end of a launch where you're still getting the tires up to operating temp. And the course you're driving today won't exist tomorrow.
Autocross doesn't give brakes the same conditions road racing does. There's no warmup lap, no sustained heat cycle, no opportunity to ease into optimal temperature before the finish line is in sight. You need effective friction from the first pedal application to the last, and you need it to communicate clearly so you can use the brake zone to rotate your Subaru BRZ, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Nissan Elantra N, or heavily modified Civic Type R without guesswork.
What HPX Was Built to Do
HPX is Hawk's brand-new autocross-specific compound, and it was built from a blank page for just this scenario. Smooth bite, clean modulation, and quick activation are the core engineering targets — not as marketing language, but as literal performance requirements that the friction material was held to through extensive dynamometer and real-world validation. 'Quick activation' means HPX reaches effective friction levels fast, without the cold hesitation that higher-temperature race compounds exhibit at the start, or the spongy fade lower-temp street and OE compounds can reveal at the finish. That's why it works on a WRX STI running 200-treadwear slicks and on a stock-class Mustang GT running street tires. Different cars, very different grip levels, same communication requirement. Hawk is the official brake product for the SCCA, and HPX was developed with input from competitors at every class level. That's not incidental — it's why the compound works across the entire spectrum of autocross vehicles.
Where HP+ and HPS 5.0 Still Have a Role
It’s Goldilocks all over again. One’s bite is too hard, and one’s bite is too soft. HP+ was developed for sport driving and technically straddles street and track use — lower wear rates and higher torque values than any street-only compound. For autocross, it works. It generates strong stopping power, and its wider operating range means it can handle an event day that’s warm. The tradeoff is that HP+ is noisier, dustier, and less forgiving when it's genuinely cold. If your autocross car is also your daily driver and you want to avoid the “beer truck” complaint from your neighbors on Tuesday morning, HPS 5.0 is the more livable choice, but as a true street pad, it lacks the aggressive grip and temp capacity of either HPX or HP+. If you've been chasing controllability and consistency, HPX is just right.
Learn more about HPX at hawkperformance.com/hpx or use our Part Search tool to confirm fitment for your specific vehicle or caliper setup.
