Hawk DTC-60 on Track: What Owners Run, Car by Car
DTC-60 is the pad most track-day drivers mean when they say they run Hawks. It is the step after a street-and-autocross pad, it goes on the front of nearly every platform we cover, and often on the back too. It is not Hawk's most aggressive pad, which is why it suits so many people: enough heat tolerance for a full session without the bite that overpowers a 200-treadwear tire.
This article is part of our guide to Hawk pads for track cars. Here we go car by car through who runs DTC-60, at which end, and what it costs in rotors, dust and noise. Every shape we list is in the DTC-60 collection.
What Hawk says
| DTC-60 (letter G) | |
|---|---|
| Operating range | 400–1600°F |
| Optimal range | 700–1100°F |
| Character | High deceleration, good modulation and release, "very low abrasive rotor wear" |
| Intended use | "Popular choice for lightweight front axles, with or without ABS"; rear half of a DTC-70 split |
Hawk's catalog copy describes DTC-60 as similar to DTC-70 with "less torque and initial bite, and improved pad wear". That places it on the ladder: DTC-70 sits above it with an optimal range of 800–1200°F and more bite; below it sit HT-10 (optimal 500–1100°F) and the pads that work from cold, DTC-30 and HP Plus. The number that matters is the 700°F start of the optimal range: below it, DTC-60 bites less and wears faster.
Note the words "lightweight" and "front". Hawk positions DTC-60 as the gentler half of its DTC pair: light front axles, and the rear of a car running DTC-70. Owners use it far more widely.
What owners actually use it for
The default intermediate pad
On almost every forum we read, DTC-60 is the answer to "my first pads faded, what next?" A Miata owner on Grassroots Motorsports replaced Porterfield R4 pads with DTC-60s and called it "a big improvement". An E9x M3 regular on m3post recommends it as the first track pad on stock brakes because "the price is right and they have a fairly linear torque curve"; another poster there wrote: "I upgraded to DTC 60 and the difference was amazing." A Z06 owner on CorvetteForum, with fresh fluid and ducts, said: "Finally I have no more fade at the track."
The weight question
Hawk calls it a lightweight-front-axle pad, yet owners run it on 3,400–3,600 lb M3s, M4s and GT3s. One Grassroots Motorsports poster put its window at roughly "2,000–3,500 lb", with DTC-70 for anyone who wants more torque. Nobody publishes a hard cutoff. What owners agree on is that the tire sets the ceiling: on 200-treadwear tires a heavy car gets all the bite it can use from DTC-60, and DTC-70 adds torque the tire cannot use. F8x M owners on bimmerpost settle on "DTC-60 all around" for DEs and leave DTC-70 for "race compound tires". On a heavy car the price is wear and heat, not a lack of bite.
Where it stops being enough
The ceiling shows up at instructor pace on small factory brakes. An FR-S driver on ft86club: "I had DTC-60's at Sebring and it wasn't enough." A GR86 owner on gr86.org saw rotor temperatures above 1,400°F and "more than half the pad was gone" after 29 laps, then moved to a big brake kit.
Which cars run it
Community practice, not Hawk's. The last column links our DTC-60 pad in that car's shape.
| Car | How it's run | Our DTC-60 pads |
|---|---|---|
| Miata NA / NB | DTC-60 front; DTC-30, Blue or DTC-60 rear "depending on how much trail braking". Spec Miata: 60/30 or 60/Blue. Turbo cars on big brakes: 60 both ends. | 90–93: front HB148G · rear HB157G 94–05 (no Sport susp.): front HB149G · rear HB159G NB Sport / Mazdaspeed: DTC-30 rear HB442W |
| Miata NC / ND | 60/30, sold by a Miata specialist as the Spec Miata combination. Little owner data. | Front HB522G · rear HB523G (DTC-30 rear HB523W) |
| FR-S / BRZ / GR86 (2013+) | DTC-60 front, HP Plus rear on street tires; DTC-60 both ends at intermediate level ("great bite, a little rotation under trail braking"). | Front HB711G · rear HB671G |
| S2000 | DTC-60 front with Blue or HT-10 rear; DTC-60 rear on a well set-up winged car (a race shop's advice). | Front HB361G · rear HB145G (HT-10 rear HB145S) |
| BMW E46 / E36 M3 | E46: "DTC-60 front and rear, or DTC-70 front with DTC-60 rear" on 200-treadwear or R-compound tires. E36: little data. | E46: front HB464G · rear HB518G E36: front HB135G · rear HB227G |
| BMW E9x M3 | Default first track pad on stock brakes; DTC-70 on slicks. | HT-10 front HB551S · DTC-70 HB551U / HB630U |
| Porsche 986 / 987 Boxster & Cayman | Most-cited Hawk pad on Rennlist: front with OEM rear on a 987 Boxster, both ends on a Cayman S. | Base: front HB289G · rear HB290G S: front HB291G or HB550G; 987.2 S front HB664G |
| Porsche 996 / 997 GT3 | About 10–12 track days per set reported, no fade. "Easier to modulate" than DTC-70 (991 thread). | Front HB483G 996 GT3 rear HB291G · 997 GT3 rear DTC-70 HB651U |
| Nissan 370Z Sport / 350Z Brembo | 370Z: DTC-60 front with stock rear, "no issues, and no ice mode". 350Z: little data on 60 alone. | 370Z front HB601G (rear DTC-30 HB602W) 350Z Brembo rear HB180G |
| Corvette C5 / C6 / C7 | Cured fade on a Z06. A C7 Z51 owner ran DTC-60 fronts with OEM rears; no matching rear was available to him. | C5/C6 base & Z51: front HB247G · rear HB248G C6 Z06/GS rear HB532G or HB659G; front DTC-70 HB531U C7 Stingray front HB453G |
| Mustang S197 | DTC-60 front, HT-10 rear, reported more than once on s197forum and on a Boss 302. | GT: front HB484G · rear HB485G (HT-10 HB485S) Brembo / Boss / GT500 front HB453G |
| Mustang S550 | DTC-60 front with HP Plus or OEM rear, or 60 at both ends on a GT350 ("Huge difference over stock"). | PP front DTC-70 HB805U; non-PP rear HB773G |
| WRX STI / Evo VIII–IX | DTC-60 called "brilliant" on an STI. Little data, no axle split given. | Front HB453G · rear HB180G |
Newer cars on the same shapes: the GR86 and 2022+ BRZ use the FR-S/BRZ shapes above, and owners run DTC-60 front HB711G with HP Plus rear HB671N. The Civic Type R FK8 front shares HB453 with the STI and the Mustang Brembo cars (HB453G); Hawk makes no DTC-60 rear for it, so owners run DTC-30 or HPS 5.0 at the back. The 2018–21 STI and 2024+ WRX TR take HB616G up front, and the 2022+ WRX rear is HB671G.
Pairings
DTC-60 is the front pad in most combinations and the rear pad in one, Hawk's own split. The hub's rule holds: never put the more aggressive pad at the back.
- DTC-60 front, milder rear — the light rear-drive car setup. DTC-30 (Miata, FR-S, Type R), Blue (Spec Miata, S2000), HT-10 (S2000, S197) or HP Plus (FR-S on street tires, GT350). Spec Miata racers say 60/30 gives "a little less initial bite but better release for trailbraking" than Blues.
- DTC-60 at both ends — common on FR-S/BRZ, Spec Miata, F8x M cars, Cayman S and turbo Miatas. One Spec Miata racer saw "no need for a weaker rear pad".
- DTC-60 front, OEM rear — 987 Boxster, 370Z, C7 Z51, S550. Often a fitment choice, not a preference.
- DTC-70 front, DTC-60 rear — Hawk's named split, for sticky tires and fast cars. See DTC-70 and the 70/60 split.
Front only or both ends?
Owners split on this, and the car decides. On light rear-drive cars with factory bias, a DTC-60 rear can be too much: a miataturbo poster found the factory bias valve "right at the limit with the DTC60s", and a BRZ owner with a PFC front and a DTC-60 rear called the car "squirrely" under threshold braking. On heavier, front-heavy cars with ABS, both ends is the safer default. An F8x owner on bimmerpost went "DTC-60 all around" because he did not want to change the balance, and another warned beginners: "DO NOT run a staggered pad setup until you have a great deal of experience." A 370Z owner on the370z argued that splitting compounds is "what gives people problems with ice mode". If unsure, match the ends.
Where it falls short
- Rotor wear. Hawk advertises "very low abrasive rotor wear". Owners disagree: "the DTC60 are very hard on rotors" (a GT3 thread on Rennlist), "really chewed up the rotors" (F8x, bimmerpost), "tough on rotors" (S197). Budget rotors with pads.
- Pad life varies wildly. Reported per set: 10–12 days on a GT3, about 28 half-hour sessions on an FR-S at VIR, about 4 days on an S197, 5 on an S550 PP1 with ducts, "2 track days tops" on an F8x.
- Dust. Every platform says it: corrosive when wet. "will turn your wheels a nice shade of rust" (miataturbo), "absolutely ruined my stock wheels after the dust got wet" (ft86club), "mega corrosive" (mustang6g).
- Cold behavior. "The Hawks don't like being cold"; "take a lap or 2 to get up to temp". A GRM poster calls it "very abrasive (and noisy, and dusty) when cold". Hawk's own blog says an aggressive pad below its operating temperature "acts more like sand paper on rotors". It is not a street pad.
- Noise. Street squeal on Cayman, M2 and Mustang, though one Porsche owner found it quieter than PFC 08.
- Fitment gaps. No DTC-60 rear for the NB Miata Sport calipers or the Civic Type R. Carbon-ceramic rotors are out entirely: Hawk is not compatible with them.
DTC-60 pads ready to ship
In stock when we wrote this, for cars in the table above.
 DTC-60 Front — Miata NA / NB (HB149G.505) $182.69 Shop on Enzuca → |
 DTC-60 Front — Honda S2000 (HB361G.622) $255.59 Shop on Enzuca → |
 DTC-60 Front — 370Z Sport Brakes (HB601G.626) $277.19 Shop on Enzuca → |
 DTC-60 Front — Boxster / Cayman (HB289G.610) $298.79 Shop on Enzuca → |
 DTC-60 Rear — Boxster / Cayman (HB290G.583) $305.09 Shop on Enzuca → |
 DTC-60 Rear — Corvette C5 / C6 (HB248G.650) $251.09 Shop on Enzuca → |
Browse every shape in the DTC-60 collection.
The Bottom Line
If you have outgrown HP Plus and run 200-treadwear tires, DTC-60 is the pad to buy, on almost any car in this article. Put it at the front. Put it at the back too on a heavier or front-heavy car, or if you are new and want the balance unchanged; on a light rear-drive car with stock bias, run DTC-30, Blue or HT-10 behind it instead. Owners run it on 3,500 lb cars despite Hawk's "lightweight" label; the tire, not the weight, decides when it is time for DTC-70.
Budget for rotors, clean off the dust, and swap to a street pad for the drive home. Not sure of your shape? Tell us the car and caliper and we will confirm before you order.