Pagid RS29 (RSL 29) on Track: What Owners Run, Car by Car
RS29 is the pad most people mean when they say they run Pagid Yellows. It is an endurance compound that a lot of drivers use for ordinary track days, and the reason is simple: it lasts, it is easy on rotors, and the pedal is predictable. It does not have the first-touch bite of a PFC, and owners who want more bite move up to RSL1. For a driver who wants one pad for a season, it is usually the first Pagid to try.
Pagid now lists it as RSL 29. It is the same Yellow compound; dealers, owners and our own listings still call it RS29. This article is part of our guide to Pagid pads for track cars. Every shape we list is in the RS29 collection.
What Pagid says
| RS29 / RSL 29 | |
|---|---|
| Family | RSL — endurance racing (Yellow) |
| Friction | "Medium friction coefficient"; "the friction level of the material maintains constant at a low-medium level" |
| Life | "Long pad and disc life" |
| Bedding | "Easy bedding" |
| Intended use | "Very popular in club racing and track days. GT cars, Touring cars and prototype endurance racing. Due to excellent modulation characteristics also often used in sprint races." |
| Material | "Low metallic resin bonded material containing steel and aramid fibers" |
Pagid publishes a friction curve for RSL 29 but not an operating range. Dealers describe it as stable, with "slight drop-off as temperatures exceed 550°C" (about 1,020°F), and one dealer's copy says "constant temperatures up to 600°C (1,100°F) are possible." Pagid's own technical advice gives a practical check: with thermal paint on the rotor, the green stripe (430°C / 806°F) should be fully changed, the orange (560°C / 1040°F) just starting, and the red (610°C / 1130°F) untouched. If the red is going, you have outgrown the pad.
What owners actually use it for
The default Pagid
Northstar Motorsports calls RSL29 "the most commonly sold compound made by Pagid," and a Porsche parts vendor on Rennlist said "RS29 front and rear is our most common sale." Owners describe it the same way across very different cars. A 997.1 GT3 owner on 911uk: "It's more than enough for track days, and the pads have held up really well." A Boss 302 owner: "I ran the RS-29's in my Boss and I liked them a lot." Grassroots Motorsports put a set on its 2015 Camaro SS project car and wrote that "the Pagid pads made a big difference in track manners" and "we got fade-free performance lap after lap at Sebring."
Bite: less than PFC, more than stock
This is the main thing to know before you buy. Compared with PFC, RS29 is slow to bite. "I do find the RS29 have less initial bite than the PF08 I used to run on my E92," an M3 owner wrote on f80.bimmerpost, and others in that thread described "2 stage braking" and "a bit of a delay when they begin to bite." One explained it by temperature: "if they cool down to 200-300c, the initial bite will feel a bit diminished until they heat up above 400c." Compared with factory pads it is the opposite: a GT350 owner on mustang6g found "significantly more initial bite, but modulation is great."
Pad life
Owners report a wide range, as with every track pad. A 718 owner logged "6 days on original Porsche pads" against "9 days on Pagid Yellows (RS29)," and worked out a cost per track day of "Pagid $79, stock $55." A Boss 302 owner "got six days and probably had enough for another day or two"; a GT350 owner had "6K street miles and 5 track days on them with little wear." At the short end, an F8x M3 owner wrote "I now struggle to get 3 full trackdays out of the front set." A Mustang dealer's rule of thumb is that, as an endurance compound, it "typically will give you 1 to 2 days more wear than the non-endurance pads."
Several owners say the pads work best above half thickness — "the Pagids really work best at over half thickness" (Rennlist, GT4) — though others run them much thinner.
Where it stops being enough
Stickier tires, heavier or faster cars, and drivers who want more bite. "If you want more bite than the Pagid RS29, the new RSL1 compound will be the ticket," a vendor wrote in a GT4 thread, and an M4 owner simply said "Switch to RSL1's if you want more bite from Pagids." On a 991 GT3, an owner found RSL29 "were doing well but lacked just a touch of initial bite and friction." BimmerWorld points the other way on tires: RS29 suits "200+ tread-wear tires (sport and street tires). If using <200 tires the RST pads may be more effective." See RSL1 and RST3.
Which cars run it
Community practice, not Pagid's. The last column links our RS29 pads by U-number. Shapes are shared across cars, so confirm yours before you order.
| Car | How it's run | Our RS29 pads |
|---|---|---|
| Porsche 986 / 987 Boxster & Cayman | Square, or RS29 front with RS14 or RST3 rear for more rotation. "So far I found the yellows last the longest and are easier to trail brake than the blacks or the hawks" (Spec Boxster). | Base front U2407 · S front U2405 · rear U2406 |
| Porsche 981 Boxster S / Cayman S | Little data specific to the 981. | Front U8074 · rear U2406 |
| Porsche 996 / 997 Carrera & S | "I've got the Pagid RS29s in the 997 and they've been wonderful" (911uk, 2025). Older reports: 10–12 days from front pads. | 997 Carrera front U2405 · S front U2474 997 rear U8006 / U8008 · 996 rear U2406 |
| Porsche 996 / 997 GT3 | Square, or RS29 front with RS19 rear. A 997.1 GT3 owner: "And they don't squeal." | Front U2707 997 rear U8006 · 996 rear U2405 |
| Porsche 981 / 718 GT4, 991 / 992 GT3 (iron) | Square on 200-treadwear tires; RSL1 front for more bite. | Front U4924 · rear U4925 |
| Porsche 964 / 993 | Run as a dual-use pad by some — "I use RS29 on the road & track" — others call it too noisy for the street (2010–11 threads). | 993 front U1204 · 964 / 993 rear U1203 · Turbo / RS front U1842 |
| BMW E36 / E46 M3 | Square — BimmerWorld sells it as matched front and rear sets. | Front U1295 · E36 M3 rear U1285 · E46 M3 rear U2685 |
| BMW F80 M3 / F82 M4 (iron) | "They also seem quite easy on the rotors," though one owner gets under 3 days per front set. | Front U4931 · rear U4933 |
| Chevrolet Camaro SS | "I've been running Pagid Yellow RS29 on my street/track cars for a while" (camaro5, 1LE). One 6th-gen owner switched to PFC 08. | Front U2487 · rear U1408 |
| Corvette C7 Stingray / Z51 | Little owner data. | Front U2487 · rear U8208 |
| Mustang Boss 302 / S197 GT Brembo | "Big fan of pagid RS29's for street and track, stop great (hot or cold) and last for ever. But can be noisy." | Front U2487 |
| Mustang GT350 / Mach 1 / S550 GT PP | "I use Pagid RSL29 on my GT350 for HPDE and Autocross.. Less dust than OEM." GT PP owner data is thin. | GT350 front U8239 · GT PP front U8203 / rear U8204 |
| Miata | Little Pagid data. | NA / NB 1.8 front U8127 · NC / ND rear U8077 |
Square or split?
Square — the same compound at both ends — is the most common way to run RS29 and the safe default. On mid- and rear-engine Porsches, owners who want more rear braking put a more aggressive pad at the back: "You can use the more aggressive black pads in rear to get more rear braking bias," wrote a 997 owner, and RS29 front with RS14 rear is the Spec Boxster favourite. On front-engine cars the advice is to keep the axles matched, or put the calmer pad at the rear. BimmerWorld: "Never upgrade one axle and not the other."
Where it falls short
- Initial bite. Less than PFC 08 or 11, especially cold. If you want a pad that bites hard on first touch, this is not it.
- Noise, sometimes. Reports go both ways. "Mine wail like a banshee" (GT350) against "they are so quiet that I left them on for the whole track season" (F80). Fitting shims or anti-squeal hardware, and keeping a track transfer layer on the discs, both seem to help; Pagid race pads do not come with the factory clips and shims.
- Dust. "They do throw off a lot of dust though" (Boss 302) — but a GT350 owner found "less dust than OEM."
- Rotors. Most owners say RS29 is easy on rotors — "extremely easy on the rotors," as one Mustang dealer put it — but a 718 owner found "the stock pads were easier on the rotors."
- Carbon-ceramic rotors. Not compatible. Use RSC1.
RS29 pads ready to ship
In stock when we wrote this, for cars in the table above.
 RS29 Rear — Boxster / Cayman / 996 (U2406) $430.48 Shop on Enzuca → |
 RS29 Front — Boxster S / Cayman S / 997 (U2405) $476.86 Shop on Enzuca → |
 RS29 Front — 981 S / 991 Carrera (U8074) $620.18 Shop on Enzuca → |
 RS29 Front — GT4 / 991 / 992 GT3 (U4924) $720.53 Shop on Enzuca → |
 RS29 Front — E36 / E46 M3 (U1295) $408.73 Shop on Enzuca → |
 RS29 Front — F80 M3 / F82 M4 (U4931) $469.01 Shop on Enzuca → |
Browse every shape in the RS29 collection.
The Bottom Line
If you want one Pagid for a season of track days on 200-treadwear tires, RS29 / RSL 29 at both ends is the pad to buy. It lasts, it is gentle on rotors and it is easy to modulate. Expect less initial bite than PFC, especially cold, and step up to RSL1 if you want more. Change the pads before they get too thin, and fit anti-squeal hardware if the car sees the street.
Not sure of your shape? Tell us the car and caliper, or read the U-number off your old pads, and we will confirm before you order.
Related guides
- Pagid brake pads for track cars: which compound, car by car
- Pagid RSL1: the step up from RS29
- Pagid RST3: front or rear
- Pagid RS14 Black: bite, and the rear-pad split
- Pagid RS19 / RSL19: endurance and the rear axle
- Pagid RSC1 for carbon-ceramic rotors
- Best Pagid brake pads compared
- PFC brake pads for track cars, car by car
- Hawk brake pads for track cars, car by car
- Track day brake fade: prevention and recovery