Hawk does not publish their operating temps from what I have seen, but I personally have driven Infineon(home track) with Carbotechs "best" back to back with Hawks "best". Hawk was overall better hands down. With the weight of the roadster I would not really use anything else. Also Hawks are about 1/3 more expensive from what I remeber, but you get what you pay for. With the group discount it should soften the blow, more on pricing to come.
For dust are about on par with Carbotechs offer.
Hawks publish their 'track' pad temps but not street pads. Here's the PDF they supply:
http://www.hawkperformance.com/sites/default/files/downloads/Hawk_RoadRace_Bro_2013_REV (1).pdf
And with that the HP Plus which is marketed by Hawk to be a track pad you can drive to the track and home with, this pad has an advertised operating temperature of 100F to 800F. The AX6 has a lower and higher operating temperature (50°F to 1000°F +) than Hawks HP Plus. The HPS is below the HP Plus in terms of how aggressive the pad is. Looking at these numbers I'm not sold on the Hawks. Also the HP Plus is more comparable but not quite equal to the AX6. I'm guessing that higher starting temp of the HP Plus should give the pad a better initial bite, however when things start to really heat up, the CarboTech AX6s will hold up and resist fading longer (That's 200F more degrees of room you have!) Just to be complete, the Carbotech 1521 Bobcat's operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 800°F, so same upper ceiling temp as Hawks HP Plus pads.
Kinda odd if you ask me since there are people who want to track but use the same pads driving too, without that info they're guessing on how the pads perform and where they'll fail. As for the Carbotech bests vs. the Hawk best, what models? Just saying best isn't quantitative if one pad was not compared with the appropriate pad you trying to compare to.
From what I found online, the Hawk HPS is equivalent and perform just as good as the AX6's. But without any datasheets from Hawk we don't know where the cutoff is for the HPS's.... When do they start working? And when do they start failing as the heat rises? But I'm not sold on that comparison. The AX6's are closer to the HP Plus, however, the HP Plus will exhibit brake fade much earlier on than the AX6's when you start hammering and using the brakes.
Track pads typically need to be heated up before they start to work optimally. The AX6 (autocross pad) has the working temp starting at 50F. Track pads typically start at 100F-250F. The Bobcat is a street pad, that has a working temp of ambient or whatever temp a typical street car is in. My guess is that if Hawk isn't publishing data for the street pads, its working temp I'm guessing then is ambient. With that I'd most likely, guessing since I have no data, that the Hawk HPS is mostly equivalent to the CarboTech Bobcat pad moreso than the AX6. A higher initial working temp of a pad usually translate to better overall braking bite.
Again if someone can find the data on the HPS pads and the working temps, this will allow people to actually see how well the pad will and how it is spec'd to perform. There's the HPS Verson 5.0 as well I found, its not semimetalic as the HPS but they try to say its some space-aged compound. Who knows how that one performs as well.... no data. So its impossible to gauge how well a pad will/can perform if there's no data to crunch numbers to verify how its going to perform when mounted to the car. Without that data its basically throwing it on the car and seeing how it works by feel and eye... And whenever you compare it against another pad, really a quantitative measurement should be used to get real results and data. Such as using the same car, same speed, same driver, same stopping distance and of course same weather conditions. That's a true test.
I've also found the Hawk HPS pads to be way cheaper than any CarboTech Bobcat or AX6 pads I've ever seen. You can buy both the front and back pads together for $181:
Amazon.com: 2005-2005 LOTUS ELISE Hawk HPS Front and Rear Brake Pads: Automotive
HP Plus is in the same ballpark as the HPS.
CarboTech AX6 pads typically run anywhere from $140-$160 for either the front or rear. So $300 roughly for a set:
Carbotech AX6 Brake Pads LOTUS ELISE
Also I'd consider running EBC "RedStuff" or "YellowStuff" pads over Hawks. The RedStuff have an upper working temp ceiling of 1382F and are still streetable. I run GreenStuff (next one below RedStuff) on my truck that I haul lots of heavy weight in, camper, motorcycles, etc, and love them. They have an upper working temp ceiling of 1202F. The EBCs appear to have a higher ceiling for temps than the Hawks, meaning they'll have less fade, for pads that work on the street. Also below this graph is a Car and Driver review of the Hawk HPS, Plus, and EBC brake pads. Car and Driver found that the Hawks were prone to brake fade. I knew and could interpret that from looking at the data sheet.
Car and Driver brake pad comparison:
Performance Brake Pads Compared: Hawk HPS, Hawk HP Plus, EBC Yellowstuff
HPS summary:
The Hawk HPS is a street-performance padmeant as an upgrade or replacement for stock units. These pads are very street-friendly, with minimal noise and a relatively steady pedal feel. We found a measurable improvement in stopping distance for the first few cycles. But as the test wore on, the HPS pads were prone to fade. If long days of pounding around a track are on your agenda, there are better choices.
HP Plus summary:
As the most race-oriented pad in our test, we expected the HP Plus to sacrifice usability on the street. Not so. While these Hawks are a little grabby when cold and prone to the occasional squeal, both of those characteristics are tolerable during daily driving. On the racetrack, the Hawk HP Plus pads remained solid, requiring the least force to perform the 0.5-g stop, and they provided consistent braking distances even when hot.
EBC YellowStuff summary:
Yellowstuff is a street/track pad that can be used for racing on lighter-weight cars. The EBCs’ performance remained steady as temperatures climbed with repeated stops. All three of the aftermarket pads imparted a more solid brake-pedal feel than the stock units on the street, but the EBCs struck the best compromise between pedal stiffness and easy modulation. We heard some squealing, but not enough to make us look around for piglets.