Carbon-Carbon (C/C)

Carbon-carbon (C/C) is a composite in which both the fibre and the matrix are carbon. Unlike the carbon-ceramic (C/SiC) rotors already used on many road supercars, C/C is the motorsport-standard friction material for Formula 1 and top-tier endurance braking, where peak disc temperatures and fade resistance matter more than wet-road bite. The material is built from carbon-fibre preforms densified with carbon — typically by chemical vapour infiltration or pitch impregnation and pyrolysis — then graphitised. The result is exceptional specific heat capacity, thermal shock resistance and a high coefficient of friction at temperature, at the cost of poor cold-wet performance and a specialised manufacturing route. In LVHV programmes, C/C appears on hypercar and GT-class brake discs, clutch plates and a handful of ultra-high-temperature structural tiles. It is not a drop-in for passenger-car carbon-ceramic; bedding, cooling ducts and pad chemistry are all racing-specific.