What Brake Pads?

[spic]

Im useing my EBC Yellows for road and track and they bite well from cold, I also used them in my 944 s2 for around 80 laps round the ring and never had a problem and thats not a light car ... i'v only used them once on the e30 at hullavington a couple of weeks ago and they were realy bad until they were bedded in, But as above i think i have recked my new discs as they have scores round them and when i went out in the car today the ebc drilled/groved discs did feel warped ...

[N00b]

To be fair, the Ring isn't a brake heavy circuit.. Once you know it

And when you don't know it and haven't even "driven" it on the Xbox, it can be extremely hard on the brakes.

All pads require proper bedding in also!

Some more than others, with the EBC's falling into the former catagory for the reasons Keri outlined above.

[AlpineAde]

Keri, Noob ~ interesting comments about the EBCs...pretty much reflects my own.

I followed the bed-in instructions from EBC to the letter and the pads have performed flawlessly. I've run a few trackdays on them, caned the living crap out of them and they only got better with the abuse.

A long time ago there were some issues with pads losing integrity. This hasn't been an issue for yonks. It's a bit of a "thing" brought out now and then still when it really shouldn't be.

Another pad I'm interested in trying is something from the Performance Friction range ~ very good rep and used by a few guys who seriously track and/or race their cars.

[N00b]

they only got better with the abuse.

So true.....

Another pad I'm interested in trying is something from the Performance Friction range

Same here. For the price they're definitely worth a punt, given that I'm yet to hear anything less than a glowing report about them.

[Rusty_McRusty]

for the same reasons, I'm tempted by the PF pads next time...

[N00b]

for the same reasons, I'm tempted by the PF pads next time...

I may be wrong, but I'm sure I've read that the PF fast road compound in an e30 fitment are hard to come by.

[djs325]

Correct. Performance Friction's Z-Rated compound or even their basic Carbon Metallic road compounds are basically no longer available for the E30 front pad shape (were never available for the rear).

Hence most people using the 06 compound; works to about 70-80% effectiveness on the road, but lasts forever and takes a massive beating on the track.

for the same reasons, I'm tempted by the PF pads next time...

I may be wrong, but I'm sure I've read that the PF fast road compound in an e30 fitment are hard to come by.

[Supafly]

I was in a similar situation earlier this year. Read up loads on this site and other forums trying to work out the best compromise for braking, I was leaning towards the yellowstuff but the mix of reviews left me feeling like I would be taking a gamble.

In the end I went for pagid disks all round with ds2500's all round and ATE super blue fluid. A lot of money for pads, but I think it was worth it, although next time for the cost I'll probably try the yellows or PF as I'll be able to do a back to back comparison.

I've not been on a track day yet, but I only managed to cook them once and that was without cooling ducts and with me trying!

From cold they bite slightly less than standard pads, but with very little warming they rapidly get better. A very good set up over all, although I think maybe standard rear pads may have been better as I feel I might not be getting the best out of the rears due to not getting the pads up to temp...?

[MillRat]

I was in a similar situation earlier this year. Read up loads on this site and other forums trying to work out the best compromise for braking, I was leaning towards the yellowstuff but the mix of reviews left me feeling like I would be taking a gamble.

In the end I went for pagid disks all round with ds2500's all round and ATE super blue fluid. A lot of money for pads, but I think it was worth it, although next time for the cost I'll probably try the yellows or PF as I'll be able to do a back to back comparison.

I've not been on a track day yet, but I only managed to cook them once and that was without cooling ducts and with me trying!

From cold they bite slightly less than standard pads, but with very little warming they rapidly get better. A very good set up over all, although I think maybe standard rear pads may have been better as I feel I might not be getting the best out of the rears due to not getting the pads up to temp...?

DS2500 are great, and I would recommend them to anyone. I did find though that on cold morning the fronts took longer to warm up than the rears (that is with front brake ducting fitted), and the car had a habit of locking up the rear brakes if you needed them in a hurry. Totally fine once they all warmed up though (and I blanked the brake ducts on the road).

[GeoffBob]

... and the car had a habit of locking up the rear brakes if you needed them in a hurry.

Possibly a sign that you have a bias issue MillRat? Only asking, not stating. Doesn't sound right to me though that rears would get hotter faster. They may well be smaller than the fronts, but if the bias is correct they also do a lot less work.

[Rusty_McRusty]

Cheers for all the replies chaps, some useful information here for sure. In price order, the options that have been discussed are:-

EBC Red - fast road - £45 delivered
EBC Yellow - track day and fast road - £60 delivered
Mintex M1144 - (current pads, fast road only) - £70 (Camskill)
Performance Friction 01/06 - track day and endurance - £95 delivered (coord m'sport)
DS2500 - track day - £130 delivered (Circuit Supplies)

[MillRat]

... and the car had a habit of locking up the rear brakes if you needed them in a hurry.

Possibly a sign that you have a bias issue MillRat? Only asking, not stating. Doesn't sound right to me though that rears would get hotter faster. They may well be smaller than the fronts, but if the bias is correct they also do a lot less work.

Yeah Geoff, I did find it strange. I had no reason to suspect bias however because this was when I was running the factory brakes.

It did occur on cold rainy mornings and not far from home.

[Rallyprep_UK]

I am having trouble deciding on a brake setup too

Its a lot of money to lay out on good quality disc's, pad's, and fluid but I do not mind doing so. I just dont want to be dissapointed in the choice I make later on !

I am running E36 M3 Evo front suspension and brakes and the E36 Compact rear suspension/brakes.

I am stuck on disc's - Either Non drilled or grooved brembo disc's or OE ??, and pads I am lost altogether ! so many types...

I dont care about noise or wear to be honest as the car will be used on the ring primarily and some trackdays here in the uk. It will not be used on the road.

I have replaced all the copper lines and added a brake bias valve.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated before I spend a whole lotta wonga

Will

[Fushion_Julz]

I disagree...I use Ferodo DS2500 and I reckon they are the best for road and track use...They work from cold (even if they feel really dead and wooden), and I've yet to have them fade under even the hardest use on the hottest days...
Even if they are so hot they are virtually on fire, they still work...They also last pretty well and don't dust up as much as some...

Shame they aren't so cheap, theough.

[N00b]

I disagree...I use Ferodo DS2500 and I reckon they are the best for road and track use...They work from cold (even if they feel really dead and wooden), and I've yet to have them fade under even the hardest use on the hottest days...
Even if they are so hot they are virtually on fire, they still work...They also last pretty well and don't dust up as much as some...

Shame they aren't so cheap, theough.

That's one thing to bear in mind when talking about EBC yellows, they're regarded as a dusty pad. It doesn't bother me, but it might put someone off from fitting them to their pride and joy with its expensive wheels.

[freddiet123]

Here another name to add to the list

Carbone lorraine used by top wrc rally teams new to uk

We run e30 320 in PBMW and have used ther RC6 materal with standard discs and found them to out perform other materials

If any body interested in more info give me a u2u

[Rallyprep_UK]

Funny you mention those, I found them via a google search recently and wondered what they were like !

[keri-WMS]

I've seen them used in France etc a fair bit - they are a big old company, be interesting to try them at some point.

[Greener83]

I have a set of pagid RS29 front brake pads for sale only had one days worth of testing (and as others have said wear is next to nothing, so indoubt they have even worn atall) pm for details if interested.

[Nine468]

Regarding the PF 06 compound pads.
Has anybody recently enquired about them.?
I got a set of fronts + rears from them in the summer [2010] And at that time they were THE only ones they had in stock.
And they didnt know when or if they were getting any more in.
Just wondering if anybody knows if they have any new stock..?

Good pads buy the way.