Brake prep before the 'Ring

[ScottEgg]

I'm off the the 'Ring in June and was wondering about brake prep. I currently run standard set up with greenstuff pads which has proved perfectly ok at Donnington, C'Combe and LLandow. I'm aware that the Ring is a bit more of a challenge and am wanting the best reasonable set up bearing in mind a vary limited budget (sub £200). Both the discs and pads are in reasonable condition, so I was thinking about new hoses and some descent fluid. I will probably take a spare set of pads but what do you reckon about upgraded discs?

Opinions please..........

[Weeman]

disks *check* pads *check* pedal *check* Off you go.

theres plenty that run standard brakes, You shouldn't cook your brakes if its your first trip, and your not going billy banjo ten tenths.

But if you wanna upgrade properly for some peace of mind, I run OMP teflon hoses, 5.1 ferodo fluid, Ds3000's front and back and standard disks. Stops like a mo fo, But will lock up if I stand on em too hard, No fade in two or three back to back laps

[ScottEgg]

Cheers Weeman, I concur about your advice to check. Glad to hear the standard discs are up to it as several others have said similar. Where do you get your OMP hoses from, Rallynuts?

[Karan]

yep as weeman said that will be plenty for the ring!

check pad thickness and take some spare pads with you

good luck

[northloop]

Buy some slightly better pads then green stuff - they are crap on anything other than a lightweight car. Reds will do you fine. Take the greens with you as get me home pads in the event of knackering the other ones

[iguana]

'ring aint nowt on brakes vs somewhere like donny, can't quite belive youve got on so well with green stuff, i find en utter cack, can't even hack road use, I get on well with ebc yellow my self, but if you are happy with greens stick with 'em just stick a new set on & take olds as spares (I couldnt get on with reds either)

[mikekean]

'ring aint nowt on brakes vs somewhere like donny, can't quite belive youve got on so well with green stuff, i find en utter cack, can't even hack road use, I get on well with ebc yellow my self, but if you are happy with greens stick with 'em just stick a new set on & take olds as spares (I couldnt get on with reds either)

you are joking? my brother had a 300mm big brake kit wit red stuff pads on his puma when we went to the ring and they cooked pretty fast he was pushing quite hard but still its a light car with big brakes and fairly good pads. the ring is extremly tuff on cars.
i run yellow stuffs on my sport and there brilliant i think they would put up with the ring pretty well aslong as you dont go nuts.

[iguana]

Can't agree with you there, I find 'ring extremily light on brakes, heck you only brake properly hard a few times unless you are in somthing very very quick or are an utter novice or drive like a bell end.

Plus its not mega speed loss areas other than if you are in something ridiculously quick & even then miles of fast non braking or light braking sections to cool it all down.

Unlike say donny when you go from 130 odd to about 50 & then a few secs later brake hard again I find 30 odd ring laps so 350 odd miles ive found about as wearing on pads as under half a day at a typical track day, say 60 odd miles & someone who knows the ring as well as northloop id bet woudl use a lot lot less

[mikekean]

fair enough i dont really know what donnington is like. i must admit my brother was driving like a bit of a tit for his first time on the ring. he managed a low 12 in the damp wich i thought was ok and probably explains cooked brakes. but id rather go with better pads just as a precaution atleast you know they arent likely to fade.

[handpaper]

Greenstuff were fine for my first trip - see HERE.
As others have said, the 'Ring is a very flowing circuit and isn't that hard on brakes - I upgraded from Greenstuff to Ferodo DS2500s after coming home and cooking my Greenstuff on the road (A4042 - downhill, roundabout, downhill, roundabout chasing a Clio Williams )

[buzz6353]

Dont over look the Mintex M1144s and 55s

used them for years mostly hammering through forest stages

[northloop]

To be honest any of the half decent pads will be ok for a first trip. When I say half decent I mean EBC red Ferodo DS2500's and upwards. Just make sure you take some get me home pads with you. There is nothing worse than being stuck 500 miles from home with no pads That said I would be amazed if you went through a set if half reasonable pads on one (first time) weekend.

[ScottEgg]

Cheers Chaps, great response and very amusing! I will take out my current greens and replace them with something even better. The greens will then act as a 'get-me-home' set if needed. I was always going to do a proper check and will change fluids and maybe hoses if I can afford it.

[Weeman]

You'll have no probs getting some e30 pads if you do cook em, I think they sell em behind the counter in the cafe LOL

I got clio 172 pads no probs when I cooked mine

[handpaper]

There is nothing worse than being stuck 500 miles from home with no pads

Yes there is - being stuck 534 miles from home with no car!

The motor factor in Adenau (on the main road, set back a little, usually a few Golfs parked outside) carries OEM grade pads more most BMWs.

Last September I went through a set of Greenstuff (old ones) in ten laps, my 'emergency replacements' (Halfords branded) in another five and drove home on the backing, engine braking and handbrake!

[ScottEgg]

Brilliant! I can't wait. Was meant to go in May but have to wait to June. The Ring is open for a half day and then an evening. How many laps do you reckon I could get in a day, then an afternoon (12:00 - 7:30), and finally an evening (5:00 - 7:30)?

[handpaper]

Two laps per hour is sensible, a little more if it's quiet. Both you and the car (especially the tyres and brakes) need time to cool down in between.
A 25-lap ticket should be plenty - better to run out than to rush trying to use up laps.

[ScottEgg]

2 laps an hour will be plenty for my first visit and the car. Thanks for the advice.

[handpaper]

In case you're interested, I've just fitted and bedded in my 'Ring pads - Pagid RS29 (Yellow) front with Mintex 1155 rear.
£240 with VAT and delivery , but well worth it.
The first advantage is increased friction - even from cold the initial bite is massively improved over OE.
The second is improved heat tolerance. I don't know anyone who has faded a set of RS29s. In the past I've got mine so hot that the yellow paint on them has gone white and they still haven't faded. In fact their friction at 550°C is 20% better than cold
The third is longevity. On a road car*, Pagid Yellows will last years. They're designed for endurance racing and wear very slowly indeed - even when hot, which is where many pads, notably Ferodo DS2500s, fall down.


* It's a pity, but they're not actually road legal. Pagid sell so few and update the pad formulation so often that they won't pay the extortionate fees required to get the relevant certification.

[ScottEgg]

Cheers Handpaper, I will look into the costs of fronts only. I haven't made any decisions about pads yet but its about time I sorted it out. Got plenty of little things to do to the car before the trip.