Performance Brakes

[M5pilot]

This is an area which I am very weak on.

I need help on deciding what brakes products to put ont he zone shop.

Karan has already suggested Ferodo, Ste mentioned Mintex. What else is there?

Personal experiences would be great.

The only one I had experience of was Red Dot discs and pads which I found to be very good over standard.

[bigdek]

pagid pads are used alot i believe !

[Davenotouring]

From my limited experience, Ferodo have been good.

[M5pilot]

Mintex?

M5 guys go on about them. The M1144 range.

[M5pilot]

Just spoken to Jags at bexleys and he said the Mintex are excellent. Ferodo also very good.

Going to add them to the shop today.

[Davenotouring]

Heard nothing much good about 1144s, but 1155s are good.

1166s are too much for most people. (On road - Including me!)

Ferodo DS2500 are awesome.

[Adam318i]

What about ATE power discs?

Although they are quite cheap to start with at Ԛ£22 each

E30Adam uses them and rates them along with Pagid Fast road pads.

Adam

[M5pilot]

Looks like Dave is right!

How much are people paying for these?

[Jimbob]

Pagid fast road (would be hard to beat GSF prices tho)

I use Red Dot discs on the front and I noticed an immense difference over stock. (grooved, not drilled!!)

[M5pilot]

I had drilled and grooved all round with the red dots.....man they were noisy!

Should be getting Red Dot if they can give us a decent discount.

[Simon13]

alot of zoners use ate power disks demlot,karan,adam,zaust, me! noisey but very good.

I have mintex C M1155's and when they are warm they stop very well. Not too bad from cold either.

This combo is quite sweeky, but from my observations, niether disk or pad are munching one or the other either.

[Dan318-is]

from what iv seen ATE discs and Pagid pads is the most setup

i find the ferrodo range well confusing

[Jimbob]

i find the ferrodo range well confusing

it aint rocket science

[stulane]

I've looked at drilled or grooved disks but never tried them out before...

Are they much improvement over the standard disks?

I'm fitting a 2.5 M50 and it would be nice to have some decent stopping power.

Also, is it worth getting decent pads/disks for the rear or will standard be fine??

[gareth]

i have found red dot aren't all that good (205 1.6 gti). i can cook the brakes on my 325i tourer in very little time and very easily. this is m1144's on ATE disks. may just be a bad combination. the M1144's i have later on the 205 were very good.

[Simon13]

i have found red dot aren't all that good (205 1.6 gti). i can cook the brakes on my 325i tourer in very little time and very easily. this is m1144's on ATE disks. may just be a bad combination. the M1144's i have later on the 205 were very good.

thats why u need the next up M1155 like me! u won't cook them, we didn't on the ring in over 30 degrees of heat. Novices brake more too!

[Adammcf]

I had Green stuff pads on my Corsa many years ago and thought they were shite.
Had Ferodo and Mintex pads on my CRX and I have never felt a car with brakes anywhere near as good since.
Have Pagid Fast road pads on the BMW and although alot better than standard they are still rubbish.

[Dan318-is]

it seems most peopel prefer ferrodo n mintex then??

[Julian_Jules]

Running Pagids Fast Roads on ATE disc....better than standard, squeels when warm.

GSF guy I bought the Pagids from, recommended to me : Zimmerman disc, Pagids pads.

A 325i mate here who used Zimmerman complains about warping issues. ( but I live in a hot tropical place too...)

IMHO - Best brakes....STOPTECH on a modded MCS and I had seat belt lacerations to show...

Good to know Sal dun just breathe headers.....

[Davenotouring]

On standard discs, but with Ferodo DS2500 pads, my Civic stopped amazingly. Only the adhesion of the tyres prevented better braking.

Round the Ring there was no fading.

On a normal track day there may have been some fading. You will only fade pads on the Ring if you know the track and go very quickly.
A normal track day is harder on pads!

On the Civic you can use Rover 623 Calipers and big discs from a Rover ZS. Cheap big brakes. Shame there is nothing similar on E30s.

Hondas rule.

[Jhonno]

Hondas rule.

I'll show you the way when i get a Valver

[Davenotouring]

I think they would be very close to be honest. Both stripped out.

Do it!

[orangecurry]

I believe we have some apples and pears here

Mintex 1144 are road pads - 1155 are track only? - I don't think (but it depends who you talk to) that 1155 are legal on a road car (but as you said they did well on the 'ring!)

same with Ferodo - the DS range are legal, but the DS2500 are not (allegedly again) Don't bother with the cheaper Ferodos.

EBC Greenstuff and Redstuff are both road-legal (Blue/Yellow/Black are not)

Things get more complex when you mix in the disc factor.... I've run 'plain' discs with Greenstuff, and it is a big improvement, but the pads have not lasted. A friend has run Redstuff with spotted and grooved discs, and the combo is fantastic, but is rather harsh and noisy.

I've run Tar-ox pads too; very good, but that was on a race car.

All these pads are a big improvement over stock, but you can never say 'a' is better than 'b' because there are too many other factors.

[Jhonno]

yeah would be interesting..

2 wrong wheel drive track sluts.. me thinks trade insurance might be an idea

[Davenotouring]

1144 are Fast Road
1155 are Road/Track
1166 are Track

Ferodo DS2500 are track

Don't know about the legality of using them on the road.

Mine are down to the metal now. And it's another Ԛ£110 to replace them.

[orangecurry]

...like I said, it depends who you talk to about the purpose of 1155s.... this is from the mintex website....


MINTEX Brake Pads

Mintex are at the forefront when it comes to quality.
Not only do all manufacturing sites conform to ISO9002 standard but the brake pads themselves have the added guarantee of being either E-Mark or KBA approved. This performance guarantee is in addition to our existing package of No Quibble replacement before 15,000 miles/24,000 km or 1 year which is included in every Mintex red box.


Further to our standard Aftermarket materials Mintex produce a range of specialised materials known as C-Tech racing pads.
This family of materials has been developed from our involvement in motorsport. The first material M1144 is mainly used for fast road use and is primarily targeted at hot hatch drivers. The other three materials M1155, M1166 and M1177 are specifically for circuit and rally competition use only.
All Mintex brake pad boxes are supplied with a bar code label incorporating brief application details, Regulation 90/E-Marking where applicable and the relative brake accessory fitting kit.

[gareth]

in all likelyhood there's no legal problems with running the race pads but you HAVE to know how to treat them. when cold they can be frightening so the manufacturers will never say it's ok to use them in case someone stupid kills themselves.

is it just me or does Ԛ£110 sound a lot for pads?

the best value pads i've ever used are Maxtorq from rally design. i've had them on a 170bhp mk2 RS2000 and a 140BHP 205 1.9 gti and found they bite very well from cold and have never managed to fade them. shame they don't list them for the E30 as they're only about Ԛ£15 a set! of the pads i've used, these have been the best and are stupidly cheap!

[jahsean]

Hello

Have u got braided hoses on ur car. I had some put on the my car, and the brakes were improved big time.

Peace

[Simon13]

oh dear it would appear my pads are not suitable for road use! i have the 1155's. Saying that if u don't hammer your car as soon as u start it the pads are fine. In normal driving they warm pretty much with the engine

but i've had one or 2 arse moments when they have been cold where i've thought i'm gonna hit something here as they bite and the abs kicks in quick and nothing really happens apart from sliding.

I paid about Ԛ£80 for them, but most places seem to sell them for just over Ԛ£100 delivered. I got them from a normal motorfactors who are a mintex dealer. The recommended the mintex C disks too, but i expect this combo with the pads would be too extreme from cold.

When i got them they did say COMPETITION PADS on the box which we laughed at!

[Psychomofo]

How about the Wilwood front kit? It's about $1000 American dollars, but they could be worth it. You get drilled and slotted 2-piece rotors, Goodridge stainless lines, aluminum brackets, lightweight Wilwood Billet Dynalite II 4-piston aluminum calipers. Kits come with Wilwood Polymatrix/Ferodo DS 2500 pads. Comes completely preassembled. How does that sound other than expensive? Worth it?

[JazzMan]

How about the Wilwood front kit? It's about $1000 American dollars, but they could be worth it. You get drilled and slotted 2-piece rotors, Goodridge stainless lines, aluminum brackets, lightweight Wilwood Billet Dynalite II 4-piston aluminum calipers. Kits come with Wilwood Polymatrix/Ferodo DS 2500 pads. Comes completely preassembled. How does that sound other than expensive? Worth it?

www.rallydesign.co.uk would have those over here - around Ԛ£400 but I dont think they come with pads in the box. I've been thinking about maybe getting a set of these myself.

[orangecurry]

perhaps could I be so bold as to suggest having 2 sections in the shop for pads?

Definately OK for the road (M1144, Ferodo DS, Greenstuff, Redstuff, Pagid, Tar-ox etc etc),

...and then a 'these are very VERY good BUT disclaimer these are for circuit only etc etc (M1155, Ferodo DS2500, Yellowstuff, Deadstop generators etc etc)

then the Zone Shop doesn't get whipped if someone goes gardening

It's not just a question of being careful on comp. pads - as Simon says, if you whizz off late for work and someone in a Honda pulls out in from of you, what can you do?

[Jhonno]

i think you'll find they say not for road use cause of the from cold performance not because they are illegal for use

[orangecurry]

I know what you are saying, but I've been looking all over for a definitive answer and I can't find anything - they might not be illegal, but they might invalidate your insurance.... which wouldn't be nice.

The Mintex site is very clear in saying 'competition use only' for M1155, so if the Zone Shop is selling them I suggest it should be squeaky-clean, and do the same that's all.

[Turbo-Brown]

I'm guessing that anything that isn't OE or OE spec will invalidate your insurance if you don't tell them.

Have a bad enough accident and they'll have bloody good grounds for not paying out if you've modded the braking system in any way!