Brakes - more je ne sais quoi needed

[AlpineCab]

Just had brakes done (i.e. New BMW discs all round, new EBC Green Stuff pads all round, plus braided hoses all round).

I'm still not happy with them. They seem better with the braided, but they just don't seem to have any bite. In fact they don't seem any better than with the old/faded/worn/rusty bits I took off.

So my questions, and I'd be interested in hearing other opinions on this:

1. I drive a 320d ES for the day job - am I being unfair in comparing a 04 plate car with an F plate? (even though they are both Beemers?)

2. Are EBC pads any good, or should I try a different pad? I see lots of feedback on the forum about Pads - what are the alternatives and what else could I try? What do you swear by? To be fair, one reason I went with EBC was that they don;t cause much dust - and they are very good for that.

3. The fact that is a second car - does this mean that the pads / discs are not getting chance to bed in? I've done 3000 miles since doing all the above, mind.

4. Is there any other check I can do, or part that can be replaced?

[Beemer325]

I've just had new cross drilled discs fitted to the front and rear of my car along with Pagid fast road pads. Holy sh!t did I almost soil myself when I drove the car for the first time afetr they were fitted. Some little sh!te ran in front of me and I had to slam anchors. I nearly went through the windscreen WITH my seatbelt that was holding me down. I have no problems with them. Have never fitted EBC green stuff before. I found them a little too expensive for my liking.

[Davenotouring]

I've just had new cross drilled discs fitted to the front and rear of my car along with Pagid fast road pads. Holy sh!t did I almost soil myself when I drove the car for the first time afetr they were fitted. Some little sh!te ran in front of me and I had to slam anchors. I nearly went through the windscreen WITH my seatbelt that was holding me down. I have no problems with them. Have never fitted EBC green stuff before. I found them a little too expensive for my liking.

Which discs are these? Where did you buy them, and how much!?

[Geeman]

I have standard discs that have been grooved, and some EBC greenstuff fronts, with Mintex Racing rears... it amazed me how good they were the other day when I was out tooling around in the track car... mind you, got braided brake lines too.

Giles.

[e30_Turbo]

Zimmerman x-drilled discs and pagid fast road pads!!

Only had them a few days and as soon as I had them warmed up and ready I gave it a good plant from 70 (ish) and I too had the shock of my life! How did I live with the std ones? Spent the next hour bedding them in, that was fun .
Ԛ£104 inc vat at GSF, had them in stock too. Excellent upgrade.

[Davenotouring]

Zimmerman x-drilled discs and pagid fast road pads!!

Only had them a few days and as soon as I had them warmed up and ready I gave it a good plant from 70 (ish) and I too had the shock of my life! How did I live with the std ones? Spent the next hour bedding them in, that was fun .
Ԛ£104 inc vat at GSF, had them in stock too. Excellent upgrade.

Cheers mate,

This is now on my to do list for sure!

[shelle-smokeahama]

oi dave your tourez sit too high!!!!!!!!!!

[Beemer325]

Which discs are these? Where did you buy them, and how much!?

Sorry to get back to you so late davetouring, I also bought Zimmerman cross drilled from GSF car parts with the Pagid fast road pads. You can't go wrong. I paid Ԛ£196.00 for everything, including 2 brake sensors.

[e30_Turbo]

I only bought the fronts tho Dave, but good to know the back half will only be another Ԛ£92....a summer job me thinks

[320Touring]

once had a set of mintex on my old toledo-they made some difference, even with the standard discs, however, i feel that Pagid will be the way forward based on your guys recommendations.

What price are they for the zimmermans discs and the pagid pads?

Beemer325 says Ԛ£196

but

fozzymonster says Ԛ£104 inc vat?

anyone shed some light on this
cheers

320Touring

[Simon]

I can vouch for the zimmerman x drilled ones too, had some on the sport, and I've just upgraded to them on the touring too, along with the pagid pads that GSF sell, awesome braking, my dad has also got some on his MkII golf 16v and theyve been on there for about 9 years without a problem.

[AlpineCab]

Looks like Pagid are popular! So before I splash out, is there anything else I can check.

Eg. How can I check the servo is working properly?

[Jesus325iTouring]

I voted Mintex,i've used them for years and have always found they suit my needs and are sensibly priced too.

[vroooom_ptssssh]

BIN the EBC - there shit. . . there for fast road max power readers!!! (honestly)

AP, Brembo, Tarox. also change the fluid if it needs done maybe.

[AlpineCab]

Already got fluid changed and also put on braided hoses, that's why I really want to sort out any other variables i.e. servo or pads.

Why are the EBC no good? will I really see big diff with Pagids for e.g.?

And yes, (I confess) I did see EBC advertised loads and on the feature cars in Slack Power, Trevs, and Fart Car, and thought they were good.

[gareth]

i've got mintex m1144's on my touring with grooved disks and it's superb

i can say to avoid red dot though. i had them on my 205 gti and i managed to fade them and they score the disks to shite! well expensive too. the maxtorq ones from rally design were streets ahead and only Ԛ£15 a set (for 205 gti or mk2 escort). dunno if they do them for the e30 though, never looked.

[e30_Turbo]

once had a set of mintex on my old toledo-they made some difference, even with the standard discs, however, i feel that Pagid will be the way forward based on your guys recommendations.

What price are they for the zimmermans discs and the pagid pads?

Beemer325 says Ԛ£196

but

fozzymonster says Ԛ£104 inc vat?

anyone shed some light on this
cheers

320Touring

Beemer 325 bought front and rears, I only bought the fronts mate

[Karan]

ive tried pagid/red dot/green stuff/standard and ferodo...

ferodo are by far the best in my opinion and i have fried all the others but have yet to fry the ferodos.. i use ate power discs front and zimmerman drilled rears... ferodo 3466 compound all the way..not so good when cold though but wow do they stop...

standard is utter toss.... if u ask me..

Karan

[SwirlyE30]

What can i put on my 318i? Ive got disks up front and drums on the rear.I cant afford to do anything at the moment (was going to put 325 breaks on,but cant afford that either lol)

[AlpineCab]

Since posting this I did two things that seemed to help..

1. Cleaned discs/pads with brake cleaner - suspected traces of grease covering the discs from the factory could have been lingering that might have prevented them bedding in properly.

2. Tightened all the clips on the vacuum pipes leading from servo.
I'll be getting new hose that leads from servo to valve near the inlet bellows, as it is a "bent-straight" and could have split a little after 16 years...

But, seems to have improved things dramatically!

Still, next time I'll be getting pagid.

[Jamesb318is]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but i need new brakes soon, and it seems pagid fast road pads are the way to go.
What about discs though, zimmerman x-drilled sound good, anyone experienced cracking of the drillings/warped discs causing brake judder? Grooved discs any good or do they just eat pads?
I want an improvement over stock, but i have witnessed many times at work that non-genuine parts can cause hassle, brakes especially.

Swirly, you're probably better off improving the fronts with different parts, but just replace the rears with normal parts if their worn, otherwise just give em a good clean and service. Not really worth spending the money if you're gonna upgrade to rear discs.

[SwirlyE30]

Dont think i can afford to put disks on the rear right now mate.What would you recomend for the fronts? I havnt got loads of money, but if theres some nice pads and whatnot i can get for a good price ill have some.Anythings gotta be better than what i currently have!

[Jamesb318is]

Fair enough, what i meant was that if you're eventually gonna disc up the rear, there aint much point in uprating the drums because i shouldnt think theres that much out there, and prob not worth it.

Dont know about specific items for the front, anyone?

[SwirlyE30]

Yeh.I think for now im just hoping to get the front discs running nice.They have had new ones on them, but they were economy types, so if i can get some nice pads or somthing i would give that a shot