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Brake Pads/Discs

1K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  raynkar 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I'm a bit of a novice at this sort of stuff, but I noticed the brake pads and discs are looking near the limit on my fiesta.

I was looking around at the options and I basically was wondering why some were loads more expensive than others, and whether you were paying for results or just the name?

For example for a brake pad and disc set, some options are £25 unbranded, £30 for Mintex,£40 for Eicher,£55-65 for Brembo and some startlingly expensive (as startling as the colour!) £55 for some snazzy yellow EBC pads (no discs, another £50-90 for them).

Is there practical differences between these that justify the cost? They're only going on a '98 1.25 mk4 fiesta so don't have to handle any serious power!

Thanks for any advice
 
#3 ·
Is there practical differences between these that justify the cost? They're only going on a '98 1.25 mk4 fiesta so don't have to handle any serious power!
Well, whatever your top speed, you really have to be able to pull your car to a stop from its top speed, otherwise its not a safe top speed.

...and whether you were paying for results or just the name?

For example for a brake pad and disc set, some options are £25 unbranded, £30 for Mintex,£40 for Eicher,£55-65 for Brembo and some startlingly expensive (as startling as the colour!) £55 for some snazzy yellow EBC pads (no discs, another £50-90 for them).
Unbranded could be anything. It is a bit 'fear, uncertainty and doubt' but I'd be sufficiently worried if they didn't even have a name on the box, that I'd consider that going up to the next step would be money well spent. Now, whether this is just me being conservative, I don't know...and, will presumably never find out, because i won't buy the unbranded ones.

Any of the performance EBC ones (the colours, rather than 'Ultimax') will tend to be expensive. This is my big thing against EBC; I don't think, compared to Mintex, Brembo, Pagid, Ferodo...they are worth the extra. On the other hand, they are about the only people who tell you what the different variations actually do. So, if you know what want, EBC might be the only place that you can get it, without just trying stuff at random, which could be even more expensive.

So, for example, EBC will tell you which are their lowest dust pads (important for some people, although you can argue that isn't quite braking performance) or which pads will take the most abuse; aside from the fact that you might want both, you should be able to tell which most closely matches your set of priorities.

Now, assuming that you want your car to remain road legal, you'll have to stick to 'Regulation 90' approved pads, and that means that they can't be too different from the original pads, at least in some measure of u (mu), and with the same/similar u, there is a limit to what you can do But still, you can have quite different temperature ranges, if that's important to you.

These things, however, are all a compromise, so if you decide that one parameter needs to be improved as much as possible, the likelihood is that most of the other parameters will have to get worse for that to happen.
 
#4 ·
My choice is Mintex on my cars for the cheapeast reasonable brand and reasonable braking abilities,have Brembo front discs on Mondeo to replace warped/steering shaking Mintex discs,which was less than 2years use.
So Mintex brakes are pretty good, but won't necessarily last as long as Brembo?

So, if you know what want, EBC might be the only place that you can get it, without just trying stuff at random, which could be even more expensive.

So, for example, EBC will tell you which are their lowest dust pads (important for some people, although you can argue that isn't quite braking performance) or which pads will take the most abuse; aside from the fact that you might want both, you should be able to tell which most closely matches your set of priorities.

Now, assuming that you want your car to remain road legal, you'll have to stick to 'Regulation 90' approved pads, and that means that they can't be too different from the original pads, at least in some measure of u (mu), and with the same/similar u, there is a limit to what you can do But still, you can have quite different temperature ranges, if that's important to you.

These things, however, are all a compromise, so if you decide that one parameter needs to be improved as much as possible, the likelihood is that most of the other parameters will have to get worse for that to happen.
Interesting, I didn't realise that EBC does a range of different brakes designed to do different things. I'll look into it a little, however I think it's probably out of my price range, but interesting anyway. To be honest, at the moment I have no idea whether I would want low dust pads or a certain range of temperature, or what those things would even mean in terms of how the brakes performed!
 
#7 ·
I only use Mintex or Apec or Ford(Bosch in a Ford box).......surprised Eicher costs more than Mintex as Eurocarparts can sell Mondeo pads for £8 when they have an offer on compared to £20-25 for Mintex.

I would buy at a local motor factor......ebay sellers would advertise Mintex and maybe send a substitute brand/unbranded stuff....and theres still stories of fake Mintex stuff being sold......Mintex parts come in a sealed box with a hologram label seal.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
'So Mintex brakes are pretty good, but won't necessarily last as long as Brembo?'

No idea why the Mintex warped after a year ,put the old original discs back on and shaking stopped so tried Brembo discs and no problem so far after 3years.

If you want standard and value i would use Mintex unless you've got a little extra cash.

As above make sure the Mintex are genuine if purchasing online.
 
#9 ·
'So Mintex brakes are pretty good, but won't necessarily last as long as Brembo?'

No idea why the Mintex warped after two years ,put the old original discs back on and shaking stopped so tried Brembo discs and no problem so far after 3years.

If you want standard and value i would use Mintex unless you've got a little extra cash.

As above make sure the Mintex are genuine if purchasing online.
 
#11 ·
I think I'll get myself some Mintex pads and discs then, they seem to be getting good reviews.

I had the wheels off the other day to check the thickness again, and noticed that the wear is pretty uneven on my pads, is this because of some underlying problem that I need to fix before I replace them or normal?
 
#13 ·
I use mintex pads and like their braking ability. They are not very expensive but I think they offer the best brake performance per £. There are lots of very expensive high tech pads on the market but then you are paying for a brand name which tends to add a lot of money.
Don't buy from ebay unless it's from a national motor factors like GSF or Euro car parts as its not that uncommon to see an ad for mintex or Brembo etc only to recieve a cheap copy (or just a plain fake with a fake box)

Depending on where you live look up your local GSF or Euro carparts and do a 'number plate' search for pads and discs.
There are often two options available with one being Un branded and the other being more expensive but a known brand.
DBS

I'll send you a private message.
 
#14 ·
If I could afford it at the moment, I'd always go for some EBC Redstuff pads and some decent grooved discs. You can improve your braking by 10-15%. The redstuff pads are fast road/track pads and pretty rare to overheat under normal conditions. Work them hard on a trackday or a few laps of the Nurburgring on the other hand and they start to struggle.

If you seriously want a brake upgrade though... bigger discs and pads are the way to go along with multipiston callipers.
 
#15 ·
Yeah I was thinking of an upgrade, raynkar mentioned to me that you may be able to fit the calipers from a mk3 mondeo on my fiesta, which I'm having a think about.

I may have to settle for something that's only a little better than standard, depending on budget, time and how difficult it is to do (I've never fiddled with brakes at all before)
 
#16 ·
If I could afford it at the moment, I'd always go for some EBC Redstuff pads and some decent grooved discs. You can improve your braking by 10-15%. The redstuff pads are fast road/track pads and pretty rare to overheat under normal conditions. Work them hard on a trackday or a few laps of the Nurburgring on the other hand and they start to struggle.

If you seriously want a brake upgrade though... bigger discs and pads are the way to go along with multipiston callipers.
Can you explain some of that a bit more please.
You mention grooved discs, but during normal/average driving grooved discs offer less performance than smooth discs as they have less surface area for the pads to contact, and they are only advantageous at higher speeds with repeated braking as they dissipate gas build up between the pad and disc.

I use drilled and grooved discs for their cooling and gas removal properties but am aware they are less effective around town, but at higher speeds of say 120-130 or higher they make a huge difference as I used to get massive brake fade with smooth discs to the point of having virtually no braking force on long heavy braking.

As the OP says they aren't going to be going fast, but just want better braking do you think the EBC red stuff pads will be good when always cold? I've not used them so don't know.
 
#17 ·
If I could afford it at the moment, I'd always go for some EBC Redstuff pads and some decent grooved discs. You can improve your braking by 10-15%. The redstuff pads are fast road/track pads and pretty rare to overheat under normal conditions. Work them hard on a trackday or a few laps of the Nurburgring on the other hand and they start to struggle.

If you seriously want a brake upgrade though... bigger discs and pads are the way to go along with multipiston callipers.
Can you explain some of that a bit more please.
You mention grooved discs, but during normal/average driving grooved discs offer less performance than smooth discs as they have less surface area for the pads to contact, and they are only advantageous at higher speeds with repeated braking as they dissipate gas build up between the pad and disc.

I use drilled and grooved discs for their cooling and gas removal properties but am aware they are less effective around town, but at higher speeds of say 120-130 or higher they make a huge difference as I used to get massive brake fade with smooth discs to the point of having virtually no braking force on long heavy braking.

As the OP says they aren't going to be going fast, but just want better braking do you think the EBC red stuff pads will be good when always cold? I've not used them so don't know.
I used to own an import MX6... with mods it was probably running around the 220bhp mark... and I had redstuff all round with grooved discs. Whilst you might get some small drop from grooved discs at lower speeds, this is more than compensated for with the extra grip of the pads. They're great for use when cold too.

For daily use, pootling around town... No, I wouldn't say use them... But I saw others mentioning higher performance pads/discs and wanted to offer my own personal experience with them.

I've used stock EBC pads/discs too and they're every bit as good as any other brand. I've also used the greenstuff pads which are a step below the reds... The yellowstuff pads are for serious trackdays.

But bear in mind that green/red pads are far more expensive than stock ones... Possibly to the point of not being worth the extra cost. Not sure I'd fit them on my diesel MK3 Mondeo because of it... If I had an ST I would though.
 
#18 ·
Heckler.

Thanks the reply and a well balance answer IMHO. :)
I just wanted to hear a bit more as the drop in low speed performance is a lot more than many thnk with drilled and grooved discs. Luckily this is offset by the fact that less braking force is often needed at low speed and many drivers won't even notice during routine braking.
My own experience with Mondy standard brakes prompted me to go to drilled and grooved discs after a few scary incidents of brake fade during long high speed braking sessions I could literally feel the braking effect almost disappear, and approx 20 metres after where I thought I would have stopped the car was still doing about 10mph, but with my foot pressed on the brake as hard as possible. Even cadence braking didn't solve the issue totally.
 
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