Brake pads - what are we all using and why?

[themanwithnoname]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 24 October 2017 at 18:32

[vxr2010]

Ebc redstuff I use them on both cars , cheaper some times on eBay

[drumsterphil]

Sorry, going to have to disagree on EBC - thoroughly dangerous. Best pad IMO is Ferrodo DS2500, loads of dust but best braking performance.

If you've got a spongy pedal you might want the brakes bled, my experience the pedal has no sponginess.

[tonyb1968]

Im with Phil, EBC are just not up to it, so either the D2500's or Mintex 1144's

[My Evil Twin]

Godspeed Kevlar pads and groved discs on my Legacy GT..
Work when cold and so far no fade either

[vxr2010]

I accept the green stuff from Ebc is not good , I've never had an issue with reds , that includes track use , both my subarus use reds at the mo , im surprised about above comments can you elaborate why ?

[ohtari]

Godspeed kevlars atm. Ferrodo DS2500 sitting with the brembo set ready to be fitted.

You can overheat the kevlar pads, but trust me it takes some doing!

[carjerk]

I'm only a few hundred miles into a full set of kevlar pads and grooved discs from Godspeed. Very impressed so far!

[Herkybird]

I've got DBA disks and pads all round on mine now. Can't fault them it has to be said. Loads of bite from cold and haven't had any fade from them.For the money i can't knock them
Before those i had Performance Friction disks and pads and they were unbelievable, probably explains the cost.
I did have the Godpseed kit on my old WRX and it was great, got me through a couple of Highland Flings.

[drumsterphil]

Can't say I was ever that impressed with Godspeed discs - had a couple of sets , one if which had to be sent back due to warping (and I wasn't the only one that had this issue, but this was a fair few years ago).

I was going to mention Performance Friction, as used to now one of their dealers and he absolutely raved about their performance (no pun intended!)

As for EBC's I found they took an age to warm up and braking performance never seemed good - certainly nowhere on par with DS2500's.

[TEKNOPUG]

DS2500's in my AP's (OEM at the rear - the DS' are a fortune). Loads of brake dust with the DS2500 put they don't seem to be wearing - at all. Maybe I'm not being brutal enough with them . Might try PF in future (if I can find them in the right size) but that will be another 60k miles, the way these Ferodo's are lasting!

[vxr2010]

I think Ebc improved the material , I was hitting 160 mph plus on a track day with hard brakeing and never had an issue , with a FSTI , plus have them on the Impreza which is non brembo , there is no warm up for the pads any more , on a previous car the failure was the braking system being too small for the car and too much bhp which caused the issues , and was a well known problem , the material seems better now , green are no good and I don't see much point in yellows as reds are good

[LFB531]

In the road rally fraternity, the Mintex 1155 seems to be the favoured pad. It needs to be bedded in properly but fine then for road use and everything else we throw at them.

[IvanSTi]

I use my car primarily for sprinting these days but I have Pagid RS14 Front and RST3 Rear Brake Pads on my car, they warm up in the line to start the lap, so extremely quickly and by God they like to stop the car, I wouldn't use anything else.

[Lora-x]

Hijacking your thread as I'm about to change my front pads and discs 😊, was just going to go with the DS's but I am worried about the brake dust on my lovely work wheels, what are the performance friction pads like for brake dust?

[vxr2010]

I think with the Saab it may have been a brake size issue rather than pads , I've not had a squealing issue other than the bedding in time , i believe mintex are good , I had pagid before and did not like them but that was on a old Vauxhall nova , my v8 the yellow stuff were no good but that was not a pad issue it was a well known too small brakes issue which is now resolved

[drumsterphil]

Lora-x said:

Hijacking your thread as I'm about to change my front pads and discs ??, was just going to go with the DS's but I am worried about the brake dust on my lovely work wheels, what are the performance friction pads like for brake dust?

Shouldn't be an issue if you wash your wheels weekly. If you use wheel wax then that's a further level of protection.

[Lora-x]

I do wash them regularly and protect them with sealant, but want to do everything I possibly can to make sure they are going to stay mint, and if there is a better brake setup out there then that'd be excellent.

[drumsterphil]

I've used DS2500's while having expensive wheels fitted - the weekly wash never failed to get rid of brake dust.

I like a clean car too but value braking more, and if it means I have to wash the wheels more often then that's a fair compromise to me.

There's a number of suggestions on here for alternatives to DS2500's, why not ring a few suppliers up and have a chat with them.

[ohtari]

Agreed, the service from Godspeed is always impeccable. Along with ICP they're my favourite online traders to deal with.

Best of luck OP, once they're bedded in those kevlar pads can really take some punishment!