Belaco brake pads - cheap but any good?

[PistonAFC]

Anyone tried these "Belaco" brake pads - seem dirt cheap at £9.99 and available for a variety of cars. Anyone got any feedback on them or the seller RTG Automotive?

the bay of e item number: 186237091737
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164698058635

Thanks

[E-bmw]

Brakes being one of the 2 most important things on a car (the other being tyres) I just wouldn't.

[PistonAFC]

E-bmw said:

Brakes being one of the 2 most important things on a car (the other being tyres) I just wouldn't.

I thought all UK pads have to be E90 Tested and so should perform within 10% of OEM pads? I wonder if these cheaper pads just wear out quicker and maybe that the main difference.

Secondly, this looked interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ8O2tJOGLE

Thirdly, what about aftermarket brands like comline, first line, and such like? I remember bearman68 saying he routinely fits "Brakefit" branded pads and found them OK.

[E-bmw]

PistonAFC said:

E-bmw said:

Brakes being one of the 2 most important things on a car (the other being tyres) I just wouldn't.

I thought all UK pads have to be E90 Tested and so should perform within 10% of OEM pads? I wonder if these cheaper pads just wear out quicker and maybe that the main difference.

Secondly, this looked interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ8O2tJOGLE

Thirdly, what about aftermarket brands like comline, first line, and such like? I remember bearman68 saying he routinely fits "Brakefit" branded pads and found them OK.

"E90 tested" isn't any guarantee of quality.

Comline/Brakefit are the minimum I personally I would fit, but personally, I have always preferred AP/Mintex/Pagid etc. if OE isn't viable.

These days it is potentially more of an issue of making sure you get genuine as (with anything worth copying) there are always copies out there.

[mmm-five]

PistonAFC said:

I thought all UK pads have to be E90 Tested and so should perform within 10% of OEM pads? I wonder if these cheaper pads just wear out quicker and maybe that the main difference.

Secondly, this looked interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ8O2tJOGLE

Thirdly, what about aftermarket brands like comline, first line, and such like? I remember bearman68 saying he routinely fits "Brakefit" branded pads and found them OK.

How long are they tested for?

Is it one run and they pass, or do they have to perform to that standard after 10,000 applications, or can they fail after 10 applications?

It says something when the only source of information on them seems to be ebay pages.

What's that Dirty Harry line again...

[Dave Brand]

This intrigued me - haven't seen Belaco for years. The history of the brand is very convoluted - I remember it from when it was owned by Turner & Newall.

Looks like somebody's bought the rights to the name & set up an "own-branding" operation. At the bottom of the provided link it says that they are manufactured by TMD friction, the group which owns such brands as Pagid, Mintex, etc, "E9" on the pads in the picture shows that they are manufactured in Spain; looks like they are ECE R90.

Bottom line, looks like a big-name product in a different box, just like they were back in the T & N days!

[Maxdecel]

AKA Raybestos-Belaco originally, intriguing that a T&N/Fed. Mogul owned trade mark became property of TMD(BBA) !
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Raybestos-Belaco

E9 Denotes the authority where R90 approval is conducted, in this case Spain; likely IDIADA - https://www.applusidiada.com/global/en/what-we-do/...

[PistonAFC]

Dave Brand said:

This intrigued me - haven't seen Belaco for years. The history of the brand is very convoluted - I remember it from when it was owned by Turner & Newall.

Looks like somebody's bought the rights to the name & set up an "own-branding" operation. At the bottom of the provided link it says that they are manufactured by TMD friction, the group which owns such brands as Pagid, Mintex, etc, "E9" on the pads in the picture shows that they are manufactured in Spain; looks like they are ECE R90.

Bottom line, looks like a big-name product in a different box, just like they were back in the T & N days!

TMD seem to have so many brands it's difficult to keep up!

Yes, it is interesting as the pads are soo cheap and made by TMD or atleast that's what I read, but strange that they are not mentioned on the TMD website as being one of their brands like the rest (Textar, Pagid, Mintex, Don etc). Also TMD seem to have a mixed performing portfolio as they also make Eicher in Scotland (which many people have had issues with and rate poorly on here), there are rumours that Pagid from Euros are made in China on licence and not "real" TMD parts.

So what to make of Belaco??? TMD seem to be keeping it quiet that they are behind them so is it just Eicher quality in a new box or are they closer to Mintex? Who knows!

[Dave Brand]

Maxdecel said:

AKA Raybestos-Belaco originally, intriguing that a T&N/Fed. Mogul owned trade mark became property of TMD(BBA) !

I was surprised just how long ago they acquired it:

https://www.trademarkelite.com/uk/trademark/tradem...

It's a long time ago, but if I remember correctly, RB disappeared in the late 1960s.

Even more surprising is that another apparently unrelated group has also regisered Belaco as a trade mark:

https://www.trademarkelite.com/uk/trademark/tradem...

[Dave Brand]

PistonAFC said:

there are rumours that Pagid from Euros are made in China on licence and not "real" TMD parts.

Nothing wrong with friction materials made in China, providing that they are made to the same spec as parts made elsewhere & a robust quality assurance system is in place.

Things may have moved on since then, but back in 1997 the production line I set up in Wuhan was producing products of equal quality to those we were manufacturing in the UK, arguably better as the all the equipment was brand new.

[Maxdecel]

Dave Brand said:

I was surprised just how long ago they acquired it:

https://www.trademarkelite.com/uk/trademark/tradem...

It's a long time ago, but if I remember correctly, RB disappeared in the late 1960s.

Even more surprising is that another apparently unrelated group has also regisered Belaco as a trade mark:

https://www.trademarkelite.com/uk/trademark/tradem...

As is the norm, looking through bookmarks for something entirely different; found a link to Youtube for racing materials.
https://www.raybestos.com/who-we-are

[MajorMantra]

The ebay seller is legit enough at least, I've bought cheapo wipers from RTG in the past.

The whole business of parts brands is so convoluted now. So many of the old names have been sold off so it's incredibly hard to know what you're really getting, and much of the stuff on forums including this one is essentially pub talk along the lines of "I heard X is actually made by Y" without any real evidence.

Unless you're directly involved in the supply chain it's virtually impossible to be sure.

[Maxdecel]

It's unlikely to create IP problems in this case as the other Belaco appear to produce white goods
From what I can see the brand name for them has a motif before the name, that appears to be the only difference !

[Tye Green]

MajorMantra said:

and much of the stuff on forums including this one is essentially pub talk along the lines of "I heard X is actually made by Y" without any real evidence.

same for tyres...

[PistonAFC]

Tye Green said:

same for tyres...

At least for tyres there are some independent COMPARATIVE reviews such as tyrereview webiste.

It's almost impossible to find COMPARATIVE reviews for brake pads. You would have thought that manufacturers would produce this kind of data to show how their products perform or maybe some independent testers (like the tyrereviews etc), as this is a SAFETY critical component similar to tyres but there is very little data out there.

Considering that TMD Friction admit to producing on their webiste :
Textar
Mintex
Bendix
Don
Pagid
Cobreq

but there is no mention of:
Eicher or Belaco

it would be interesting to see how their pads perform Textar/Mintex vs Pagid/Don vs Eicher/Belaco. And also how other brands (Brembo. Delphi etc) and generics (Comline, Firstline, Einbach, Allied Nippon, etc) compare.