Discussion
I think (no actually I'm sure) you will find that the brakes (and all the running gear) on a 98 Chim are identical to the Griffith 500. I use EBC green stuff on all my cars and find them excellent in all respects: Great stopping power and freedom from fade when punished;
seem to last for ages yet very kind to the discs;
the kevlar based pad material produces minmal amounts of the dreaded dust (compared with regular pad material)and what there is just washes off rather than embedding itself into the lacquer.
They do benefit from a bit of warmth and when dead cold do require a bit more pedal pressure. So worth anticipating that when you arrive at the first junction in the morning.
Be careful when ordering because I had problems getting the right part initially (i've just pulled a set out of the workshop) the EARLY chimaera type is DP2415 - this is the one you DONT want, cant remember the number for the late type.
PS: I have a redundant set of EBC green stuff DP2415 on the shelf by the way if anyones interested, just looking to cover most of my costs.
I'm in the position of wanting to replare the Pads on my 93 Chimaera. Anyone (steve) know the replacement part no's.
I have been using EBC but if you reccomend something else (ferodo,mintex,red dot), I'd be happy to try them. I haven't been too impressed with the EBCs lately, but they have been on the car for over a year now so they might be a bit glazed.
Kwacker
Woody_450 said:
Hi,
IIRC EBC Green Stuff are only rated up to 200 bhp...
Rich
What exactly does that mean? How can you rate brake pads by BHP, the amount of heat energy generated in braking is directly proportional to the speed and mass of the vehicle (and obviously the rate and extent of decelleration) but I'm assuming maximum decelleration (limiting factor being tyre grip). The amount of heat rise in the pads and discs will then be determined by their mass and heat capacity. Admittedly the standard brakes are pretty small, but thats because it is a very light car and doesnt need massive brakes. The Green stuff EBC pad isnt a full motorsport material, but is a damn site more fade resistant than standard stuff and improves in feel and power as it heats up. Most heavier duty pad materials, especially semi or full motorsport compounds will give pretty poor performance when cold to warm and unless you are driving extremely hard you'll never get them up to working temp in road use.
Been using GS on my XJS V12 for years (1700kg and 300BHP) and it has performed excellently even when severely abused. Was using Mintex 1144 in the past which was fade resistant but took more warming up and tended to be sqeaky.
Just my view of course!
tahiti450 said:
I can just remember reading somewhere that as a rule of thumb that green stuff was recommended for cars up to 200bhp...thinking about it the actual power of the machine shouldn't have that much influence on the pad material, as you say it would be down to weight and braking force required to stop the motor.
Personally I wouldn't put them on either my Audi S3 or the Chimaera, I've heard too many stories of poor performance and pad quality (pads breaking up).
Woody_450 said:
Personally I wouldn't put them on either my Audi S3 or the Chimaera, I've heard too many stories of poor performance and pad quality (pads breaking up).
I'm only relating my experience, which is that I have never had any quality problems with EBC, quite the reverse. I've seen quite a number of other pads breaking up tho'!
Frankly IMO even if they weren't any better than standard pads they'd still be worth the cost just on the basis of the reduction in brake dust production. (used gently they produce hardly any and used hard they produce a very small amount.) - but they are a major improvement in performance as well. I'm not suggetsing that they are the ideal choice for circuit racing or even sprinting on slicks and mega BHP but as a fast road, production-sprint or trackday pad I wouldn't look any further.
I used EBC green for a year or so. They're a little bit wooden from cold in the winter but they soon warm up, and I never had any trouble with them in year round use. On the track they work OK at first, and then seem to get better and better the hotter they get. I never managed to overheat them despite giving them a fair amount of stick. They produce minimal amounts of dust and wear very slowly.
They do have a big disadvantage though: when you get them hot, they produce very rapid disc wear. The discs actually seem to wear faster than the pads. EBC claim very low disc wear but my experience was the opposite. This is the main reason I don't use them any more.
Having said that, I did put them back on a couple of months ago just to take the ridges off the disc, seems to have done the trick nicely. I'll swap back before the summer though.
They do have a big disadvantage though: when you get them hot, they produce very rapid disc wear. The discs actually seem to wear faster than the pads. EBC claim very low disc wear but my experience was the opposite. This is the main reason I don't use them any more.
Having said that, I did put them back on a couple of months ago just to take the ridges off the disc, seems to have done the trick nicely. I'll swap back before the summer though.
GreenV8S said:
I used EBC green for a year or so. They're a little bit wooden from cold in the winter but they soon warm up, and I never had any trouble with them in year round use. On the track they work OK at first, and then seem to get better and better the hotter they get. I never managed to overheat them despite giving them a fair amount of stick. They produce minimal amounts of dust and wear very slowly.
They do have a big disadvantage though: when you get them hot, they produce very rapid disc wear. The discs actually seem to wear faster than the pads. EBC claim very low disc wear but my experience was the opposite. This is the main reason I don't use them any more.
Having said that, I did put them back on a couple of months ago just to take the ridges off the disc, seems to have done the trick nicely. I'll swap back before the summer though.
I said: Quote:
I use EBC green stuff on all my cars and find them excellent in all respects:
Great stopping power and freedom from fade when punished;
seem to last for ages yet very kind to the discs;
the kevlar based pad material produces minmal amounts of the dreaded dust (compared with regular pad material)and what there is just washes off rather than embedding itself into the lacquer.
They do benefit from a bit of warmth and when dead cold do require a bit more pedal pressure. So worth anticipating that when you arrive at the first junction in the morning. UNQUOTE.
Hi Peter, Seems we're pretty much in agreement, except over the issue of disc wear, strange to have such divergent views on that one factor though?
I have run most of my sets on uprated discs of one sort or another on various cars, which might affect that. Mind you I do remember thinking that one set of front pads (EBC) lasted nearly as long as the discs, but that was more in respect of the durability of the pad and the discs deteriorating through surface cracking and crazing from repeated heavy braking / abuse with creeping of the surface of the disc rather than loss of thickness. There again I do tend to regard discs as consumables pretty much. >> Edited by tahiti450 on Wednesday 16th March 23:46
It is strange, yes. It might be something to do with the temperature the pads get up to? Just guessing, can't see what else would affect it.
I got used to replacing the discs every time I changed the pads when I was using EBC, that would typically be after a couple of track days. Not too bad when the discs are cheap, but my current discs are quite pricey and I'm not willing to fork out for new ones several times a year. Now I've stopped using greenstuff, discs last many times longer.
I got used to replacing the discs every time I changed the pads when I was using EBC, that would typically be after a couple of track days. Not too bad when the discs are cheap, but my current discs are quite pricey and I'm not willing to fork out for new ones several times a year. Now I've stopped using greenstuff, discs last many times longer.
GreenV8S said:
They do have a big disadvantage though: when you get them hot, they produce very rapid disc wear. The discs actually seem to wear faster than the pads. EBC claim very low disc wear but my experience was the opposite. This is the main reason I don't use them any more.
Did you trying using their grooved discs, or were you using the original discs?
They told me that their pads are better suited for use with their grooved discs, obviously they won't say you can't use them with standard discs because it would affect sales.
I've not had good experience with Greenstuff pads. I've only got a Focus, so obviously not likely to be putting the same amount of heat into them as you guys. I had the drivers side pad completely disintegrate and disappear leaving me with just the backing plate to stop on that side... not pleasant. When replacing them I noticed that the passenger side had a couple of big cracks in it.. I may not be here typing this now if that side had gone at the same time. They'd only done about 5000miles road use, and there was plenty of pad left on the passenger side.
From the start they always seemed to produce unessesary vibration through the pedal and felt a bit wooden, and I made sure I gave them plenty of milage to bed in.
Paul.
From the start they always seemed to produce unessesary vibration through the pedal and felt a bit wooden, and I made sure I gave them plenty of milage to bed in.
Paul.
ive used greenstuff on and off for years because the wheels stay clean that bit is great but.....
first set of greenstuff on an m3 with the really awkward to clean bbs crossspoke splitrims fitted with standard discs after about a month my discs were warped and badly worn. dodgy cheap discs thought i so new flash ebc discs and new pads within a month also warped the ebc dealer skimmed the discs for me foc after another month warped againskimmed again and i sold the car also they always squealed but the wheels looked clean!!
next car M5 new discs and pads same problem fitted standard discs and pads sold the car with no further problems then current 740i with alpina alloys (lots of spokes)once again tried a set of greenstuff pads
and this time when stripped after the discs were warped bits of the pad material fell off so ive replaced them with original bmw discs and pads and they have no warping for 60,000 and never a single squeel however my wheels look terrible after 2 miles
i wont be trying them again
oh use original ford (motorcraft) take a pad out and go down to your ford dealer with it from memory i think its from an early 90s xr3i
>> Edited by chimtvr on Thursday 17th March 17:43
first set of greenstuff on an m3 with the really awkward to clean bbs crossspoke splitrims fitted with standard discs after about a month my discs were warped and badly worn. dodgy cheap discs thought i so new flash ebc discs and new pads within a month also warped the ebc dealer skimmed the discs for me foc after another month warped againskimmed again and i sold the car also they always squealed but the wheels looked clean!!
next car M5 new discs and pads same problem fitted standard discs and pads sold the car with no further problems then current 740i with alpina alloys (lots of spokes)once again tried a set of greenstuff pads
and this time when stripped after the discs were warped bits of the pad material fell off so ive replaced them with original bmw discs and pads and they have no warping for 60,000 and never a single squeel however my wheels look terrible after 2 miles
i wont be trying them again
oh use original ford (motorcraft) take a pad out and go down to your ford dealer with it from memory i think its from an early 90s xr3i
>> Edited by chimtvr on Thursday 17th March 17:43
chimtvr said:
so new flash ebc discs and new pads within a month also warped the ebc dealer skimmed the discs for me foc after another month warped againskimmed again
Are we talking grooved EBC discs or the standard ones, and if grooved were they the ones they call "spotties" with dimples as well as grooves?
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