Fiesta Mk 7 brakes

[steve-V8s]

Want to improve the brake feel on an ecoboost Fiesta. Tried fitting callipers and disks from a ST150 and brembo road pads but they don't have the initial bite we are looking for. Fitted braided lines and replaced all the fluid but they still feel uninspiring. They work ok for the road and the MOT man reports them as fine, you just can't stand the car on its nose. Pads that market themselves as having very high initial bite seem to be sold as “not for road use” Previously on other cars I have used Ferodo 2500 but looking at performance graphs suggests they may not have a lot more cold bite than the road pads.

The car is used for hillclimbs so the pads never get a chance to get hot and you certainly can't warm them up before you need them.

[cwdude]

Have you looked into whether there is a difference in master cylinders? Bigger caliper pistons with a small master cylinder might cause a problem

[k20ris]

'OE quality' Brembo pads are some of the poorest pads I've used on a road car. If this is what you have I would start there if the car is used in any sort of spirited way, personally.

[Trev450]

I've used Performance Friction 01 pads for many years in sprints and hill climbs and can't fault them. They are not cheap but do last well, give good initial bite and are nigh-on fade free.

[HustleRussell]

k20ris said:

'OE quality' Brembo pads are some of the poorest pads I've used on a road car. If this is what you have I would start there if the car is used in any sort of spirited way, personally.

This. Pads would've been the first thing I'd have upgraded and probably would've solved the problem without all of the other stuff. You need to fit pads which are appropriate for sprinting. I'm sure there are a lot of specialist pads which work from cold but Mintex 1144 compound is one which I can recommend. 'Bite' is all about the friction material and its interaction with the disc.

[Galveston]

Have you tried proper Ford pads? Might sound daft but in my experience proper OEM pads are always best for hills and sprints. Great bite, consistent, reasonably fade resistant (more than enough for the longest hill or sprint), last ages, and usually relatively cheap. OEM are much better than the supposed equivalents from factors etc.

[df76]

Galveston said:

Have you tried proper Ford pads? Might sound daft but in my experience proper OEM pads are always best for hills and sprints. Great bite, consistent, reasonably fade resistant (more than enough for the longest hill or sprint), last ages, and usually relatively cheap. OEM are much better than the supposed equivalents from factors etc.

This is a good shout. If the car isn't being used for track days, I would just be looking to get the best "OEM" pads for hillclimbs. Pagid have always been very good when I've used them with nice bite.