Which discs and pads?

[A900ss]

I'm starting to prepare for the jobs I need to do for winter and one of them is new discs and pads all round.

It's a 97 450 and I'm thinking of going DS2500 all round. However with the discs is it much of a muchness? I'm thinking just basic EBC discs.

I don't do track days just fast road.

Any comments on the DS2500‘s or other pads or which discs most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

PS I'm guessing that the 2500's are not classed as a track pad and therefore don't need to be declared as a mod to the insurers.

Edited by A900ss on Sunday 13th October 10:19

[MADMAX2]

ive got black diamond grooved discs with predator pads braided hoses 5.1 fluid suits me fine

[A900ss]

I'm glad you brought up Black diamond. They are more than half the price of DS2500 and I am a little worried they are too cheap.

Good to know you are getting on well with them.

I would consider grooved but not drilled discs.

[Chilliman]

I've got DS2500 pads and 300mm grooved rotors. Brakes are excellent!

Had to put 16's on the front so's the rotors would fit

[PH430]

Chilliman said:

I've got DS2500 pads and 300mm grooved rotors. Brakes are excellent!

Had to put 16's on the front so's the rotors would fit

What kind of brand rotors and calipers you have on it?

[Chilliman]

HiSpec's... Good press from some of the Sag and Tuscan race boys....

[A900ss]

Reading more about the DS2500’s and it looks like they are not road legal for cars after Sept 99.

http://ebcbrakes.com/ece-r90/

Looks like I'll be ok as my car is a 1997 but just wondering what an insurers point of view would be.

[SILICONEKID343HP]

A900ss said:

Reading more about the DS2500’s and it looks like they are not road legal for cars after Sept 99.

http://ebcbrakes.com/ece-r90/

Looks like I'll be ok as my car is a 1997 but just wondering what an insurers point of view would be.

Are you track daying ? if not the DS2500 are an over kill . You don`t need anything special for the road .. Most of the performance track pads need heat to work ,some are useless for road use,they come to there own when you push them .

I have the yellow stuff pads ,they need warm up time ,red stuff would of been better for road .

[A900ss]

Ok done some research and I think I'm going to go with this:

Mintex brake discs front and rear

Front at £38.84
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200749904343?ssPageName=...

Rear at £30.29
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221008788453?ssPageName=...

I was going to go with the DS2500 pads but am a little concerned at the legality/insurance issues so will go with EBC yellowstuff instead. The yellow stuff seams to get better reviews than redstuff even when cold.

Front and rear pads for £106.46
http://www.ebcbrakesdirect.com/car/parts_pad.asp?p...

So less than £175 for pads and discs all round seems ok to me.

[pac1uk]

I fitted the same Mintex rear disc's a while back. No complaints, really the same as OEM. Good price when compared to how much the specialists charge.

I use Mintex 1144 pads, I have run these for the last 18 months in the Lotus and give a good feel and a big improvement over the OEM pads.

If you where going to do lots of track days then Pagid or Carbone Lorraine are good.

I also fitted Goodridge brake hoses replacing the old rubber hoses.

[A900ss]

pac1uk said:

I also fitted Goodridge brake hoses replacing the old rubber hoses.

My brake hoses are braided already and they feel fine.

Just found the yellowstuff pads for a total of £96.52 on Amazon so that's so tenner cheaper.

[SILICONEKID343HP]

A900ss said:

Ok done some research and I think I'm going to go with this:

Mintex brake discs front and rear

Front at £38.84
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200749904343?ssPageName=...

Rear at £30.29
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221008788453?ssPageName=...

I was going to go with the DS2500 pads but am a little concerned at the legality/insurance issues so will go with EBC yellowstuff instead. The yellow stuff seams to get better reviews than redstuff even when cold.

Front and rear pads for £106.46
http://www.ebcbrakesdirect.com/car/parts_pad.asp?p...

So less than £175 for pads and discs all round seems ok to me.

Go for red ,my yellows do not work very well untill they are warm.

[GTRene]

for street and low on dust I've read this when I was looking for other pads>

said:

"There are TWO reasons our customers love Redstuff, First because they are the lowest dust pad we have encountered by reducing dust by 60-90%. Plus the minimal dust you see is very easily removed with a simple sponge wash as it contains no steel fibre particles as in ALL OTHER pads. Second they brake like an alligator right from cold (as good as Original pads or better) and just get better as they heat up."

Features:
-Kevlar® fibre based brake compound enhanced with ceramic particles.
-Emits far less dust than semi-metallic pads
-Proven to stop a passenger car/sedan/sport compact/hot hatch 13 metres quicker than OEM pads from 100mph

sounds good to me

[A900ss]

SILICONEKID343HP said:

Go for red ,my yellows do not work very well untill they are warm.

With the exception of dust, every review said yellows are better than reds.

Even EBC claim that the newest compound of yellows has better cold friction than the reds (see the sixth post on this thread for the visual http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=657... )

I've gone with the yellows, right or wrong, and I just hope that I can finally say goodbye to the stinking (literally) pads that I'm currently running. I do brake quite late and hard in the Chim as opposed to my daily, so hopefully the yellows are the right choice.

[QBee]

I have DS 2500 front and rear. They cost about £90 a set and feel the same as my £12.99 a set Ford Escort standard pads on the road.

The difference comes on track, where you brake hard corner after corner. The heat eventually fades the standard ones, the 2500s never fade and give you huge confidence in your stopping power.

[QBee]

Spend your hard earned on getting the suspension set up and properly sorted, if you haven't already. The standard brakes may look pathetic, but they are well man enough for the job for road use.

[SILICONEKID343HP]

QBee said:

I have DS 2500 front and rear. They cost about £90 a set and feel the same as my £12.99 a set Ford Escort standard pads on the road.

The difference comes on track, where you brake hard corner after corner. The heat eventually fades the standard ones, the 2500s never fade and give you huge confidence in your stopping power.

Yes they both work the same untill the car is pushed ,can`t see this happening on the road .

I used Delphi pads ,thinking about refitting them because they work better than my yellow stuff pads on the road.

[Keri]

Assuming caliper type and disc size isn't being looked at, then based on the feedback we've had in recent years I would suggest:

- Fast road / trackday / "loads of power"....basic discs and DS2500 pads. They get better reveiews than EBC Red/Yellow and EBC's prices constantly creep up closer and closer to Ferodo.

- Basic car / loads of miles....EBC Reds maybe, or even Gen Ford OEM pads, but again basic discs.

Put your money in the pads, not funny coloured discs. :-)

Again for pure bang-for-your-buck, Ate Superblue fluid is easy to find and a very good spec.

[SILICONEKID343HP]

Keri said:

Assuming caliper type and disc size isn't being looked at, then based on the feedback we've had in recent years I would suggest:

- Fast road / trackday / "loads of power"....basic discs and DS2500 pads. They get better reveiews than EBC Red/Yellow and EBC's prices constantly creep up closer and closer to Ferodo.

- Basic car / loads of miles....EBC Reds maybe, or even Gen Ford OEM pads, but again basic discs.

Put your money in the pads, not funny coloured discs. :-)

Again for pure bang-for-your-buck, Ate Superblue fluid is easy to find and a very good spec.

Have ou upgraded your website ? still saving up for some of your very nice brake upgrades.

[ChimpOnGas]

Keri said:

Assuming caliper type and disc size isn't being looked at, then based on the feedback we've had in recent years I would suggest:

- Fast road / trackday / "loads of power"....basic discs and DS2500 pads. They get better reveiews than EBC Red/Yellow and EBC's prices constantly creep up closer and closer to Ferodo.

- Basic car / loads of miles....EBC Reds maybe, or even Gen Ford OEM pads, but again basic discs.

Put your money in the pads, not funny coloured discs. :-)

Again for pure bang-for-your-buck, Ate Superblue fluid is easy to find and a very good spec.

I'd agree with this.

I use ATE Supeblue and change it every 24 months giving the brakes a proper bleed up.

A set of braided lines has also made a big difference.

I use Pagid pads which are very good quality and perform well, not fancy race Pagid pads just their bogo range from Euro Car Parts.

They are cheap, dont squeal, give very little dust and work perfectly from cold.

I combine this with bogo vented iron discs again from Euro Car Parts, not drilled and no fancy grooves to reduce the surface area.

Just standard well maintained standard brakes using good quality well priced parts maintained & serviced properly.

My mate who has a 997 GT3 RS with the most insane brakes, when he drove my Chimaera he commented on how firm the pedal was & how well the brakes performed.

I'm sure I'd quickly find their limit on the track, but for fast road use the standard brakes are definitely more than up to the job.

I'd still like a set of Keri's callipers & 300mm discs under my 16" front Imolas, cos they are very cool

Edited by ChimpOnGas on Monday 14th October 23:26