Brake pads for 450SE ???

[mikeb]

My AP 4 pot calipers are away being re-built and as I have less than 0.5mm of brake pad left I think that I should change these also!

What are you boys with the 400/450SE or SEAC's using for front pads??.

I have heard that the EBC Greenstuff pads are ok but eat disks and require some heating up. Anybody recommend these?

Or anybody using Mintex or ferrodo pads.

Ideally I am looking for something that won't squeal like a pig or cover everything with dust every three minutes - but also stop the car!

Recommendations......

MikeB

[stainless_steve]

Mintex 1144,no squeal,recomended to me by Tim

[jmorgan]

I had the Mintex on the 350. Superb.

[rev-erend]

Mike - I run EBC greenstuff and have not found they need warming up and they have not eaten my disc's the best bit is no dust.

[paul gotts]

Have run 1144's, but found them no good for circuit work - not high enough heat rating. Not tried Green Stuff, but friends who use them do say they're good on road & track, with very little dust. I've used DS3000 (outright race pad), fantastic coeficient of grip, heat range, so good for circuit days, downside is noise, they do chew rotors, and they have so much metallic content that if you dont clean the wheels regularly, the dust turns to rust! Currently using DS2000's, good road and circuit pad, no noise, not too hard on rotors. I think that Ferodo are just producing the DS2500 (updated DS2000)for the Princess caliper, so that will be my next choice.

[2 sheds]

Mintex 1144s are fast road pads, for continuous curcuit laps try 1155s but not ideal for road use as they don't do much until warm, which can be alarming

Tim

[joospeed]

paul gotts said:

Have run 1144's, but found them no good for circuit work - not high enough heat rating. Not tried Green Stuff, but friends who use them do say they're good on road & track, with very little dust. I've used DS3000 (outright race pad), fantastic coeficient of grip, heat range, so good for circuit days, downside is noise, they do chew rotors, and they have so much metallic content that if you dont clean the wheels regularly, the dust turns to rust! Currently using DS2000's, good road and circuit pad, no noise, not too hard on rotors. I think that Ferodo are just producing the DS2500 (updated DS2000)for the Princess caliper, so that will be my next choice.

I've run 1144s on modified cerberas with no problems .. you might need bigger discs / more cooling / go round corners faster.

the 1155 should work ok on cold days .. we use 1177 in our race tasmin and even that stops with wheel lock before they're fully warmed up .. hot braking is stunning.

Golden rule is never run your pads that low though .. the pad material changes and isn't as good close to the backing metal, that's because the pad material that's good for braking doesn't bond well to the metal, so they use a boding matrial first, then the pad proper is put on top of that *at least that's the case with the mintex pads) .. so once you're down to 2mm or so you lose the heat barrier effect of the pad and also you're running onto inferior pad material from a brakng point of view.

As Peter H always says, the bed-in proceedure is critical .. the more esoteric the pad the more attention you should pay to this to get the full benefit from your investment

>> Edited by joospeed on Sunday 13th February 13:08

[mikeb]

From having a poke around on these forums I might then try the Minitex 1144's. My next choice would probably be the EBC's.

I don't intend to go hooning around a track just yet but it is a 450SE after all and has been known to have the occasional 'blast'. We also have the Chicken run 2 coming up!!

Next question is where can you get these pads and do they also supply new pins and fixings?.

Also what sort of price are we talking about?.

MikeB

[shpub]

The 520 is currently Ferrodo shod - DS2000 or DS2500. Wouldn't go near EBCs... Mintex 1144 are pretty good.

The ability of brakes to last etc is also very dependent on brake technique BTW.

[mikeb]

Thanks Steve.

I only purchased the car before Xmas and it is my first real chance to have a good poke around at the brakes.

When I got the calipers off I did have quite a suprise........Calipers were in a 'fantastic' state - NOT.

Have a look. The stuff flaking is the chrome

<a href="http://www.tvrwedgepages.co.uk/mike.html">www.tvrwedgepages.co.uk/mike.html</a>

Also the pads were down to the bone. The pic is also of the good side! the other side had rusted completely.

MikeB

>> Edited by mikeb on Sunday 13th February 21:49

>> Edited by mikeb on Sunday 13th February 21:50

[stainless_steve]

Oi, no pics on ur site yet Mike

[wedg1e]

mikeb said:

Thanks Steve. I only purchased the car before Xmas and it is my first real chance to have a good poke around at the brakes. When I got the calipers off I did have quite a suprise........Calipers were in a 'fantastic' state - NOT. Have a look. The stuff flaking is the chrome <a href="http://www.tvrwedgepages.co.uk/mike.html"><a href="http://www.tvrwedgepages.co.uk/mike.html">www.tvrwedgepages.co.uk/mike.html</a></a> Also the pads were down to the bone. The pic is also of the good side! the other side had rusted completely. MikeB >> Edited by mikeb on Sunday 13th February 21:49 >> Edited by mikeb on Sunday 13th February 21:50

Christ on a bike, Mike, someone wants shooting for letting them get in that state.

F-ing sports car owners eh.

:shakesheadsadly:

[mikeb]

The same person who lets the car stand out in the open for a year with the windows open!

MikeB

[paul gotts]

mikeb said:

Next question is where can you get these pads and do they also supply new pins and fixings?. Also what sort of price are we talking about?. MikeB

I've found the following companies helpful in sorting brake parts, pads etc. : Techcraft (new stainless pistons for the Princess caliper - suggested by AP), BG Developments, Performance Braking and Rally design. Hi-Spec may also be worth a try. The pad retaining pins are just large split pins, which should be easy enough to find, but I seem to remember not being able to source the anti-rattle clips - I think they may be two smaller sizes joined together to accomodate the caliper spacers for the larger vented discs. I just cleaned mine up and re-used them. Last Ferodo pads are c. £80 a set for the front.

[cirks]

On the old AP brakes I found Tarox to be excellent on road and track although they do generate a load of dust. The Mintex 1144 are good. The EBC are horrible.