Ineffective brakes ? Suggestions.....
Discussion
Car booked in 3 Apr for service and some brake fettling etc. I don't think mine are that good but don't want to spend the earth on big disc upgrade etc. I was thinking more of braided hoses, new front pads and new dot 5.1 fluid. Where can I get braided hoses and decent pads for my Chim? What pads are best for road use? Service guy recommends EBC Green Stuff - where can I get these and are they OK for road?
Cheers,
Cheers,
the dodger said:
What pads are best for road use? Service guy recommends EBC Green Stuff - where can I get these and are they OK for road?
Cheers,
I have heard good and bad things re green stuff - some people have suggested they arent great for road use as when they are cold they are next to useless and only after some spirited driving do they warm up to function very well. No experience myself but enough of these comments from thse in the know to dissuade me
shnozz said:
What pads are best for road use? Service guy recommends EBC Green Stuff - where can I get these and are they OK for road?
Cheers,
I have heard good and bad things re green stuff - some people have suggested they arent great for road use as when they are cold they are next to useless and only after some spirited driving do they warm up to function very well. No experience myself but enough of these comments from thse in the know to dissuade me
Yeh, that's what I remembered shnozz. Anybody had similar experience? Alternatives?
I have standard Griff 500 brakes but with 5.1 fluid and greenstuff pads. Not a big fan of greenstuff unless on the track when they are great. Will be changing to Ferodo 2000s next which are supposed to be better when cold and just as good when hot.
BTW I have been advised against having different pads front and rear - if you did go with EBC Greens on the front and had to brake suddenly after a long period without using the brakes, you may find the rears have way to much power - not a good thing!
BTW I have been advised against having different pads front and rear - if you did go with EBC Greens on the front and had to brake suddenly after a long period without using the brakes, you may find the rears have way to much power - not a good thing!
changing the hoses and fluid won't gain you any extra braking at all, unless your existing hoses have internally collapsed and your fluid is boiling at ridiculuously low temp .. you will gain a better pedal feel though and may be able to modulate the on-the-limit braking better with the new stuff fitted, but don't go and throw that away by speccing green stuff pads which are my personal worst pad of all time .. (even though i have them on the S .. but that's another story!!)
Replacing the brake fluid will help if the old fluid is hydrated or has been overheated, and is generally a good bet because it is cheap to do, cures some types of problem and will never make things worse. Unless you're having brake overheating problems I don't see any reason to upgrade the brakes, pads or hoses. The state of the pads can make a big difference to the feel of the brakes. If in doubt, fit new fast road pads all round and then (and this is the really important bit) bed them in properly according to the manufacturers instructions. I've spoken to no end of people who are unhappy with their brakes but had no idea they needed to be bedded in to work properly. Also, depending how they're used brakes can 'un-bed' themselves over time and going through the bedding in procedure again can often bring tired brakes back to life.
I’ve got green stuff front and rear on my 4l, with matching ebc spotties discs. Agreed the pads don’t work as well from cold as o.e, but they are no means bad, they just need a little extra effort to get them to working. Once warmed up (2 x round-about’s in MK), I’ve had no problems with them, I’ve done a couple of trackdays (Silverstone & Donnington) on them, and I think they’re fine. Although the front disc’s are now showing signs of cracking.
jj
jj
Thanks for the info so far guys. Still a couple of queries. Is that Ferodo DS2000 or 25000? Where can I get them (and braided hoses) from?
At the moment I can't even lock the wheels
when stamping on pedal. I admit it gets a bit better after the first few stabs but then goes 'off' after. I literally had to press as hard as I could at MOT time with me in the car last year. As for bedding-in I totally agree with you. Hope that can be achieved quickly as it's MOT time again in 3 weeks.
Cheers.
At the moment I can't even lock the wheels
when stamping on pedal. I admit it gets a bit better after the first few stabs but then goes 'off' after. I literally had to press as hard as I could at MOT time with me in the car last year. As for bedding-in I totally agree with you. Hope that can be achieved quickly as it's MOT time again in 3 weeks. Cheers.
<y car runs green stuff pads cos they came with the discs and calipers i bought off ian greenwood (prolific PH seller in the classifieds) .. hte stuff was a bargain price so i used them nyway .. might change them one day, might not!!
In the rear i use APEC pads, 8 quid a set and absolutely fantastic pads
In the rear i use APEC pads, 8 quid a set and absolutely fantastic pads
the dodger said:
Thanks for the info so far guys. Still a couple of queries. Is that Ferodo DS2000 or 25000? Where can I get them (and braided hoses) from?
At the moment I can't even lock the wheels
Cheers.
DS2500. Peninsula supplied mine, they'll probably try and palm you off with EBC first though
From the 'problems' you describe I'd got for a full fluid change and check the brakes all round - the adjustment of the rears has a lot of effect on the initial feel of the pedal. Again, Peninsula can supply hoses (there is a std 'pack' from Goodridge for the Griffith which is the same thing).
the dodger said:
At the moment I can't even lock the wheels
Cheers.
I've had concerns about the brakes for exactly this reason. At slow speeds I cannot lock the wheels and it feels like I'm going to snap the pedal off I'm pushing so hard. I've made Peninsula strip the brakes twice as I've been convinced there is something wrong with them - only thing is they have been fine on track days. Peninsula are satisfied that the brakes are fine. Also, I attended a 1st Lotus driver training session and did repeated stops from 70mph and they performed superbly - fronts locking first and relatively easy to modulate the braking to keep them just on the limit. I'm now happy but as said before will change to Ferodo pads in the hope that the bite from cold is better.
GarryM said:
the Ferodo web site only refers to DS2000 and DS3000, the latter not suitable for road use. I've heard of DS2500 but had assumed they had been dropped/replaced by DS2000?
I think the site needs updating. DS2500 exist.
Here's a number I just found on the pad on my desk for pad supply: 0151 606 5077. I've forgotten to write the number of the company down though - I got the number from someone who does racing and intially told me about the DS2500s.
CarZee said:
shnozz said:
i have heard on many occasions people raving about them on trackdays (ie when up to temp) so probably the reason Joolz has them on the V8S. Personally I am going to avoid them for predominantly road use.
Our S has Green Stuff pads on AFAIK..
Correct, and the matching Spiral Grooved Discs... I found they were an immediate and marked improvement on the standard setup.
>> Edited by M@H on Thursday 18th March 10:03
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff