Brake Discs - Upgrade options?

[Blarge]

I used to use the EBC Green stuff when I had a Prelude MK4 2.0i and they stopped the car very well on standard disks being 20 at the time they held up to the abuse given to it very well.

Being alot older these days I have got vented and turbo grooved on my BB4 with Red stuff, I was told at the time they wouldn't rust! Guess what they rusted but only a little though and the car was off the road for a month! The guy who fitted them didn't think they would make too much difference but he did agree they really increased the stopping power.

There might be better pads out there and I've only done 6k on them so far. When I've worn the EBC down I will give the other brands a try. I did read on piston heads when I was looking at brake option's they did have a problem a few years ago with the yellow stuff ones but they changed the compound more recently.

@prahunt The red stuff pads are cars over 200 bhp and the green for cars up to 200 bhp

http://ebcbrakes.com/products/brake-pads/

To replace the car with the Red stuff pads and Turbo grooved disks cost me 300+ for complete set (These are just the disks and pads not fitting), you can get OEM alot cheaper so I suppose it depends on your budget really.

[MaccaIRL]

All i want is a good setup that looks well stops well and doesnt drown my alloys in brake dust lol

[prahunt]

@Blarge - good info there!
Budget wise £300+ seems reasonable to me for such an important part of a car. If rather trust my brakes going onto the road and into corners than worrying if a cheap eBay pad might give up on me.

[Blarge]

@MaccaIRL I will take a picture of my wheels in the morning for you so you can get an idea of how they look on my lude. They also are low on brake dust. I found a really good cleaning of the alloy's off the car and some polish stops brake dust sticking normally, I'm sure others will agree! Others might have some pic's of their's?

@prahunt Yes I agree that was one of the reasons I didn't use OEM it just seemed too cheap in my eyes. I drive at night a lot through countryside and wildlife does like to run out when you least expect it! I had brakes go on me in someone else's cars and I tend to keep away from low end budget options if possible.Just depends on how you drive the car really.

All disks and pads have to meet a minimum European standard I was told recently but one thing I did find was drilled can crack when under immense heat, I've never seen it or under what conditions this can happen though. The dimple and grooved will also eat the pads quicker

Hope the above helps

Ben

[RattyMcClelland]

@prahunt The red stuff pads are cars over 200 bhp and the green for cars up to 200 bhp .

Never understood this. What has bhp got to do with brakes?
My van is 165bhp and weight over 2 tonnes. My prelude is 290bhp and weight 1.3 tonnes. The compound on my van is harder than my red stuffs.

[lewd lude lover]

I have AEM 330mm discs and bells with a set of ATR calipers and Hawk HPS pads.

She stops well

@ratty: yar. never saw that myself but for the ability to sell more units. Like octaine as a measure of petrol. Rubbish marketing.

[Merlin]

I just need something that wont warp lol

When discs "warp" and you get juddery brakes it is the disc surface beginning to break up though cracking. The temperature difference between the surface/middle and outer edges cause the metal to crack.

A random pic from the net but it looks exactly the same as what I have experienced.


It is the cracks that give an uneven surface and the resulting brake wobble. I finished off many sets of discs this way and there is nothing you can do about it.

IMO there is little chance of this happening on the road, unless you have sticking brakes. Sticking brakes will allow enough heat to build up and possibly do this. I drive at a decent pace (on country roads) with my 5th gen and have never had this happen to me. Any time I have had juddery brakes it is due to sticking brakes or excessively worn pads.

On track it is easy to screw your brakes up unless you initially bed them in properly and do a proper cool down procedure when coming off track.

Another situation where you may feel juddering brakes is when the discs have been hot and they have cooled with deposits of crap on them. The crap goes rock hard and the only way to clean them up it to get them hot again and brake hard.

[Blarge]

@prahunt The red stuff pads are cars over 200 bhp and the green for cars up to 200 bhp .

Never understood this. What has bhp got to do with brakes?
My van is 165bhp and weight over 2 tonnes. My prelude is 290bhp and weight 1.3 tonnes. The compound on my van is harder than my red stuffs.

This is just the advice they give on the EBC site. I also expect it is to do with weight as it takes a lot more to stop a larger Car/Van loaded than it does a lightweight car with higher BHP because of the momentum that has been gained to get the car moving. Lorry's are an example of this as they can't stop instantly because of the momentum behind them with heavy loads (Just a thought for some people who might cut up a lorry). Should the compound be too soft they would eat brakes!

Ben

[MaccaIRL]

I dno what it is then
Only seems to happen sometimes

Pads arent overly low either

[jjmartin349571]

Have you checked the condition of your brake hoses? I'm sure someone on here mentioned that hoses which bulge under pressure can cause shuddering brakes, I could be wrong though...