Well my brakes on the VRS have been getting progressively worse, despite passing MOT rolling road test etc. don't get me wrong, they worked, but had little bite to them, and pedal travel was getting a bit worrying. So today I stripped the whole lot down and got some nasty surprises. Caliper frame bolts nowhere near 125nm torque up, I got all four bolts out with a tiny ratchet. These bolts are usually a fair old battle to get out with anything less than a one meter extension bar.

Old discs at 24.4mm so hardly worn (25mm new) but the brake pads, oh my God, what did they use on the roads over winter. Plenty of meat on the pads, but crumbly, not good at all.

So off to the factors, New Mintex discs and pads (£60 trade for the lot.) Brakes now feel like new, incredible bite and coupled with the new P Zero Nero tyres, very short stopping distance. Old discs would have skimmed up OK, but got the parts with a hefty discount.

I guess it helps if you use a torque wrench when sticking it all back together as well. :yes:

Did the rears last year with Mintex kit, and still no edge rust on the discs.

i think whoever put the pads in mine are crap, because i get serious brake dust from driving just a few mile down the road after washing which is very annoying

i wish i was able to take the brakes apart like yourself and replace them etc :'(

also when you mentioned skimmed, what is this? what i have in mind is the lip on the disc is skimmed so there is no lip? is that correct? does this have to be done when replacing pads? my discs are only new

cheers

jordan

skimming is the removal of a small amount of metal across the whole surface of the disc until its level via a lathe..

i think whoever put the pads in mine are crap, because i get serious brake dust from driving just a few mile down the road after washing which is very annoying

i wish i was able to take the brakes apart like yourself and replace them etc :'(

also when you mentioned skimmed, what is this? what i have in mind is the lip on the disc is skimmed so there is no lip? is that correct? does this have to be done when replacing pads? my discs are only new

cheers

jordan

There are some really bad brake parts on the market. I've always had great brakes using Mintex kit. Even the Moggy runs Mintex pads and shoes.

Skimming a disk is as stated above, but most garages charge close to the value of new discs anyway, so little point. Would love a lathe, but too

expensive, and would need to be heavy duty to take the weight of a brake disc.

Grab a Haynes manual, and get stuck in, just have a mechanic or keen DIY bod check your work the first few times, especially when it comes to brakes. :yes:

Scary stuff.

Last year I replaced mine with some pagid oem discs and some own pads from mr Neo. My ds2500's pads were also crumbled. :(