Brake pad and disc upgrade

[thewill]

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts (good or bad) on upgrading pads and discs (front and rear) to aftermarket non oe such as EBC or Black Diamond etc?

Is it worth it or should I stick with oe brakes?

[steven carson]

I had ebc green stuff on my accord at the front with ebc high mileage pads at rear with ebc vented discs

No issues and cost was reasonable when compaired to oe parts

Good for a cheap upgrade I say

[steven carson]

I had ebc green stuff on my accord at the front with ebc high mileage pads at rear with ebc vented discs

No issues and cost was reasonable when compaired to oe parts

Good for a cheap upgrade I say

[muckipup]

There may be some benefits but they are quite minimal compared with, say, changing to Audi S3/Golf R32 calipers or the NQS BBK (Not-Quite-So-Big-Brake-Kit) discussed in the 'How To' section on here.

[furn]

i have ebc redstuff pads all round with standard ebc discs, it is a big improvement over standard and they probably produce about half the amount of dust as a standard pad.

they are adequate from cold but once you warm them up they are really very good.

[thewill]

i have ebc redstuff pads all round with standard ebc discs, it is a big improvement over standard and they probably produce about half the amount of dust as a standard pad.

they are adequate from cold but once you warm them up they are really very good.

How much do you have to 'warm them up' to get them to their best?

[sdmegawuk]

EBC pads aren't fit for a bonfire, especially 'green stuff'. IMO they are not fit for purpose. EBC discs are good, but the vanes in the 'turbo' disc make them noisy during operation.

Don't look past Ferrodo DS2500 or Mintex for pads. Tarox discs are one of the best around.

Don't try and skimp and buy cheap as it is your brakes at the end of the day.

[cheezemonkhai]

EBC pads aren't fit for a bonfire, especially 'green stuff'. IMO they are not fit for purpose. EBC discs are good, but the vanes in the 'turbo' disc make them noisy during operation.

Don't look past Ferrodo DS2500 or Mintex for pads. Tarox discs are one of the best around.

Don't try and skimp and buy cheap as it is your brakes at the end of the day.

Sorry but I ran EBC red stuff ceramic for a lot of miles and they are just fine.

I wouldn't touch the greens (although my last experience was with a v old compound), but for fast road use the red are very good.

I ran them from new down to used and there were no signs of issues at all.

They had done some very hard stops on the a/bahns from full chat to OMG a dutch tourist just pulled out speed.

They also had a trip around a toll road, that it would have been rude to pass by without taking in the view.

No issues what so ever in over 50k miles.

DS2500 are not R90 approved, so technically not road legal. How you take that is up to you, but the EBC red and yellow are.

[thewill]

EBC pads aren't fit for a bonfire, especially 'green stuff'. IMO they are not fit for purpose. EBC discs are good, but the vanes in the 'turbo' disc make them noisy during operation.

Don't look past Ferrodo DS2500 or Mintex for pads. Tarox discs are one of the best around.

Don't try and skimp and buy cheap as it is your brakes at the end of the day.

Thanks for the feedback. I don't want to skimp on cheap brakes, hence wanting to spend a bit extra on "better than oem" parts.

In an ideal world I was hoping for a definitive "these XXX brakes from YYY are the best and everyone agrees" (I know that's not going to happen). I will have a look at the ferrodo and red stuff and see how they compare.

Once again, Thanks

Edited 18 January, 2012 by thewill

[cheezemonkhai]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't want to skimp on cheap brakes, hence wanting to spend a bit extra on "better than oem" parts.

In an ideal world I was hoping for a definitive "these XXX brakes from YYY are the best and everyone agrees" (I know that's not going to happen). I will have a look at the ferrodo and red stuff and see how they compare.

Once again, Thanks

I posted a thread on upgrading a 288mm octy to 312mm, using the red stuff pads. Another member popped up on the thread and decided on DS2500. If you can find it, it makes a good read on the differences on the pads and which suit you more.

Basically if you track it lots go DS2500, otherwise save the money.

[Kenich]

I have not used any after market pads in my vrs yet. Usual pads that get great reviews are mintex 1144s or the ferodo ds2500. When I replace it will be with one of those.

As above won't touch the ebc green stuff pads, shocking pads! Found such a difference when I changed from Green stuff to mintex in my old AP callipers.

[furn]

to be honest i think ebc had issues quite a few years ago, ive read pages and pages on different forums about ebc and a lot of people dont forget the bad ebc they had a few years ago, the chairman of ebc has posted on this thread i was reading and basically said the same, the latest pads and i mean the last couple of years have been really good. ive had no issues with mine.

i found standard pads a bit grabby at low speeds , with the redstuff they dont grab but brake progressively, and when i said they need warming up , they brake as well as standard from cold and by the time ive drove off the housing estate they are fine, but go stomping on them into a roundabout and get some some heat into them and get a lot better.

also after extensive reading they also need bedding in properly 200-300 miles of normal driving, then 10 60-0mph stops let them cool down and repeat and that beds them properly in.

[Kenich]

I have heard goods things from the red stuff pads. Knew a few people on a small forum that done a trial with them with great results.

[sdmegawuk]

Sorry but I ran EBC red stuff ceramic for a lot of miles and they are just fine.

The 2 sets of 'Reds' that i used glazed, cracked and fell to bits.

1st set was on my old Mk1 Octy vRS and the 2nd set, stupidly i put in my first evo.

[furn]

The 2 sets of 'Reds' that i used glazed, cracked and fell to bits.

1st set was on my old Mk1 Octy vRS and the 2nd set, stupidly i put in my first evo.

how long ago was this , i had some greenstuff about 12yrs ago and they were crap, but as said above new formulas much improved now!

[Jim H]

We use EBC pad on all our cars and stop perfectly well (From Metro and AX to my dad's Subaru Impreza). We have had OEM Skoda pads de-laminate on my mums Fabia.

My Father once had the old style Turbo Grooved discs and found them very noisy, I think the newer design with fewer grooves are slightly quieter. He has now replaced them with the Ultimax slotted ones and are silent. Recently I replace my discs with them and Green pads on my Fabia.

[sdmegawuk]

how long ago was this , i had some greenstuff about 12yrs ago and they were crap, but as said above new formulas much improved now!

The last set that fell apart was about 2 years ago.

[cheezemonkhai]

The 2 sets of 'Reds' that i used glazed, cracked and fell to bits.

1st set was on my old Mk1 Octy vRS and the 2nd set, stupidly i put in my first evo.

Red or Red Ceramic, they are very different.

I've said after running them, that if you're going to track it a lot go yellow. More dust, but more designed for track style use.

To be honest, I'm not bothered what you chose, as it's your money and your piece of mind, but I'm just posting up my experience of the pads (which I've posted in that thread I mentioned earlier)

[Jim1556]

Can't comment on the VRS as mine is less than a week old.

However, I can share my experience of EBC kit on my Beemer - weekend toy/trackday weapon:

TGD Discs fitted July 2010, still in great condition.

Redstuff fitted at the same time, lasted about 5k including a trackday before starting to lose performance, on inspection unevenly worn and cracking.

Yellowstuff replaced them, much better bite when warmed up, fine when cold. They've since done 15 laps of the Ring, the Alps (including the Stelvio twice) and a trackday at Cadwell - they're now about half worn.

All in all I'd say Redstuffs are OK for the Octavia, but if you want more performance or longevity go Yellow!