These will need changing in the next 3 months, is there any point in using non-standard disks/pads (e.g. EBC) Over stick items ?

 

Is there a ‘go to’ place for them ?

Try: https://ebcbrakesdirect.com/

 

or

 

https://www.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk

Not really an answer to your question, but...

 

I'm a bit off EBC. I had yellowstuffs on the rears of another car, and while the braking was fine, the pistons gummed up in about 18 months.

 

Cost me callipers, pads amd a new handbrake cable to get through the mot (garage were probably being a bit over officious, as the callipers could have been freed up, but I needed the car back).

 

These were advertised as 'low dust' pads. but I saw no evidence of that; the best I could say is that the dust was of a lighter colur so it didn't look so bad.

 

They are also more expensive that most other things that you've ever heard of.

 

My choice would be Mintex/Pagid or Brembo. Or standard, of course.

In answer to your question, I personally think the full Brembo set I fitted about a year ago proved slightly better than standard (although these were good too).

 

Brembo all round can be had for a reasonable price if you factor in the constant offer of discounts on ECP.

Pagid are very good brakes as are Brembo. You dont need anything like grooved or drilled disks as std disks are more than fine for road driving. Equally fast road pads are not needed as their operating temperature is higher. So you do get more sustained performance at hard braking. But when cold the initial bite can be less. Had some on my old car and the cold bite felt like 'am I going to stop' They quickly came off the car as they were dangerous for road driving.

Horton Skoda in Lincoln normally have offers on brakes and post out. Equally some TPS still sell to private business and do discount parts. There is also Eurocarparts or GSF car parts that heavily discount brake parts. 

Edited 25 May, 20206 yr by Ecomatt

Spent weeks in analyzing what is the best replacement pads for my (petrol) vRS. So many people here were recommending EBC and their products, but after digging deeper with people who drive passionately and with occasional TD trips, EBC was not a good choice. More hype then any other brand, very expensive, not convincing accordingly. I haven't used them myself, so this is not my opinion - I have decided differently, you will read it later.

 

Big names often near pad specifications give thermal performance as well, so you need to seek a good pad that will, first of all, work properly during your normal driving. I was driving race pads on other cars and this is not something you want on your daily drive - you don't need in your 99% normal driving on cold weather to press brake and nothing is happening. They do start to bite after a few meters, but this is more then enough to soak you with cold sweat. You don't need it in your life.

 

What you need is pad which works reasonably cold and reasonably hot. So, not an entry level pad, but also not a race pad. You also need a pad which will not ruin your discs quickly.

 

So, what did I do, after a good experience with Jurid/Ferodo setup which I've gotten with my car from the factory, I put exactly the same OEM pads. Fronts are Jurids, rears are Ferodos.

 

What I liked about them:

- they do bite cold, but need a bit of care if it is really winter cold rain - let's say from 'normal' cold they are great

- they work really good on high temperatures with semi slicks on track - but not for endurance race, hotlap then cooldown lap 

- they provide me a good feeling on pedal, I like the feedback, so much better then average car 

- didn't ruin rotors. There was some residue of melted pads from the hot discs, which presented as symptoms of wrapped discs, but it went away when residue was washed out with normal commuting

 

What may be a good choice for a driver with strong temper is Ferodo DS2500. Anything above I believe is more handicap then advantage for a daily driving car.

 

 

19 hours ago, nidza said:

EBC...More hype then any other brand, very expensive, not convincing accordingly.

 

I have agree with that - maybe I'd describe it as advertising/marketing, but there is a lot of it. Price here, taking into account discounts, tends to run around 2x that of more well-established brands, and I just don't see the advantage that would make me want to pay that.

 

The one counterbalancing advantage that I can see is that they do tend to be quite good at advice/customer support. They were quite happy to spend time on the phone advising me what would be best to cure the problem I was having with the brakes (grabby brakes, but with hindsight going for any pads with sufficient 'meat' in them probably would have done that).

 

I did once have a problem with the now-discontinued Mintex Extremes (not, eg, the 1144s, which always served me well). On a cold, wet day I had the experience that I prodded the brakes, and nothing happened. This is not what you want.

 

I pressed the brakes a little more, and nothing happened some more. This was at least a little disturbing. I was getting a little more concerned now, but I gave the brakes more of a solid push and suddenly the front of the car went down, and there was real retardation, possibly too much of it, but I wasn't in any mood to complain. This was a bit of a relief, but when I tried again another mile or so later, the same thing happened, I was just a bit better prepared for it.

 

I think what had happened was that the pads had absorbed enough water so that it needed to boil off before braking could commence, and on plain disks that takes a while.

 

Only time I've felt that grooved/cross drilled disks would have been a big advantage.

 

19 hours ago, nidza said:

What may be a good choice for a driver with strong temper is Ferodo DS2500. Anything above I believe is more handicap then advantage for a daily driving car.

 

 

From memory, DS1xxx is Ferodo's fast road pad and DS2xxx is a step up (racier) than that. I think that short of track days the 1xxx would be a better fit for most people here.

If it’s standard you want just go with brembo or ate from AUTODOC or if you want upgraded. 
I went with Zimmerman sport drilled coated discs and brembo X pads. Or if you have the 312mm discs then brembo do a drilled x version or brembo max disc 

Always plain discs from any reputable manufacturer.

 

Pads, make sure they are r90 marked as if your have a smash and they’re not you could find yourself in a pile of trouble.

 

EBC I know people used to hate them, I know people complained they gave up but who had changed pads but had old factory brake fluid.

 

I would say the red stuff ceramic were excellent with very low dust.

 

The yellow had similar cold performance and a bit more bite when hot, but a lot more dust.

 

FYI you never fit performance pads to the rear only unless you fancy going into a hedge backwards under harsh braking.

 

Also very surprised if the yellows killed the callipers, only because all pads are dusty and the pistons are sealed and cleaned on fitting. I would think it’s more likely whoever fitted used the wrong grease in the wrong place.

 

Obviously I don’t know, but that sounds more likely to me than any brand of pad killing the callipers.

 

FYI I usually go with VW oem or brembo plain discs. The slots/drilled disks just eat bass quicker and are more likely to crack (From a racing driver who only used non plain discs on dirty tracks where pads would glaze up, but could be replaced between races)

 

Pad wise, oem, ebc red, pagid/Mintex/textar Or occasionally brembo oem equivalents.

 

IIRC the brembo ds2xxx were not r90 marked.

Edited 28 May, 20206 yr by cheezemonkhai

On 24/05/2020 at 18:43, Led VRS said:

These will need changing in the next 3 months, is there any point in using non-standard disks/pads (e.g. EBC) Over stick items ?

 

Is there a ‘go to’ place for them ?

 

It's more a case of what do you want from your brakes (apart from stopping your car 😆)

 

I'm finding the stock stuff to be holding up every well. The only thing I've noticed is the sheer heat coming from the fronts, which I'm looking at getting the brake ducts to aid the cooling of them.

 

I have used greenstuff pads on my old i20 with standard discs (there wasn't an option for anything but standard discs). I used the car a few times on trackdays and found them to allow for harder braking for longer before they started to fade. I didn't find there to be much benefit to having them fitted on the road, apart from having a bit more confidence they'd still be performing when I'd go for a 'quick' drive.

 

This is on a car with a weight of around 3 door 1.2 ton, so a hell of a lot lighter than our cars.

My  last car was an '08 vRS estate and I fitted Brembo discs and P85073 pads and seemed great, really solid brakes and no complaints hot or cold. Didn't particularly seek out that brand, just on offer at the time.

 

My current car is < 3 year old vRS 245 hacthback and still rocking standard stuff with plenty of meat left on pads. Must say that the brakes do not feel anywhere near as good as the previous car, especially when cold.  Will be fitting some Brembos again I think,

Ended up with Pagids , no issues so far 

 

On 27/05/2020 at 07:08, Axle_of_weasels said:

 

 

 

From memory, DS1xxx is Ferodo's fast road pad and DS2xxx is a step up (racier) than that. I think that short of track days the 1xxx would be a better fit for most people here.

 

 

DS2500 are the fast road pad and they're awful. Ds1.1 I think they're called are the track pad and are really good, but no use on road as give off loads of dust and are best at high temps.

 

Has anyone used the ATE ceramic pads? I'm after a low dust pad.

Personally I've used https://www.brakesint.co.uk/ for my brake parts for years.  Bremtech disks have never caused me an issue.  I don't really see the point of drilled/grooved disks on a road car unless you're doing a lot of track days.   Plain vented disks have more then enough ability, esp 340mm ones!

 

I've tried EBC Blackstuff many years ago, they're oem performance and were fine, just worked.  I'd heard too many stories about the others killing disks.

I also tried Mintex Extremes which were great and didn't fade but squeeled like mad until they were warm and ultimately annoyed me.  

 

I can't even remember what I have on my cars now, I think it may be ferrodo and mintex standard quality road pads on the Honda and Mazda and no idea what's on the Octavia (whatever the garage fitted prior to me buying it) except it seems to stop the car pretty well!

 

I have heard great things about the Ferodo DS2500 and that they're good on track without being a pain on the road.  However they're ~ 3x the price of std pads.

53 minutes ago, Alex-W said:

Personally I've used https://www.brakesint.co.uk/ for my brake parts for years.  Bremtech disks have never caused me an issue.  I don't really see the point of drilled/grooved disks on a road car unless you're doing a lot of track days.   Plain vented disks have more then enough ability, esp 340mm ones!

 

I've tried EBC Blackstuff many years ago, they're oem performance and were fine, just worked.  I'd heard too many stories about the others killing disks.

I also tried Mintex Extremes which were great and didn't fade but squeeled like mad until they were warm and ultimately annoyed me.  

 

I can't even remember what I have on my cars now, I think it may be ferrodo and mintex standard quality road pads on the Honda and Mazda and no idea what's on the Octavia (whatever the garage fitted prior to me buying it) except it seems to stop the car pretty well!

 

I have heard great things about the Ferodo DS2500 and that they're good on track without being a pain on the road.  However they're ~ 3x the price of std pads.

 

Bremtech are ok for road, they warped almost straight away though when I took my Fn2 on the nordschleife with them on (brand new)