Brake Pad options

[tortfeaser]

DS2500 fronts, Bendix Ultimates in the back (I had too much rear bias). VP commodore calipers front and rear - the Ferodos you have to get cut from another pattern, so about $280 for the front axle set.

Competition Friction = Barrie Smith different identities, same people.

[rowdytoot]

Matt- I agree.. it's not the pads - though I have been getting more confident with using the brakes harder the last 2 events....

I've been meaning to ring TTS to ask what fluid we're running.... still I'll wait til after RdF to get them to change it cos I doubt KT will use the brakes hard enough to trouble them..

Rowds

[Bede]

At Fro's request...

Ferodo DS3000 - Awesome brake pad once you get some heat into them. They are relatively expensive.

Ferodo DS2500 - Good Pad. Better cold performance than DS 3000s but not quite as good overall (a bit cheaper than DS 3000s).

Pagid RS 4-2 (Blues) - Another good pad. IMO they are roughly between DS 2500s and DS3000s.

EBC Green Stuff - To me they never felt like they had a high enough coefficient of friction regardless of the temperature (if that makes sense). They were consistent in performance but consistently poor.

Bendix Ultimates - They aren’t as good at high temps as Ferodo’s or Pagid’s but are a great pad for the money.

Bendix Metal Kings – I used them on the rear in the 1600 and use them in my road car, they do fade sometimes. They are also a bit ordinary on the below zero mornings for the first application or two…

[Mark]

I'm sad to say that ol' FF uses Metal Kings in the VR4....

Regardless, the brake pads are going into a TX3, aren't they? So, you probably don't need the 'fat porker spec DS3000' and probably just get whatever your budget affords.

I found with my old Sprinter that it could go all season on one set of Mintex Clubman pads that did everything I needed and never had brake fade, yet the second I tried out some left foot braking it would cook the brakes by the time you needed to stop for the second corner thereafter. What I'm trying to say is, if you left foot brake you MIGHT need a better pad than if you didn't.

Price-wise, DS3000 cost me $550 all round on the Evo, apparently DS2500's are around $440 for the same car.

Mark

[smee]

The first pads I put into the Mazda were a Race Brakes compound. I found them to be very good, But, as my speed increased so did the need to stop. The Race Brakes compound was just not up to it. At the end of SS3 in Ulludulla they were on fire. I used them again in Bega and they just did not work in the last 2 stages....

Next set were Galfer comp Material. These were again a big improvement over the Race Brakes, but they did not last. 2 events and they were gone.

I have now settled on a set of DS3000 on the front in Series IV RX7 calipers. I run DS2500 pads on slotted rotors in the rear.
Previously Barrie had to cut the 3000 to fit the RX7 calipers. He now imports these pads to suit and I think the price has reduced slightly. Last time I queried they were cheaper.

Tyres also play a big part in the stopping package. To hard or higher pressure will cause you to lockup and so reduce the amount of pedal pressure you can apply.

It's all about finding the setup that suits you, and it generally takes time, money and research.

[Glen]

We used DS3000 in the Evo 8 last year. You do need to get some heat in them to get the best out of them. Scott and I will usually pull up on the side of the road about 2-3km away from the control and then leave from there (with helmets on) with 4-5 minutes before our due check in time.

Scott is a big time left foot braker and we do get some fade at times on long stages, but on the whole they are very good. The Evo 8 is reasonably heavy too (about 1340kg).

They are very cool at night when you are warming the brakes up as you get sparks jumping out of the wheel arches!

[Bogan]

Originally Posted by Glen

They are very cool at night when you are warming the brakes up as you get sparks jumping out of the wheel arches!

What were you doing driving the ARC car around at night warming up the brakes? Were you into late time?



T.

[Jimbo]

Obviously you have not been to the Qld round of the arc Bogan

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Bogan

What were you doing driving the ARC car around at night warming up the brakes? Were you into late time?



T.

WA, QLD, and Bathurst had Superspecial stages that were run at night! The last time I saw the sparks fly was coming down Conrod Straight on the warm up liason.

I have actually never driven the Evo 8...they won't give me the keys.

[Kagan]

I have actually never driven the Evo 8...they won't give me the keys.

I found out pretty quickly that I was better co-driver than I ever was as a driver.

Maybe this has something to do with it Glen

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Kagan

Maybe this has something to do with it Glen

Guilty as charged Your Honour.....

[TX3 Rally]

Thanks heaps for all the info. I had a quick talk today to Howard at Racebrakes to see what he stocked, and he recommended his RB74's - does anyone have experience with these? Someone asked about left-foot braking - I'm not into that, it's probably something that comes naturally if you raced karts as a kid though.

[kg002]

now all pads are diffrent and drivers are as well ,one thing we have learnt if a driver is happy and confident on compressed cardboard then that is what he/she is to run,
In a rough value for money/performance order:
Ultimates-$80-110
ebc greenstuff-$150-200
formula ferodo(DS2000)-$145
RB74-$140-200
DS2500-$200-$250
EBC red Stuff-$250-$350
SBS-Ceramic-$150-280
Padgid RS4-2-$250-400
SBS-Carbon ceramic-$250-380
Pagid RS14 $350-450
DS3000-$350-on
SBS dual carbons-$350-on

Now this is just a rough guide line there are tons of different materials endless, mintex and a whole lot more but these are readily avalible and well supported pads in this country,A good value club level pad you cant go past a formula ferodo, but if the vechile is a bit heavier/faster a SBS ceramic, then if Fred likes a lot of initial bite maybe the RB74(these are a bit inconsistant from one batch to the next)the pagid RS4-2 are a good allround pad for the vigours of ralling the DS3000 has a lot of initial bite but can be uncontrolable in slippery conditions, but those with good pedal feel and control may well like this, the Dual carbons are a longer lasting and with a lot more feel about the stop.

Hope this helps
KG

[gslrallysport]

Lucas!

Don't waste ya money! 650 degrees from the factory, BUT, go flog them, get them to smoke, then they're re-scorched to 950 degrees... now go find me a race pad under $100 that handles that...

And as AV1611 said Lucas won Race Magazine brake pad comparison by some margin!

[TKM]

A good value club level pad you cant go past a formula ferodo

All well and good if you can actually get them for you car in this country. Was all set to buy some for my RX Turbo as I had been warned off the Ultimates because they are supposedly very hard on discs. Unfortunately once it came time to ordering a set, you can’t get them here. Had to settle for XP’s instead. They’re ok on the shorter stages, but on a long stage they start to overheat a bit. May just have to spend some dollars and get something decent.