Brake Pads

DevonPaul

Junior Member
Messages
76
I suspect with the influx of discs, people are buying pads.

A couple of places are showing 'no stock' but I found a lot of places just don't list pads for the GS.
Oddly, if I select the 4200 Coupe then pads are not a problem and are listed, although they deny they fit the GS when I check. The search on a lot of sites seems a bit dubious and the GS is listed up to 2018 so I wonder if the re-use of the name on the Levante has caused confusion.

Conaero suggested APECs. I think the code is 836 (can anyone confirm this) and is there a preferred supplier other than Ebay (where I suspect they are pricing per pair of pads, not per axle, but it isn't obvious!).

The EBC code is (I think) 1032 (with a few numbers or letters either side depending if they are reg, yellow, orange, etc.

My yellowstuffs are pretty new - I've half a mind to put them on the linisher ;)
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Apec PAD836 Front
Apec PAD660 Rear

or better pads:
FDB 998 circa £33.50 +vat.
FDB 451 circa £24.50 + vat.

If you want the best then get the Ferrodo DS2500 but they are listed as a track pad and you should decide if you want to flaunt the law and should never sell a car with them in.
 
Last edited:

Geo

Member
Messages
616
My yellowstuffs are pretty new - I've half a mind to put them on the linisher ;)

I've done that before when pennies were tight. As long as it's done carefully and the surface is perfectly flat and parallel to the steel backing.
 

Spartacus

Member
Messages
3,184
Apec PAD836 Front
Apec PAD660 Rear

or better pads:
FDB 998 circa £33.50 +vat.
FDB 451 circa £24.50 + vat.

If you want the best then get the Ferrodo DS2500 but they are listed as a track pad and you should decide if you want to flaunt the law and should never sell a car with them in.


Ferrodo ds2500 are great . ..... apparently ;)
 

Corranga

Member
Messages
1,219
Just to get all info in one place, I believe the part numbers for EBC yellow stuff are:
Rear - DP4612R
Front - DP41032R
A full set can be had for under £200, which is a fair bit less than the DS2500, albeit much more than the normal pads listed above.

As can be seen above, there has been a bad experience with them on track, but prior to that, their praises were sung by a few folk, on here and elsewhere, and they are road legal (this is something to do with an EU regulation I think).

I have a set and will most probably fit them when I change my discs. I personally don't plan on tracking a GT car that weighs > 1.6 ton, but maybe that's my loss.

Anecdotally, EBC list them as sports pads for occasional track use, though they don't specify that the occasional track use may be because they disintegrate ;)
 

Corranga

Member
Messages
1,219
Actually, I also meant to say that often the difference between track only pads (such as the Ferodo DS2500) often don't meet the requirements of the regulations due to poor performance when cold. We all know that racing drivers get the brakes to temperature prior to hard breaking, so do keep in mind that there are potential downsides to fitting different parts, which may not suit your use of the car.

I'm sure those with experience of both regular road pads and these race pads will comment.
 

TimR

Member
Messages
2,651
I understand you cannot fit the wear indicators with the DS Ferodo pads..

I was initially quite happy with Yellowstuff pads but tbh, the feeling didnt last and after only 100 or so miles, was lost IMO. They dont lack stopping power for normal road use, I hasten to add . And the brakes are a bit "on or off" in character anyway...
Im a newbie - make of it what you will..>!!
 

allandwf

Member
Messages
10,958
I think he must have tracked that all day with no cool down period to get them like that. I've tracked red and yellow and both were fine, around six laps then a break, and repeat two or three times. Out of the two I probably preferred the reds.
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
MaserTel, Terry, had the same experience. 1 track day and the things fell to bits. There is a pic on here somewhere but I can't find it.
 

masertel

Member
Messages
102
MaserTel, Terry, had the same experience. 1 track day and the things fell to bits. There is a pic on here somewhere but I can't find it.

Matts correct- my EBC Yellow disintegrated after a track day and I was left with only the back plate on the fronts as they fell apart on the way home from the track. Admittedly Kirkistown race track in notorious for eating pads and discs as is a very fast short circuit hence the brakes are under extreme pressure and don't get a chance to cool- probably worth mentioning I had the same problem with Ferodo DS2500 that fell apart (this was 10 years ago and Ferodo may have changed the compound by now).

I now use EBC Orange Stuff and they are fantastic on track and seem to get better the hotter they get but alas not approved for road use. I have used the Orange on road put the cold bite is very poor so not recommended for the road. I still use the Yellow on road and rate them highly as never experienced fade with them and they stop the car better than any other pad I've tried to date.

Needless to say proper bedding in of new pads is critical, especial if you go on track so best to take the time to do this on a quite road. It's not a 10 min job and takes longer than you would think, but makes a big difference to how your new pads or discs perform. Details of the procedure are posted in several sites on the web but will post details latter if I can put my hand on a copy.

Pleased to say the forum brake discs are holding up much better than the OEM discs- after 20000miles and 5 or 6 track days they seem to have plenty of life in them yet!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Geo

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
In my experience there was very little issue with warm up on the DS2500 (not on the road obvs ). They were much better than the yellow stuff that I had before.
 

masertel

Member
Messages
102
In my experience there was very little issue with warm up on the DS2500 (not on the road obvs ). They were much better than the yellow stuff that I had before.

The last DS2500 pads I used was a long time ago and they disintegrate on track as did the yellow stuff. Having said that I would expect Ferodo have improved the compound by now so perhaps they are now the dogs dangley bits. I still used the yellow on road with no issues to date and nice they are colour coordinated with the yellow calipers.

Anyway Zep the last time I was behind you the only pedal you were stomping on was the go pedal- you didn't seem to bother much with the stop pedal LOL.

No matter which pad you use the bedding in procedure is critical if the brakes are to perform at their best- have attached some info on the subject.
 

Attachments

  • Brake Pad Bedding In.pdf
    318.1 KB · Views: 39
  • Like
Reactions: Zep

Tufan

Member
Messages
233
I used yellows and blue ndx for track, allowed also cooling but my problem was glazing. Blues stopped the car really good but not sure how much better than yellows. I allowed blues for cooling but after one track day, fronts were useless. The next track day I used the previously used yellows at front but had the face cleaned to remove glazing. Blues kept at the rear and had my best track result also with max negative cambers possible. Both for blue and yellows, rears were like new, like they didn't need to do much work. Finally, blues were also great from cold, but compound is not legal like DS2500. NDX is a newer compound.

For my 6 Piston upgrade, yellows are included to price so will start testing with them while I would prefer
 

Mr.Cambio

Member
Messages
7,096
Do not forget the reds. For me far better and longer lasting than the yellows for track and hard road use.
 

FIFTY

Member
Messages
3,100
I am running yellows on my 4200 with the forum discs, not tried any other pad other than the ones that came on the car when purchased

I have run reds on my 330i and Scirocco, cold bite compared to yellow is bad but when the reds heat up they are fine they take about 5-10 minutes normal driving on cold British roads. Main advantage of the reds because the pad material is ceramic they produce minimal brake dust which does not then bake itself to your alloys so very easy to clean

IMO the yellows edge it out although I have not tried both pad on the same car...
 

Mr.Cambio

Member
Messages
7,096
How are reds on cold bite?

Same good bite no matter cold or hot.
I had a bad experience with yellows on my ex 350hp Saab with 356mm AP brakes, so i never get back to them. Needed one hour to warm up, made two nice brakings, but next i was brake-less...
When i replaced them, they were broken.
 

Tufan

Member
Messages
233
Same good bite no matter cold or hot.
I had a bad experience with yellows on my ex 350hp Saab with 356mm AP brakes, so i never get back to them. Needed one hour to warm up, made two nice brakings, but next i was brake-less...
When i replaced them, they were broken.

So much we have to talk about, I had 5+ Saabs, last Abbot tuned 300hp 9-5 Aero wagon with yellow Koni's, sway bar, dp, full exhaust, intercooler upgrade, Piston upgrade etc etc and topped #5 in a 30+ cars at a time attack day. Don't remember which pads but they were gone in one day. Nick was TurkishAerolines at SaabCentral and tbaysal2000 at SaabScene :)
 
Last edited:

Mr.Cambio

Member
Messages
7,096
So much we have to talk about, I had 5+ Saabs, last Abbot tuned 300hp 9-5 Aero wagon with yellow Koni's, sway bar, dp, full exhaust, intercooler upgrade, Piston upgrade etc etc and topped #5 in a 30+ cars at a time attack day. Don't remember which pads but they were gone in one day. Nick was TurkishAerolines at SaabCentral and tbaysal2000 at SaabScene :)

haha..also mainly Abbott tuned..