Brakes pads & discs choices

[koryong]

My brake pads & discs are due for a change soon, so would be great to get some opinion from the more experienced members. Our choices here are limited but there are are lots of OEM & aftermarket brands available on the Net and across the Causeway. Just looking for good road performance, not track use .... PadsJurid, ATE, Mintex, EBC, Pagid, FerrodoDiscsATE, Race Equip, EBC, Zimmerman, Brembo etcGrooved or slotted or both ?

 

[mctnesh]

Im using Jurid brake pads, suggested by personal mechanic No complains so far.......performs jst as expected.

 

[OSFlanker]

koryong, this for your E36 or E30? Anyway, go for grooved discs (like ATE) to improve cooling. , since 318i brakes are non-vented. Drilled discs are good but noisy, brake squeel is inevitable. There are squeels from grooved discs too but not as noisy as drilled (ask Albundy about his zimmerman!).Since you are at it, might as well look for 325 or 328 calipers so that you can use vented discs. Less chances of warping.Most important, run in your discs for at least 200km - no hard braking and don't go to car wash with your brakes heated up (need at least 2 hours to cool down).

 

[stephen]

i changed my brake pads, both front and rear sets, just b4 Raya. ATE brand (part of Continental Tyres group) RM180 for front set and RM150 for rear sets @ M-Speed Subang. Have done over 1,000kms since and still have minor screeching sound at traffic crawls. So just now i brought car back for mechanic to test....he never encounter problems with ATE for BMWs and after testing, decided to replace the front set with new ones FOC (but no stock for rear ones). So we test again and this time sound obviously from the rear tyres set. Dunno what he sprayed on the rear pads but it works, ...sound is gone. I am supposed to test over two days and if it happens again, he will change the rear sets. He said if i changed the discs to new ones also, then this problem shouldnt happen as contact should be even if both disc and pads are new ....yeah, so much money meh! Why change brake discs when still ok.Will update the condition of my brake pads in 2 days....

 

[willie]

last time when my disc brake still looks ok, on cold day, my car will have ooong oong sound whenever i drive, though the problem from the ball bearing, but at the end it is the disc brake making noise.....

 

[SonnyCooL]

My personal view ATE rotor not really worth the money ....Last time i bought for my E36 cost around 800 per pair and only last for two year (i think less then) for 50k driving ....

 

[koryong]

Originally posted by OSFlanker@Dec 7 2004, 09:42 PM Since you are at it, might as well look for 325 or 328 calipers so that you can use vented discs. Less chances of warping.
Thanks, OSF. You read my mind - will do the 328 calipers on my 36 soon. Do you think the squeel could be due to "mis-matched" pads & rotors ? Maybe some pads work better with certain rotors.The pads here are kinda limited to ATE & Jurid and some aftermarket ie. EBC. Just wondering if the lesser-known brands like Textar, Mintex, Pagid and Ferrodo would work better.

 

[Jipster]

Originally posted by koryong+Dec 9 2004, 12:57 PM-->QUOTE (koryong @ Dec 9 2004, 12:57 PM)

 

[3er]

Originally posted by koryong@Dec 10 2004, 01:57 AM The pads here are kinda limited to ATE & Jurid and some aftermarket ie. EBC. Just wondering if the lesser-known brands like Textar, Mintex, Pagid and Ferrodo would work better.
I wouldnt say they are lesser known brands. Pagid are good. And i used to use semi-metallic Ferrodo's in my Honda years ago (and yes - i liked them cos they resisted heat fade quite well and lasted too and no i didnt change disks all that often as well)

 

[stephen]

Originally posted by stephen@Dec 8 2004, 02:05 PM i changed my brake pads, both front and rear sets, just b4 Raya. ATE brand (part of Continental Tyres group) RM180 for front set and RM150 for rear sets @ M-Speed Subang. Have done over 1,000kms since and still have minor screeching sound at traffic crawls. So just now i brought car back for mechanic to test....he never encounter problems with ATE for BMWs and after testing, decided to replace the front set with new ones FOC (but no stock for rear ones). So we test again and this time sound obviously from the rear tyres set. Dunno what he sprayed on the rear pads but it works, ...sound is gone. I am supposed to test over two days and if it happens again, he will change the rear sets. He said if i changed the discs to new ones also, then this problem shouldnt happen as contact should be even if both disc and pads are new ....yeah, so much money meh! Why change brake discs when still ok.Will update the condition of my brake pads in 2 days....
went back to check brake pads due to presistent screeching sound ... changed FOC new sets and the sound still there. Finally gave in to mechanic saying that brake discs are due for change. 4 orignal BMW brake discs x RM300 each. No more screeching sound, just the sound of me moaning at the cost.

 

[E46Fanatic]

I used EBC green stuff on my EK4 and while I like the initial stronger bite feel of the pads (on stock discs), on hard high speed braking, the discs judder probably due to warping from the added heat buildup on the stock rotors from the more grippy pads. So in summary, its good to match your pads and discs for overall performance.So far the OEM BMW brakes are very good, except, for the excessive brake dust compared to things like EBC green stuff. Anyway, I doubt I go aftermarket and will likely go with OEM rotors and pads again on my next change. Seen articles on the amount of stress testing BMW engineers put into the brake system till it glows red hot, and somehow based on my exp, that level of balance is hard to come by unless u pay the big bucks for a Brembo/ AP Racing complete brake system ..

 

[ichiwan2]

Originally posted by stephen@Dec 8 2004, 01:05 AM i changed my brake pads, both front and rear sets, just b4 Raya. ATE brand (part of Continental Tyres group) RM180 for front set and RM150 for rear sets @ M-Speed Subang. Have done over 1,000kms since and still have minor screeching sound at traffic crawls. So just now i brought car back for mechanic to test....he never encounter problems with ATE for BMWs and after testing, decided to replace the front set with new ones FOC (but no stock for rear ones). So we test again and this time sound obviously from the rear tyres set. Dunno what he sprayed on the rear pads but it works, ...sound is gone. I am supposed to test over two days and if it happens again, he will change the rear sets. He said if i changed the discs to new ones also, then this problem shouldnt happen as contact should be even if both disc and pads are new ....yeah, so much money meh! Why change brake discs when still ok.Will update the condition of my brake pads in 2 days....
Might want to suggest that your brake mechanic chamfers (ie grind edges of brake pad at 45 dere angle) the edges of the brake pads - this will reduce the screeching. Old technique - u just need a grinding wheel and make sure he has a mask so that he does not breathe in the dust.

 

[ichiwan2]

Originally posted by E46Fanatic@Dec 12 2004, 12:08 AM I used EBC green stuff on my EK4 and while I like the initial stronger bite feel of the pads (on stock discs), on hard high speed braking, the discs judder probably due to warping from the added heat buildup on the stock rotors from the more grippy pads. So in summary, its good to match your pads and discs for overall performance.So far the OEM BMW brakes are very good, except, for the excessive brake dust compared to things like EBC green stuff. Anyway, I doubt I go aftermarket and will likely go with OEM rotors and pads again on my next change. Seen articles on the amount of stress testing BMW engineers put into the brake system till it glows red hot, and somehow based on my exp, that level of balance is hard to come by unless u pay the big bucks for a Brembo/ AP Racing complete brake system ..
I am using EBCs on my Citroen and find that there is less bite when the pads are cold. Once the temperature goes up, the bite is much better than standard pads.Mintex and Ferodo are very old brands and they are not cheap. BTW, do not get Mintex mixed up with Mintye, our own local pad manufacturer. The difference between the two would be night and day.Jurids are pretty good. Dunno about others.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Originally posted by ichiwan2@Dec 12 2004, 10:20 AM I am using EBCs on my Citroen and find that there is less bite when the pads are cold. Once the temperature goes up, the bite is much better than standard pads.
U must be running either EBC Red Stuff or EBC Yellow stuff pads. These are more track/competition spec pads which offer less fade at high temperatures, but needs some warming up in the morning to get the bite. The Green Stuff is for street "sporty driving" use. They are great pads IMHO, just need properly mated discs to enjoy the added braking benefits to the optimum.Check out the Green stuff "bite" specs across temperature ranges.."upgrades brake performance by 30-50%, friction co-efficient of 0.48µ excellent initial bite resulting in instant response - no warm-up required class-leading fade resistance on the road - heat stable to a blistering 500ºC extremely low disc abrasion - due to high Kevlar content low dust formula, great for alloys - due to zero carbon content low vibration - smooth operation "EBC Green Stuff Specs

 

[3er]

With the tropical temps we get here you wont have any problems with "cold". These pads were designed in colder countries where cold for them means a lot lower than what you can ever find in Malaysia.

 

[ichiwan2]

Originally posted by E46Fanatic+Dec 12 2004, 10:32 AM-->QUOTE (E46Fanatic @ Dec 12 2004, 10:32 AM)

 

[stephen]

Originally posted by stephen+Dec 12 2004, 09:52 AM-->QUOTE (stephen @ Dec 12 2004, 09:52 AM)

 

[ALBundy]

Change back to ori pads JURID or get the Texstar. Its not too late to do so.Al

 

[OSFlanker]

muahaha, I got my texstar discs, and also E32 ATE Power Disc, damn "kau" man - 28mm thick compared to my current 22mm......but cannot install as I have to pass my 750 calipers to someone else......Zackary, please contact me! Tried SMS you but no reply.

 

[koryong]

OSF, Just a silly question. Apart from the extra width, are the e32 discs also larger than the e34 ones ? Any chance either 34 or 32 calipers will fit the 36, 'coz the stock 36 discs is darn small ...