Brake Pads Thread

[tinkerbell]

yes, there are better lasting track pads that suit track cars...

the DS2500 is a street/track pad...

if you are competing, a more extreme pad will provide better performance...

[l3vnd1]

Will bendix ultimates be a suitable upgrade from stock for a daily drive with the occasional track day?

[e240]

Shouldn't be a problem but may wear out a little quicker on track use

[EG30]

yes, there are better lasting track pads that suit track cars...

the DS2500 is a street/track pad...

if you are competing, a more extreme pad will provide better performance...

For ferodo pads to go higher spec there are the DS3000 and DS3000E endurance pads and the also DS series pads. But they are made for racing apps only, and even if you dont mind their aggressivness or noise issues for street use, you also need more than grey cast iron rotors that are stable up to 620-630C. Moly Carbide rotors such as DBA 5000 series are stable up to 750C-780C.

Only way to find out is see what sort of rotor temp you are getting at the track after 5laps, 10 laps and decide. If you only get them up to 300-400C may be a 700-800C pad is an overkill. In which case even the Thail made Ferodo TS2000/formula pads would do the job fine and much cheaper than the $$$ DS2500 and above pads made in Italy. My rotors never got hotter than 350C at the track after 10 laps on ds2500 and without cooling from air ducts.

Will bendix ultimates be a suitable upgrade from stock for a daily drive with the occasional track day?

We have Bendix ulitmates on our dc2r, dirty as fck even and chews rotors b4 your eyes driving on the street gently, very effective and often cheap when discounted. Havent tried them on track yet, I would imagine they would stop very effective but might be too aggressive once up to higher temps and stress rotors with hot spots. So yeah it's suitable for daily and on track they wont wilt till above 500C.

[lukits01]

I've previously used Ferodo DS2500 on my car and these pads have superior cold bite and response compared to stock. On track, they can take a bit of beating but you can fade them after a few hard sessions. They are very predictable and give you lots of feedback but they do wear down quite quickly when abused on track. They made a slight noise in the beginning but went away as the pads wore down.

Currently I've just installed these EBC Yellows front and rear on my FN2
When I got the EBC yellows, it looked pretty good, it comes with anti squeel shims, and the rears have the low pad indicators like OEM. I've never seen an aftermarket brake pad with these things. but then again we shouldn't judge brake pads from their looks right? hahaha

On the road, the cold bite is ok, not as good as the ferodos, but nothing to worry about in my opinion after a bit of use they are fine. On the track its a different story, the Ferodos would reach optimal temp pretty much from the outset, the yellows take a few hard stabs to peak. They are very consistent when hot, so far I have not got into a situation where the pads would fade and have been virtually silent.

My opinion is the Ferodo DS2500 is a great pad for mostly street driving and occasional track use on sticky road tires. Once you start doing track events on semi slicks you can overheat them. The yellowstuff is suitable for those who use semi slicks on track but would still like a decent performing pad for the street. Personally I prefer the feel of the Ferodo DS2500 but its too bad the compound is softer than I would like.

[l3vnd1]

Wow - interesting about the ultimates!

Anybody know the temperature rating for the OEM DC2R Pads?

[EG30]

Yeah that's exactly what I find about the ds2500s, bit soft and lacks pedal feel. Didnt have any fading issues on my eg prob cos it's a lot lighter than your fn2 and I wasnt going as fast at the track.

I went from EBC yellow to the ds2500, as I thought I'll give them a as there are plenty of ppl waxing lyricals about them. I could see why ppl love it as it's very linear and easy going and despite labelled as race use only on the box they are v quiet and the dust washes off v easily.

I much prefer the EBC yellows cos I can squeeze the brakes hardish initially and not worry about any chance of lock ups and as the retardation builds the pedal feedback is sensational.

My ds2500 is close to finished after only 60-70 or so hard laps and the EBC yellows had to be ordered from uk and wont be here till mid to late Jan 09 so I have to make do with EBC reds for now.

[EG30]

Wow - interesting about the ultimates!

Anybody know the temperature rating for the OEM DC2R Pads?

we had the oe honda nissin pads which came with our dc2r when we bought it used 2 years ago, they were horrid after a few hard stops even on the street! ok they prob never wear out the rotors but they wilt early in the piece long before the pad fail completely and the sensations were not nice and would discourage you from pushing any harder. I would guess the complete fade temp prob be 350C or a bit higher but after 150-200C the big dropoff in co-e of friction starts.

ppl often take the pad makers' temp rating as gospel but what would be much better is to get a friction co-e vs temp graph to get a much better idea like Ferodo release for all their performance pads for the punters to make informed decisions. Sometimes the only way is to trail and error carefully yourself. When I had the TRW lucas pads that were meant to be good to 500-550C, they started the big fade at 360-380C, way short of expectations.

[l3vnd1]

I see. Thats interesting info.

May I ask - how do you measure the temperature so accurately?

[lukits01]

we had the oe honda nissin pads which came with our dc2r when we bought it used 2 years ago, they were horrid after a few hard stops even on the street! ok they prob never wear out the rotors but they wilt early in the piece long before the pad fail completely and the sensations were not nice and would discourage you from pushing any harder. I would guess the complete fade temp prob be 350C or a bit higher but after 150-200C the big dropoff in co-e of friction starts.

ppl often take the pad makers' temp rating as gospel but what would be much better is to get a friction co-e vs temp graph to get a much better idea like Ferodo release for all their performance pads for the punters to make informed decisions. Sometimes the only way is to trail and error carefully yourself. When I had the TRW lucas pads that were meant to be good to 500-550C, they started the big fade at 360-380C, way short of expectations.

True that, I had Carbonetics pads (Ive been told they are project Mu re badge) that were rated to 500deg but faded way before it ever reached that temp, started going soft, and my endless slots chewed through the pad compound till it crumbled to backing plate. Wasn't a pretty sight. Coefficient of friction vs temp graph is a nice thing to have!

anyone, have much experience with choosing brake rotors?

[EG30]

I see. Thats interesting info.

May I ask - how do you measure the temperature so accurately?

infra red thermometer, mine only goes up to 500C which is plenty for me for my brakes and tyres and other general temps such as cyl head , coolant, sump temps etc.

deluxe models goes up to 1000C.

as a guide, above 400C your rotors start to glow in the dark if you dont have a device to check temps.

you can also use thermo strips or paint on the rotors to record max temp reached.

[m0nk3y]

what are the best pads for just daily driving/no track work? DC5 base.

needing to upgrade my stock OEM pads soon, but dont want to fork out too much cash to the dealer....

[tinkerbell]

Ferodo "Excel"

http://www.ferodo.com.au/ferodo_P_excel.php

i fitted these to my wifes Jazz and have no complaints... espacially good considering the price...

[l3vnd1]

Ok so after completely destroying my OEM pads with 60% on them to about 10% after the track day, the time has come for new pads.

After much reading and recommendations it has come down to either Ultimates or DS2500.

Ultimates apparently chew rotors where as the Ferodo's squeal under cold braking.

I would prefer the one that is more catered to street driving out of the two as that is my cars main use. (at the moment)

Also trying to identify the DS2500 - which category do they fall under on the Ferodo website?

Its not excel. Is it premium? or Formula?

[Chi]

DS2500 do not squeel under cold.

They are a street / sports performance pad.

Used them on track and street and are very bitey, but wouldn't recommend them for long track periods.

It also has alot of brake dust.