Brake pads with bite?

[Rich]

Now I've finally fitted my balance bar pedal box I'm venturing into the world of servo-free driving. From what I can feel rolling the car backwards and forwards on the drive the lack of bite from the EBC Greenstuff pads in there could take a bit of getting used to.

Does anyone have recommendations for some quality pads with decent bite? I'm quite easy on my brakes so ultimate fade resistance isn't a massive priority.

I'm running metro vented 4-pots with a 0.625 cylinder on the front and a 0.7 cylinder on the back.

[manifold]

Any more piccies Rich

Im using bog standard pads on mine....albeit on the alloy callipers. Works fine for me. Im assuming you bypassed the hose on the front ones and fitted the banjo?

[Rich]

Any more piccies Rich

Im using bog standard pads on mine....albeit on the alloy callipers. Works fine for me. Im assuming you bypassed the hose on the front ones and fitted the banjo?

Did you see the pics of the pedal box I modified? I haven't got any in situ right now.

I kept the double hoses as I had a set of Goodridge already on and a Metro-Mini conversion kit was just more money on top.

[ACourtney]

Hi Rich,

I've always found the Greenstuff pads too hard for a Midas. I guess they're designed for a heavier car (Metro!) which will put more heat into them.
The standard EBC pads seem okay as do standard Mintex pads, even after a dozen laps around Castle Combe.

The real secret to good brakes is to bed the pads in well and to create a "transfer layer" on the disc surface.
Probably teaching you to suck eggs, but I'll describe it for anyone who has never come across the procedure:
After the pads have been on for a hundred miles or so, find a clear straight road (so you probably need to do it at night/early morning) - take the car up to 60mph and brake hard down to 20 (do not stop), accelerate back to 60 and brake again to 20, do this half a dozen times in all and then continue driving for at least 15 minutes to let brakes cool before stopping (and to disperse the smell of the pads!). You want to avoid having to stop during this period otherwise you risk localised overheating causing warping or cracking of the disc.
After this procedure the disc will have a visible mottled grey layer - the transfer layer - and the pad bite will be sharper.

Regards,

Alistair

[Rich]

Hi Rich,

I've always found the Greenstuff pads too hard for a Midas. I guess they're designed for a heavier car (Metro!) which will put more heat into them.
The standard EBC pads seem okay as do standard Mintex pads, even after a dozen laps around Castle Combe.

The real secret to good brakes is to bed the pads in well and to create a "transfer layer" on the disc surface.
Probably teaching you to suck eggs, but I'll describe it for anyone who has never come across the procedure:
After the pads have been on for a hundred miles or so, find a clear straight road (so you probably need to do it at night/early morning) - take the car up to 60mph and brake hard down to 20 (do not stop), accelerate back to 60 and brake again to 20, do this half a dozen times in all and then continue driving for at least 15 minutes to let brakes cool before stopping (and to disperse the smell of the pads!). You want to avoid having to stop during this period otherwise you risk localised overheating causing warping or cracking of the disc.
After this procedure the disc will have a visible mottled grey layer - the transfer layer - and the pad bite will be sharper.

Regards,

Alistair

Hi Alistair,

Thank you for that, I've always done something similar but never actually seen it written down.

I popped into Halfords tonight to see what they had on the shelf only to find they don't even list the Metro any more! The Greenstuff pads are on their last legs now and I wasn't going to use the same again as I'm sick of cleaning their dust off everything. I'll have a dig around for some Mintex.

As an aside, I always found the non-ventilated discs better than the ventilated versions. Is this just down to them being over cooled for the work they are having to do?

Rich

[Geoff Butcher]

Funny, that...I found that Green Stuff on the Midas gave more bite than the rubbish I had previously, in fact I've got them on all my cars, and I get hardly any dust! Mind you, Ive heard that their quality control can be a bit lacking

[Rich]

Funny, that...I found that Green Stuff on the Midas gave more bite than the rubbish I had previously, in fact I've got them on all my cars, and I get hardly any dust! Mind you, Ive heard that their quality control can be a bit lacking

There does seem to be mixed reviews for them. Like you, I found them an improvement over whatever it was I had fitted at the time. Mine do create a lot of dust though, after a good drive it's down the sides of the car as well as all over the wheels.

[Rich]

I picked up some NOS Unipart pads at Stoneleigh, fitted them last night and hey presto, better brakes without even bedding them in.

Not bad for £4.