Brakes Wheels 1st Gen Tires Most liked posts in thread: Which Brake pads do you use ?

Oh yeah... I almost forgot. If you are a purely tame street driver (nobody on this forum, I'm sure! ), Outmotoring had a 'budgetmaster brake kit' with pads and rotors all the way around in the $300 range. I put it on my friends R50 when she was a few months away from a lease return and the pre-return inspection had flagged the car as needing new brakes (and they wanted $1200 to fix). I was surprised at how well made all of the components were and the brake pads had slots cut for the pad sensors (which many of the cheap-o pads do not). She only had the car for 2 months after I did the brake job, but they performed nicely for street pads and for $300 or so all the way around, they were a serious bargain.

I tend not to skimp on safety components like brakes, but for a cheap, short-term solution, they performed nicely (and they didn't give her a hassle about 'em on lease return).

 

Carbotech 1521

 

Still loving my Cool Carbons!

 

Running Greens now, a set of Reds is in the mail (with rotors) from Way...looking forward to the switch...

 

HOW DO I TURN OFF MY BRAKE PAD WARNING LIGHT AFTER REPLACING PADS?

Does anyone know how to turn off your brake replacement lite after you change pads???

 

What model MINI Austin? R56 or R53?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FwJz2KSD4M"]R56 brake reset - YouTube[/ame]

R53... http://new.minimania.com/article/2365/Resetting_the_Brake_Wear_Service_Light

 

Has anyone tried StopTech pads? They are aramid fiber just like EBC and almost half the price.

 

Carbotech.

 

This

 

EBC Green on the Classic and Hawk HPS on my R53...

 

I've had great luck with my Zimmerman Rotor purchase...

 

I was a huge Carbotech 1521 fan... but am currently loving the new EBC Red Stuffs. They're like halfway between the 1521 and AX6 pads in performance, with only slightly more dust than the 1521, and it cleans up easily.

For rotors, I like Way's coated ones. They're purdy, resist rust in the non-contact areas and work well, and not overly expensive for something that doesn't need to be fancy.

 

I understand and agree. But if you are getting the same thing for less isn't that wise? I've used Hawk HPS and HP+, Carbotech, Axis, and ATE. So I'll spend it if it's justified.

If I go EBC green stuff or red stuff and why?

 

Greenstuff = Grocery Getter.
GREAT pads for around town even if one drives (ahem) assertively. Good initial bite and decent fade resistance in around-town stuff. I like mine for the 95% of the time when I'm just tooling about, but dio have the tools and experience to change 'em out for track/autoX days.

Reds = Race (sorta...): I've heard great things about the reds for higher-performance use, and will be trying them shortly... but given that it gets rather cold here in the 'burgh in winter, I'm a little resistant to run 'em year-round as many higher-performance pads need some initial heat built up in order to grab properly. I had that experience in a race-prepped GTI years ago (admittedly when brake pad tech was in its infancy compared to now) and a few "push brake --> wait --> butt-pucker --> STOP" moments were enough!

IMHO, the HPS's and the "Monro Tire" Ceramics I ran (don't ask, I chimped out but was actually pleased with them) performed about the same. Low dust, OE-levels of performance / initial bite / fade resistance. I glazed the HPS's pretty badly in one session on a long autocross-type HPDE course, while friends with Reds didn't glaze theirs as badly. (It was a TOUGH course on brakes).

Anyone have winter or DD experience with Reds vs. Greens?

 

I used Reds all around on my R56 year round on street and on track. I haven't had them in sub zero temperatures but they seemed to grab fine at 20 deg F on cold rotors. One or two good stops and they do bite much better. The greens I had on my MkV GTI worked well for spirited DD. They do have a nicer initial "bite" in all temps but they don't modulate well under track conditions and they fade a bit under repeated hard braking. That is some serious braking though. Typical MINI owner would never fine the pad fade point on the Greens.

I used the Reds because they resisted fade on the track and were quiet on the street. I'm lazy. I didn't want to worry about swapping pads or wheels/tires day of the event so I used high end street tires that I swapped the day before and left the EBC Reds in all the time. My R56 had them on when I sold it.

There are MUCH better pads for the MINI for track. Carbotechs are great. EBC Blues or Oranges work well too.

I'm soured on Hawk as I was SORELY disappointed with them in my '05 Mustang GT.

However, given the 180-200hp of most MINIs and the 2600lb curb weight the EBC Reds are a good compromise pad. If you don't track or autox consider the Greens.

 

I used to use Hawk HPS pads on my r53 and never had any real problems with them. However, when they wore out, I went to EBC RedStuff pads because I had heard so many good things about them for track and street use. IMO, they resist fading better than the Hawks did, and like the Hawks, they do not dust as much as the OEM pads.

I use EBC GreenStuff pads on my R50.

 

I am REALLY happy with my Carbotech Bobcat 1521s, but it's about time to order some more and the pricing, where I can find them at all, is insane, almost twice the price of the alternatives. $286 for all 4 at Sneeds versus $136 for Brembos or $155 for Green stuff (WMW). Anybody know why, or where I can get them for a reasonable price? I also like that they are red

 

Anything but EBC's for me.

For daily driving I like Akebono's and for the Dragon I will use Brakeman pads on fresh rotors.

 

I've had very good luck with Akebonos pads. For my driving style they work well & they don't dust much. What dust there is is a lighter color, ceramic is the difference I recon.

At this point I would not recommend EBC pads either.