Activa Pads/Discs

macaroni · Post by **macaroni** » 01 Aug 2005, 14:33

Hi,
I am about the change the front pads/discs on my Xantia Activa and wondered if anyone could recommend a good upgrade?
Cheers,
Antony

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 01 Aug 2005, 15:49

Why do you need an upgrade? The reason I ask is that you may have another problem.
Jeremy

macaroni · Post by **macaroni** » 01 Aug 2005, 17:01

I don't need an upgrade as such, I just always try and fit uprated parts when OE ones wear out.

Rostami · Post by **Rostami** » 01 Aug 2005, 18:23

I just did this on my Activa.
Brembo disks and Ferodo pads. Results are quite good. A little skeaking at the beginning but not its fine.

basil40 · Post by **basil40** » 01 Aug 2005, 18:24

I just fitted discs and pads - used Brembos and Ferrodo from GSF car PArts - not sure if Ferrodo pads were correct size, but hey, they'll last another 70K ( i.e. outlast the car)

macaroni · Post by **macaroni** » 01 Aug 2005, 18:48

Thanks for the advice. When I asked GSF, they claimed not to do Brembo discs for the Activa. Hmm...

Rostami · Post by **Rostami** » 01 Aug 2005, 19:00

I usually keep the boxes for future reference...but not this time!
Are the Activa breaks different than other Xantiae with the same engine/trim?
In Portugal the pads and the disks cost me 150 Euro.

macaroni · Post by **macaroni** » 01 Aug 2005, 19:28

I believe the brakes are a little bigger than other Xantiae, apart from the v6.
That is a good price for Brembos/Ferodos. Did you find these brakes to be better than standard?

Rostami · Post by **Rostami** » 01 Aug 2005, 20:12

I can´t really say if they are better than originals, because the disks that I took out were well beyond their limit, and braking had become a little uneven.
Also since the tyres are quite crappy I avoid havn´t had the chance to do an intentional hard breaking experience.
In general the car does what I want...

ActivaV6uk · Post by **ActivaV6uk** » 02 Aug 2005, 01:21

2.1 hatch shares the same calipers as the activa i believe. disks to i would think. the V6 does indead have much biger calipers and disks (have to be seen to be believed).
Andy

basil40 · Post by **basil40** » 03 Aug 2005, 02:06

This is the part number on my receipt for the brembo discs from GSF - N60134£47 + vat for pair. They came in a Brembo box the discs have the Brembo wear guage on them so they are genuine. Ask them again!!!

macaroni · Post by **macaroni** » 03 Aug 2005, 02:25

Basil40, I did check and they are Brembo discs, but just standard ones. I thought you meant the Brembo Max discs, which are grooved. Sorry for the confusion.
I have bought a set of grooved discs from a guy in the Peugeot club he was going to fit them on his 406 sri turbo.

basil40 · Post by **basil40** » 03 Aug 2005, 02:29

About grooves and drilled out discs - don't be conned - they don't do anything!!

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 03 Aug 2005, 04:22

Grooved discs can make a difference if you're racing, they stop any gas that is produced by the pad acting on the disc from making the brake pads float, so they only really make a difference when the brakes are really hot.
Cross drilling is to get more cooling air through your vented discs. If you badly overheat cross drilled discs the holes are stress concentration points and the brake disc can be prone to cracking from them, I've seen this on AMG Mercedes that have been driven hard to the point of abuse. I'm not sure whether they straight forwardly crack or whether they take several heat/cooling cycles to start to crack but it does happen.
Basically, unless you're using the Xantia for hard driving or some sort of motorsport, you are wasting your time with grooved or cross drilled discs. If you are likely to start causing cracking or faster wear of the discs / pads you don't really want them on a dailly driver, you'd want them on a racing car where parts are removed and inspected on a very regular basis.

Mosser · Post by **Mosser** » 03 Aug 2005, 04:38

I have run grooved disks before on a different car, and i found the braking noise to be a really loud groan as you slow down, it wasnt nice and i fitted green pads to minimise brake dust and the combination of the 2 actually made my braking worse, it needed more effort and was noisier,
I would recommend plain vented disks with standard pads, if you do want to enhance your braking slightly, you could fit some softer pads, but you will get more dust and shorter pad life, but the brake pedal force is reduced and it will feel like you have more responsive brakes