Supplier recommendation please, brake pads/discs

Gingerposer · Unread post by **Gingerposer** » 28 Jan 2010, 20:40

Folks, I am looking for your suggestions for a decent supplier of brake pads and discs for my Xantia.
I am based in aberdeen, so local would be preferred, but I have no concerns regarding ebay etc so would consider that too fi someone knows of a reputable seller on there.

Looking forward to your input,

Ainslie

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 28 Jan 2010, 20:57

You can get pads and discs from most motorfactors. However if you want something decent then your obviously looking further afield. EBC and GreenStuff spring to mind as quality brade pad and disc suppliers.

I hate motorfactor parts, my local one does motorquip products, their pads would stop the car quicker if they were made from wood, though maybe they are!

Ive used A-Pec brake pads before, these are quite good. Though i think they are one of the cheaper brands they are up to the job, On my car they gave good feel and performed well at all times. Though if pressing on on some good roads it was possible to get them to fade all to easily. But under normal use they were fine. Wheels soon turned black though.

Greenstuff are said to be good for giving off less brake dust than normal.

Discs seem very similar really, i cant tell the difference between geniune dealer discs or cheap ones. IMO its the pads which made the difference to braking performance.

I told im very heavy on the brakes, and i do like them to feel right, i tend to go for as good quality as possible now. Though i never buy them from the dealers, usually a rip off price for brake parts.

You could always use http://www.aepdirect.com/ if you want something half decent and with good service.

Chris.

Chlorate · Unread post by **Chlorate** » 28 Jan 2010, 21:25

I agree with Chris about EBC GreenStuffs, fitted them to my ZX recently and they are considerably better than standard OE pads. Apart from being less dusty, I've noticed that they're a lot more grippy than standard pads and don't tend to overheat as much.
Bit more expensive than OE pads, but worth it.
You can get various flavours of disc from EBC, i.e. OE quality/grooved/drilled etc if you're into that sort of thing. Seems a little pointless considering the enormousness of the discs on Xantiae.

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 28 Jan 2010, 23:10

Some pads seem to give off so much dust, its hard even trying to keep my C5s wheels clean, they go black so quickly. Mind tyre black doesnt help, they are black in a day if i use spray on tyre gel. Though im not sure what make pads it has, cheapo ones probably.

Id only say it would be an advantageous thing to fit grooved or drilled discs if your a serious driver who does mostly hard driving and have a performance orientated car. You would also need suitable pads as they would eat through pads quickly, and tend to be noiser under operation.

Ferodo is another good make i think, though ive not used these.

evilally · Unread post by **evilally** » 28 Jan 2010, 23:24

General road use I agree with the above, EBC Greenstuff. Decent upgrade over OE, not much dust and reasonably priced.

Something like the Ferrodo DS2500 is a good entry level track and fast road use pad. Not much dust, great stopping power and they take a beating and keep going.

For something more extreme check out Carbone Lorraine RC5 or RC6, you will never have experienced stopping power like this, unless you've crashed into a thick concrete wall. However they do squeel like nuts and will make your wheels look like they've been baked in charcoal

By and large a disc is a disc for road use, although I usually go with a brand name as I have seen budget ones warp in the past. Avoid drilled discs, the are far more prone to fracture than standard or grooved discs. They are generally bought by chavs for their Corsas because they "look good". Drilled discs are used in motorsport where the disc is changed frequently. A grooved disc is fine, but it's debateable if they make any difference with a modern pad.

Chlorate · Unread post by **Chlorate** » 28 Jan 2010, 23:42

Drilling and grooving is supposedly to help prevent the pad glazing and allow somewhere for dust and gas formed as the pad wears or gets hot to escape and prevent the discs and pads from overheating and whatnot.
But to be honest they're not that helpful for ordinary road use, they'll chew through your pads like no tomorrow and won't lend much extra braking assistance if your pads aren't likely to overheat in the first place. As far as I can tell they'd only be useful for people who drive a bit too fast in big heavy or high performance cars.

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 28 Jan 2010, 23:47

From an engineering POV, I actually can't see how they (slotted or drilled rotors) accelerate pad wear, unless the eroded materials during any application of the brakes, "float" between pad and rotor as a functioning consumable element until the pedal is released and they're ejected.

Chlorate · Unread post by **Chlorate** » 29 Jan 2010, 00:46

Drill holes and grooves act a bit like a cheese grater on the pads.
Indeed it's part of what they're meant to do to stop the surface of the pad glazing over.

Unread post by **xantia_v6** » 29 Jan 2010, 07:12

There is someone (trademotorspares) who sells Mintex pads and disks on ebay. For general road use, I think that Mintex are as good as any.

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 29 Jan 2010, 09:01

Chlorate wrote:Drill holes and grooves act a bit like a cheese grater on the pads.
Indeed it's part of what they're meant to do to stop the surface of the pad glazing over.

Yes thats right, so it is constantly taking of fractions of the pad, to keep the pad from glazing. This can also make them noisier over normal discs. Though i would have thought they would have headed the pads up more quickly, due to more friction?

Though for normal road use i dont see the point in either drilled or grooved discs. Your better off going for normal discs and getting a good set of pads in my opinion. Unless you do heavy track use.

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 29 Jan 2010, 09:04

Chlorate, I don't believe they (slotted or grooved rotors) can "grate" the pad as suggested.

The rotor's metal surface is not upset by machining in any way that prolongs a raised edge to attack the pad, unless it has a slight tendency to curl outwards due to latent heat relaxation of surface stresses more at an external corner (ie; where the rotor's "face" turns downwards into a machined relief like a slot or drilling).

Flexing of the rotor under hard braking could offer another reason the pad might be "grated" - but you would hope that lateral flexure was not in the realms of measurable!

We should not rule out a placebo effect, whereby those with "performance" brakes drove with different expectations - and thus possibly a different wear outcome.

I've had heavy wear and warpage (1½ thou nearside, 3½ thou offside, both measured stone cold) issues with OEM rotors and pads in the front - not to mention the sooty mess! Can't see how any competition pads could be worse.

Cheers, Adam.

HDI · Unread post by **HDI** » 29 Jan 2010, 09:55

I can say from experience that drilled discs will crack around the holes and the benefit's are debatable at best !! The holes soon block up with brake dust so if there was any improvement in braking performance it is soon negated.
Grooving may have a benefit in preventing glaze on the pad and also wiping water from the disc in wet conditions.
For normal use I have found Apec to be good value for money at the budget end. The non performance Mintex are better and still good value.
Any OEM quality disc from a motor factor would be fine for the performance any standard Xantia has.
The use my Xantia gets doesn't warrant the expenditure on performance pads , and to be honest , it's performance couldn't possibly justify it anyway

Gingerposer · Unread post by **Gingerposer** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:06

Well, I have bitten the bullet and ordered a set of mintex rear discs and pads, from ebay.
Once I have received them I will post a review here of the speed of service etc.
Cheers for the advice!

ainslie

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:22

Yes thats what i use HDi, Apec, i find them reasonable, they are available at my local factors and good value. I dont have a problem with their prefromance. As i said, if worked hard they fade after a while, but they are better than some ive had and provide good feel.

Mintex are quality items, if i dont get Apec then i get Mintex, depends what they have in at the time.

rmunns · Unread post by **rmunns** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:53

This isn't going to be much use as a comment, more a caution.

A couple of years ago I bought new front pads for my '98 Xantia 1.8 16V. They were from eBay and were not 'genuine' Citroen. I can't remember the make.

They made a lot of noise just as the car came to rest. A sort of graunching noise.

When I changed the pads I had noticed that the discs were a bit worn, so next time I was in UK I visited GSF and bought new discs for the front. I fitted these, but the noise remained.

Braking efficiency didn't seem any worse than originally, just the noise.

I never did sort out the problem and sold the car last Summer.