Fun with brakes!

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 14 Apr 2008, 18:50

Been putting it off for a couple of months, knowing that the pads were very low and the discs warped and worn to the limit also. Having read through the forums i knew there was some differences in brake discs fitted.

Armed with this info i went to GSF. Was told my car needed 266mm discs with pads to match, so off i went, £63 quid lighter.

Started to do the job as a thunder storm started, nice, great timing! I suspect it was god but i dont have any further proof on that.

Got the disc and pads off and... yes they were the wrong ones. Measuring them up it seems the old ones were 283mm. So, put it all back together and rang Citroen, 266mm again came up but there was an alternative listed for a 283mm.

Went to GSF and they bettered the price on Citroen for Brembo discs and Bendix pads, this time the correct ones! Only 7 quid difference in the end.

The job was far easier than i expected, i also made an interesting discovery, my car had been fitted with the smaller 266mm pads which although they worked, in fact very well until they were worn, missed about 3-4mm of the disc sweep area.

It seems this was the cause of the weird clicking noise upon acceleration, so i now have some pukka brakes, no shaking through the wheel and no clicking!

Gareth

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 15 Apr 2008, 19:23

After 150 miles bedding in, these are seriously good brakes!

I was tempted to get a set off Ebay but without knowing the exact spec of my brakes, that could have been an expensive experience!

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 15 Apr 2008, 20:42

Excellent news Gareth

Can you recall exactly the pads you used in the fronts please?

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 15 Apr 2008, 21:16

citrojim wrote:Excellent news Gareth

Can you recall exactly the pads you used in the fronts please?

Yes they were Bendix, GSF part no. N64021 and Citroen part no. 425157.

Still not sure how it ended up with smaller pads before my ownership, as the difference when changing would have been obvious. They were also Bendix and did perform well until the discs started to warp, i reckon the smaller pads caused the disc to get too hot on the outer edge. The discs were pretty blue too!

A nice touch with the Brembo discs was a lovely cross hatch finish not unlike the honing marks in a cylinder bore. The marks are just starting to go now and i suspect the brakes will only get better. It's a delight having stoppers you can rely on, even without ABS the stopping distance is just fine, with plenty of feel through the pedal.

Never again will i buy cheap brake bits!

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 15 Apr 2008, 22:13

Thanks Gareth,

That's great. I have a set of Bendix pads and Brembo discs to fit on my Activa when the old pads have worn down to the limit. I ask as my Activa brakes work great once they are warm but until then, they're dreadful. I have a suspicion I don't have genuine pads or even perhaps racing pads in there at the moment.

I like the Brembo discs as well but interestingly, a couple of years ago I put new Brembos on our 1.9TD and it did not take long before they warped. I replaced them with a new set of Brembos and touch-wood, they've been OK. Maybe a bad batch but do bear in mind our 1.9TD spends a lot of time towing in the summer and the brakes work very hard.

I have to agree though, new Brembo discs are a work of art and finished supurbly. I like the wear indicator on them as well. Good idea I think.

Unread post by **elma** » 15 Apr 2008, 22:44

citrojim wrote:
I like the Brembo discs as well but interestingly, a couple of years ago I put new Brembos on our 1.9TD and it did not take long before they warped. I replaced them with a new set of Brembos and touch-wood, they've been OK. Maybe a bad batch but do bear in mind our 1.9TD spends a lot of time towing in the summer and the brakes work very hard.

Interestingly enough I had the exact same experience around the same time.
They weren't as powerful as they could have been either. Mine were with Bendix pad s too.

Tried delphi after that and they were awful, hard pads with no power and very cheap discs that rust as you unpack them. I normally favour delphi parts so that was a shock.

Have used Mintex since then. Very good wear and performance and at £41 for a front pair with the pads a bargain.

Good to hear some +ve feedback though for brembo, I felt quite let down at the time.

Does anyone else think it's stupid how GSF price discs per disc but only sell them in pairs?

admiral51 · Unread post by **admiral51** » 15 Apr 2008, 22:55

i just assumed the price that is in the book was for a pair

on that basis yes very stupid unless they sell a disc kit listed seperately ie 2x disc and 4x pads

Colin

Unread post by **elma** » 15 Apr 2008, 23:20

your on my logic there,

Heres GSF logic
prices for pads include all 4 pads
Prices for discs include 1 disc
Don't do kits.

When I went down with £40 for my discs and the guy wanted £80 we ended up not agreeing.

Another thing wrt Brembo,
they do pads for both the normal discs and the max discs.
Not available in the UK, closest place is Italy.
Tried hard to get them when I had Brembo but no luck.