Hi,

This is partly idle curiosity, but I've just been looking at replacement discs, drums, pads and shoes for my Twinair.

I don't really want an upgrade, but if any manufacturers use better materials, finishes, or create less dust, then I'd pay a bit more.

Brake dust really clings to my black alloys, and the rear drums are visible, so less rusting would be a bonus.

However, there isn't much information about quality differences, and you can't really go much off price. Plus some manufacturers, eg Febi, do a range of prices for discs/drums, but don't say what you're paying for.

I'm being a bit optimistic here, but has anyone got any recommendations, or preferable done some research?

Thanks, Pete

Its personal preference at the end of the day, I trust Mintex here's a good link to their page;
http://www.mintex.brakebook.com/bb/mintex/en/applicationSearch.xhtml?reset=1

Give the drums a good clean wire wire wool then paint with satin black hamerite the keep the looking tidy

chris3234 said:

Give the drums a good clean wire wire wool then paint with satin black hamerite the keep the looking tidy

Click to expand...

Or just replace them they're cheap enough

At least they shouldn't be as bad as ours were?

Brembo discs and pads,

If you have drums then paint them black or dark grey, don’t be tempted to paint them any bright colour they look awful like that.

My wife's 1.4 500C Lounge used to suffer with black, dusty wheels on OEM pads, so I fitted APEC discs and pads at half the price of OEM and the dust is now much less and providing you fit discs and pads the parts come with a 2 year warranty.

APEC are an aftermarket company but I would thoroughly recommend them regarding performance, service life and price.

Kev

Brake dust tells you the brakes are working. Treat the wheels with slicone spray and retreat after every wash.

Pagid use a coating (Geomet) that helps protect discs from rusting up.
They are available from Eurocarparts, so you can usually bag a set with a discount most days.

The quality is very good, as are their fiction parts (pads and shoes).
They are owned by TMD Friction the same company that owns Minitex and Textar, which are part of the Nisshinbo group, who are OEM for the likes of Toyota, Nissan and Honda.

They had an offer on St Patrick's day and I got discs, pads and shoes for silly money. The mechanic near me uses them and he got me a quote, but their offer beat that quote. No Brainer. The originals are 6 years old this year, so it won't be long now, before they need changing.

To "cure" the rusty drums, you need a rust resistant drum.

A more expensive drum (you're right that you can't tell how good something is just by looking at the price) ought to be made from better grade steel and/or have a better/thicker finish applied to it.

If it was me, I'd buy a mid-priced drum and give it a few coats of black Hammerite after fitting it. Rough up the surface a bit with some wire wool, clean it all off with brake cleaner and let it dry off thoroughly. Then give it a couple of thin coats to protect the manufacturer applied finish/cover any thin areas.

Brake discs is more tricksy since it's all out in the open where you can see it.... and *generally* you want a soft pad and/or disc for the best friction.. and that means a lot of material is going to be thrown off when you brake.

High performance pads make less dust because they only really work when they're hot.. but one good compromise is Ferodo's mild performance pad DS2500. They needs a little (not much) warming up to get their interest in the morning... but once operating, they grip like a Scotsman to a fiver and don't make too much dust.

They're also kind to the disc too.. so you can run just any cheap disc (nothing exotic needed)... It'll be softer which helps the pad to wear the disc out, rather than eating up the pad... which in turn means less pad dust (although your brake dust will be more orange i.e. rust - than black).


Ralf S.

So,,,, looking at the Mintex online catalogue there's "some" variations between brake pads/shoes/fitting kits?
This may explain why my rear auto adjusters don't work?
I replaced the shoes, drums, fitting kit a few years ago(I can remember the fitting kit was for non abs) all works fine bar the auto adjustment.
Turns out there's a fitting kit for with and without ABS(all UK are have abs) but look the same, also there's shoes for with and without, I bet one or both of mine are wrong? The change over point seems to be about May 10 with general comparability up to 2015.
There a also variations on the front with respect to the length of cable for the wear sensor.

Just thought this might explain/be helpful to people, check out the Mintex online catalogue?

E.g. note the soft top of the same year also has a different item number just to add confusion

At the end of the day we are talking about a wee 500 & an every day brake pads & discs. Apec, Pagid, Mintex etc are all much of a sameness at the cheap end. Pagid are made exclusively for Euro parts. As pointed out it's down to preference. Pagid seem to keep their customers happy, but fitting a new set of anything will improve things. Most DIY tend to fit out with the old & in with the new, & never look at the system untill there's a problem, but NOT all you should be giving the braking system a service, clean up, lubricating where needed & making sure things are working properly. For me I use Brembo, bit more expensive but that's my choice. You can come across a bargain now & again if you do bit of digging.

I give the brakes on my vehicles a look over twice a year when I change the oil.

Just to add what was said earlier.....BRAKE DUST is a good sign that the brakes are indeed doing their job.

I'd second Brembo pads.

I've used Pagid and they're okay (I don't think I've ever had a set of pads that were rubbish) but the biggest difference between Brembo and Pagid is in the precision of the backing plate. Brembo are better made and fit in the caliper better, without being stiff, or jamming. Pagid (and other miriad cheaper pads) were often too tight and needed some filing etc. to keep them moving freely.


Ralf S.