2mm is quite a lot of disc wear. I suspect the deep groves you have seen pads sit in is in fact the result of rust build-up and consequent surface eruption, which of course does not get worn down by the pads.

Whenever I do a brake service I remove as much of this rusty material as possible. Things look a great dela better after doing this.

292mm rear ventilated brakes? OMG they're HUGE!

What on earth does it need ventilated rear discs of that size? They have larger rears than my Bravo has fronts!

Ta for all the help. The prices aren't so frightening away from Fiat prices...

Front Pads: £36.40
Front Discs: £102.17
Rear Pads: £44.60
Rear Discs: £58.72

£241.89 for all new pads and discs sounds good to me. I'll ring them tomorrow to check that they're proper branded stuff.

Do I need any other bits and bobs? I'm taking them to a garage, so they'll have the usual tools, grease etc.

Garage only wants about £40 per axle to fit, so I reckon this has to be the cheapest way to do it.

Doofer said:

Ta for all the help. The prices aren't so frightening away from Fiat prices...

Front Pads: £36.40
Front Discs: £102.17
Rear Pads: £44.60
Rear Discs: £58.72

£241.89 for all new pads and discs sounds good to me. I'll ring them tomorrow to check that they're proper branded stuff.

Do I need any other bits and bobs? I'm taking them to a garage, so they'll have the usual tools, grease etc.

Garage only wants about £40 per axle to fit, so I reckon this has to be the cheapest way to do it.

Click to expand...

Sounds OK, they're vauxhall brakes and don't have any weird internal disc/drum thingies like the Carlton etc used to have (the rear discs were a drum with the handbrake shoes inside the disc..!). I've changed the front pads - the discs wouldn't have taken much getting off if I'd needed to - they were quick and easy to change.

HTH.

DoIDon'tI said:

305mm front & 292 mm rear on the 1.9 16V and 2.4 20V according to the Croma brochure. Front pads / calipers are TRW aka Lucas/Girling.

HTH.

Click to expand...

Considering I am in a Alfa 156 now, just had a rear pads and discs changed. Guess what they are the same as a Mjet 16v Croma.

Even though I have a final generation 156 prior to the 159, Its amazing what Vectra C items are fitted to this car and what other Croma things are fitted.

What PCD are the wheels on your Alfa? The Croma 5 bolt are Vauxhall fitment aren't they, rather than Alfa?

Hellcat said:

What PCD are the wheels on your Alfa? The Croma 5 bolt are Vauxhall fitment aren't they, rather than Alfa?

Click to expand...

Hellcat

Seriously I am surprised into 4 months ownership how much this final edition 156 is GM. It applies to most cars from september 2004 inc the GT / 147

My rear discs and pads are identical to the 16v Mjet Croma I had, as is lots of things.

I am learning daily, and on what Saab's input is as well.

My EGR failed, yep you guessed its same part as for Vectra C, Saab 9-3, Fiat Croma. My gearbox being 6 speed unit is a Vecta C, Saab 9-3 unit, same as fitted to Coma JTD 16v. Clutch and driveshafts are Vectra C. The list goes on.

The only thing that is Alfa is the interior and wheels

But it still puts a big grin on my face while driving it!!!!

Is the 6 speed box notchy like the Croma, or is it smooth? All the multijet 16v owners seem to agree the gearbox is rather stiff compared to similar cars. I know the Bravo and Croma are a world apart when it comes to the gearshift.

I'm going to try and tame a motorfactors and see if I can develop them into a regional expert on Vauxhall Cromas

I think I've just got a cracking deal...

All new brake pads and discs (as above): £252.79 inc del
Four new tyres (these) 225/45/18 95Y: £363.40 inc del
Fitting of all the above at local garage: £100 all in including disposal

They are the second cheapest tyres I could find - the cheapest were some indian CEAT Tornado muck with very bad reviews. The 95Y load/speed rating seems to really bump the price up, most were easily £120+. The Hankooks are very highly rated regardless of price, e.g.:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2009-Auto-Zeitung-Summer-Tyre-Test.htm

Full details in German, but includes lots of figures etc:

http://www.reifen-goeggel.de/website_neu/reifen/pdf/Autobild_14032008.pdf

Are 18s much more expencive than 17s?

I usually haggle the price for Eagle NCT5s down to £100 a corner regardless of the 'fixed' price.

Where did you get the brake parts from and what brand are they?

Hellcat said:

Are 18s much more expencive than 17s?

I usually haggle the price for Eagle NCT5s down to £100 a corner regardless of the 'fixed' price.

Where did you get the brake parts from and what brand are they?

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I had 16's previously, so I noticed the price jump. Don't know about 17's, but I think it's the 95 load rating that adds £££s to the price - I saw loads that were cheaper but only 91 rating (what the cheapskate previous owner had fitted despite 95 being minimum spec). The ones I got were £85-ish each, plus £10 fitting, less a £20 discount on the fitting as I'm having the brakes done at the same time.

Brake bits from www.brakepartssuperstore.org (recommended by FiatFleetFamily)

A mixture of brands, but all reasonable:

Front pads: Mintex
Front discs: Brake Engineering (uk company, looks reasonable from googling)
Rear pads: TRW (Lucas)
Rear discs: Apec Braking

Price also includes some Mintex Cera Tec lube (supposedly better than copper grease).

All sent next day. My only quibble is that he said on the phone that I'd be getting some other brand of rear discs, but not bothered as it's all reasonable stuff.

I saw lots of slightly cheaper discs and pads made by a UK company called EBC. I know nowt about them but from googling saw mixed reports. I don't think they're an OEM manufacturer, but could be wrong - I don't take chances with brakes or tyres.

It seems a bit strange that there doesn't seem to be any official standard for brake parts, e.g. BS - it's all word of mouth. It all seems a bit casual for something so safety-critical. The bloke stated that all their suppliers are ISO9001 accredited, but I've worked in engineering and know that means very little.

EBC are cheaper? I'd have gone EBC for sure if I'd known!

Hellcat said:

EBC are cheaper? I'd have gone EBC for sure if I'd known!

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From what I remember yes. They seem to be either loved or hated. I want boring, dependable OEM quality, not motorsport grade that needs swapping every few months.

A totally unqualified opinion of course. But I've looked through lots of forums and found lots of stories of their pads cracking apart or crumbling. I suppose the people who buy them are probably more likely to thrash them though, e.g. track day racers.

Having said that, I'd expect them to wear out at worst, not fall apart.