Technical ferodo brake pads
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Technical ferodo brake pads
Hi, I am in Limerick, I just refurbished all the calipers myself and have good brakes, they get seized very easily, I believe they were OK day one so why waste money on upgrades, after all they are not powerful or spectacular performers. bring brakes to new condition and there won't be any problems,
T
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jimbro1000
Established member
The brakes themselves are more than capable for the car - the reason they don't perform particularly well in most peoples opinions is a) no brake servo, and b) the calipers stick in the mountings.
A swap to the later design used on the Uno (preferably the uno turbo) solves this as they don't stick anything like as readily but you need the whole brake assembly not just the caliper.
The brake servo bit is just something that most drivers are used to, it doesn't actually change the performance of the brakes themselves, just how they feel.
If you don't want to change the calipers then the best option is regular maintenance, replace all of the flexible pipework, good pads and good brake fluid.
The maintenance need only be giving the caliper mountings a clean up once a month - a bit messy and fiddly but easy enough to do and it makes a huge difference.
The X1/9 was slated by journalists for its on/off brakes but having played around with it was my deduction that the press cars just hadn't been serviced properly. If the calipers start to stick they don't work progressively and you can find yourself locking up very easily. Modern brake pads do a lot to help the situation too.
One last point - the brake discs are quite soft. On the original asbestos fibre based pads the discs would last maybe one or two pad changes. With modern pads the lifespan is much shorter and they typically wear down as fast as the pads do. Just because they appear to be within wear limits doesn't mean it isn't affecting performance. The solid discs are quite thin to start with so it doesn't take much to wear them away to a point where it becomes a problem. The upside is they aren't expensive - a pair of discs typically costs about as much as the pads.
I've tried everything on my cars over the years, from basic servicing (ie just ignore the brakes til they wear out) through simple upgrades through to top end complete replacements and to be honest the maintenance described above is the most effective and significant improvement for road use. Everything else needed serious track time before you could tell the difference.
A swap to the later design used on the Uno (preferably the uno turbo) solves this as they don't stick anything like as readily but you need the whole brake assembly not just the caliper.
The brake servo bit is just something that most drivers are used to, it doesn't actually change the performance of the brakes themselves, just how they feel.
If you don't want to change the calipers then the best option is regular maintenance, replace all of the flexible pipework, good pads and good brake fluid.
The maintenance need only be giving the caliper mountings a clean up once a month - a bit messy and fiddly but easy enough to do and it makes a huge difference.
The X1/9 was slated by journalists for its on/off brakes but having played around with it was my deduction that the press cars just hadn't been serviced properly. If the calipers start to stick they don't work progressively and you can find yourself locking up very easily. Modern brake pads do a lot to help the situation too.
One last point - the brake discs are quite soft. On the original asbestos fibre based pads the discs would last maybe one or two pad changes. With modern pads the lifespan is much shorter and they typically wear down as fast as the pads do. Just because they appear to be within wear limits doesn't mean it isn't affecting performance. The solid discs are quite thin to start with so it doesn't take much to wear them away to a point where it becomes a problem. The upside is they aren't expensive - a pair of discs typically costs about as much as the pads.
I've tried everything on my cars over the years, from basic servicing (ie just ignore the brakes til they wear out) through simple upgrades through to top end complete replacements and to be honest the maintenance described above is the most effective and significant improvement for road use. Everything else needed serious track time before you could tell the difference.
Hi ...about the breaks..
- i changed the breaking hoses all around the car (not braided)
- i repaired all calipers
-new discs, pads, master cylinder
- new DOT 4 breaking liquid
-many times bleaded
- coper grease everywhere possible (not on pads...)
- hand break set properly
The breaks still feel spongy.
Now when is wet , they sometimes locking (i put 25kg sand bag temporary in the bonet ...it helps ...)
I will see after 100 km of drive ...
- i changed the breaking hoses all around the car (not braided)
- i repaired all calipers
-new discs, pads, master cylinder
- new DOT 4 breaking liquid
-many times bleaded
- coper grease everywhere possible (not on pads...)
- hand break set properly
The breaks still feel spongy.
Now when is wet , they sometimes locking (i put 25kg sand bag temporary in the bonet ...it helps ...)
I will see after 100 km of drive ...
If you are wanting parts, post a wanted ad 
jimbro1000
Established member
If the brakes still feel spongy after that then you most likely have a leak somewhere - not necessarily external. Normally I would say it is the master cylinder but you say it is a new unit so fairly unlikely (but not impossible).
Does the pedal get harder with pumping? Or is it always a bit spongy?
Part of this is the problem I mentioned with direct brakes instead of servo assisted. Servo brakes tend to "feel" harder simply because of the pedal ratio.
The sudden lock up you mention is indicative of the caliper sticking, either the piston not moving smoothly or the caliper sticking in the frame. The brake will lock up though in the wet simply because the tyres don't have the grip and the brakes are capable of exceeding the available braking force.
Some pads make it worse as they are not as progressive as others, EBC green stuff pads are a common factor that I come across. The black stuff pads are actually better (they used to be rated as green stuff but the new v2 pads replaced them and they replaced the old black stuff with the old green stuff - if that makes any sense).
Another possibility is tyre pressure, the front end of the car is very light and needs a lower tyre pressure to get the balance right. If sticking a bag of sand in the front then it may well be that you have too high pressure in the fronts.
Does the pedal get harder with pumping? Or is it always a bit spongy?
Part of this is the problem I mentioned with direct brakes instead of servo assisted. Servo brakes tend to "feel" harder simply because of the pedal ratio.
The sudden lock up you mention is indicative of the caliper sticking, either the piston not moving smoothly or the caliper sticking in the frame. The brake will lock up though in the wet simply because the tyres don't have the grip and the brakes are capable of exceeding the available braking force.
Some pads make it worse as they are not as progressive as others, EBC green stuff pads are a common factor that I come across. The black stuff pads are actually better (they used to be rated as green stuff but the new v2 pads replaced them and they replaced the old black stuff with the old green stuff - if that makes any sense).
Another possibility is tyre pressure, the front end of the car is very light and needs a lower tyre pressure to get the balance right. If sticking a bag of sand in the front then it may well be that you have too high pressure in the fronts.
