Author Topic: Brake Discs and Pads - which brand have you fitted?  (Read 8936 times)

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Offline zippy_6

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Brake Discs and Pads - which brand have you fitted?
« on: December 06, 2016, 01:07:41 pm »
I need to change the front brake discs and rear brake pads on my 6. Two questions:
  • Would you trust your brake fitting to a parts-fitting company in the category of ATS/Halfords/Kwik-Fit/Nationwide, or go to a full-service garage, considering it's the one thing that you need to be 100% sure of? What I'm really interested in is whether people here think there's a difference in the case of brake-fitting, rather than the good or bad reputation of these brands.
  • Which brand of brake discs/pads do you recommend from experience, e.g. Mintex, Pagid, Brembo, etc.. Put another way, which brands are to be absolutely avoided?

Offline makkmartono

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Re: Brake Discs and Pads - which brand have you fitted?
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2016, 08:31:57 pm »
I used Mintex before. Not great at all. Pagid and ATE are great. Brembo meant to be decent but I think it is a bit more expensive than the rest of the brands.
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Offline makkmartono

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Re: Brake Discs and Pads - which brand have you fitted?
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2016, 08:33:32 pm »
And sorry do mt go to those garages. Choose someone who can be trusted with such job. Read reviews before you visit any garage.
Skoda Octavia vRS 230 DSG Hatch
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Offline MartinZoomZoom

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Re: Brake Discs and Pads - which brand have you fitted?
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2017, 11:52:40 am »
Some information which may help.

Firstly regarding who fits the brake pads (I do my own). Although absolutely critical, this is probably one of the easiest and straightforward jobs on any car, so although I am not at all keen on having mechanical work done at a fast fit tyre garage, this is one thing that they should be able to do. Having said that, they will probably fit the cheapest nastiest pads, so be sure that you specify and insist on which make are fitted.

As for which make of pads to fit, I would recommend Delphi (formerly AP Lockheed and F1 supplier), Ferrodo, Lucas/Girling/TRW (if you can find them!). I replaced the Japanese pads with Delphi which made a big improvement, not in stopping as previous did that well but snatched making a smooth stop very difficult. Basically the brakes were full on or full off. With the Delphi the braking is progressive, far more driveable but still does the emergency stop to the max when called for (due to other drivers doing something silly obviously!). Pagid make a real sticky mess of your wheels from what I have seen, but I haven't used them for some time.

I found a problem getting the old pads out. The callipers on my car had some copper spring clips between the edge of the pads and the sliders. These were so tight, jammed in fact causing one pad to wear out. Removing the pads involved hitting very hard with a hammer, no other way. I decided after serious examination and much consideration to fit the new ones leaving these clips out. After all other cars do not have these. Not a decision I came to lightly but I could see no need for them and they caused all of the problems. The road test seemed fine so left it like that. The MOT was soon due so got that done as the ultimate and severe test their would find any issues. None at all, brake test spot on. Would be interested to hear if anyone else had any issues with these clips, or if they have been deleted from later production. I suspect that the production pads may have been smaller in that area with the clips and later pads were bigger without clips.

Offline Cee-Jay-Cee

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Re: Brake Discs and Pads - which brand have you fitted?
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2017, 01:56:14 pm »
I have Delphi pads in my car too and they fit perfectly with the spring clips. The pads will rattle on rough ground without the spring slips. The pads didn't need any grinding (like many pads do) before fitting. I'm undecided on the stopping power of the Delphi pads, I get what your saying about them being progressive but I actually prefer a harder initial bite (on/off as you call it) Its more re-assuring. The Delphi pads stop the car very well and allow for more precise modulation but I guess I'm old school and prefer a nice firm bite and I'll learn how best to modulate myself within a day or two. Saying that, brake dust is minimal with the Delphi pads which is a good thing as I've found EBC, Pagid and Mintex to be very dusty (on previous cars)