Claus , I dont think yours were in the problem batch as you had your kit before the group buy , I can send you some if you want to swap them to put your mind at rest.

If you are getting any noises it could be the spring clips , you do need to bend them a bit to change the shape to get them to fit with the bigger pads , they could be close to the wheel if this isnt done.

Cheers Ian

 

RB5Caterham,

I am refering to the pins that hold the pads and not the springs. I had to bend the ends of the split pins until they were tight against the rear of the calliper to make sure they dont move. Thats all I'm afraid mate.

I think that the springs are a better idea as I have scratched my beautifully painted callipers, boo hoo!!

 

Just to say, took my car up to Elvington with BookaTrack at the weekend and the brakes were great Had no issues with them all day, even with the long main straight braking sharply down from circa 100mph each lap.

To be honest though, the instructor did say I could do with braking harder But still, they performed brilliantly all day.

Cheers again Ian

John (ps Ian - I havent forgotten about sending you back that stuff, I have a few things to send off to various places and hopefully will have everything ready to go by this pm or tomorrow.)

 

Mine's developed a wobble/vibration under braking. Any ideas? Only got the kit from the group buy a few weeks back.

 

Phil,
Do you use them gently most of the time??

If yes, go out and make em work for their living, they need using!!!

 

Most of the time just normal driving with easy approaches to roundabouts etc. I can't say I do many aggresive brakes. How much use and why?

 

PhilA,

What pads do you have on your kit? I have the exact same thing with my Ferodo DS2500 pads. Seems they leave uneven build-up on the discs if you don't use them hard. Usually takes a few big stops (100mph+) to clean them up.

If I decide to keep my current car, I'd probably try some Mintex or EBC pads next.

Stefan

 

I have Ferodo pads as well. How long you had your disks?

 

Hmm, probably about 8-9 mths.

 

Do you have this problem now? Or did you have it in the past, when?

 

Problem started soon after I fitted the disks as I was using them gently to bed them in. Got really bad, then Ian told me to go out and do some big stops. He even sent me some replacement discs/bells just in case.

Problem went away, but if I use them hard and generate a lot of heat it seems to come back if I use them gently afterwards.

John Felstead mentioned on the 22b BBS that he had a vibration problem in his AP setup using the Ferodo pads and reckoned they just didn't like the heat from large rotors.

Brakes are fine if I give them serious abuse.

Stefan

 

So it sounds like the pads. I'll have to brake harder or change my pads? Mmmmmm. Why does Ian bother with the Ferrodo pads if it cause this problem, people would be better off with the Mintex ones?

 

I have the Mintex pads and they dont seem to give the same trouble as the Ferodo versions seem to be giving you guys. Loads of brake dust though.

 

Well, I was one of the first to wait for the Ferodo's in Ian's kit coz I'd heard som every good reports about them - lack of fade, little brake dust, perform well even when cold and no squeel.

To be fair to Ian he'll try to supply whatever we want, but it's good if we can provide some feedback both good and bad.

EBC pads used to be ****, but their new compounds look very promising. Certainly the test John Felstead did provide good reading.

Welloilbeefhooked,

Other than excess dust, what's the Mintex like? and which compound do you have?

Stefan

 

Stefan,

They are 1144's. I get a bit of squeal after around-town driving that stops as soon as you give them a bit of stick. It seems to clean them up and there is no squeal for a while, then it comes back. Its not that bad to be honest, so I'm not worried and dont see any point changing them for another brand, especially after reading the posts above.

As for performance, I did a very quick (read as too quick) run up the A57 snake pass a couple of weeks back and had no fade whatsoever. In fact the hotter they were, the better they worked. I do think that my rears let the car down quite a bit and have been wondering if they maybe fade out, even if the fronts dont? not sure though.

The rears are standard vented discs and some Zerosports pads. Not sure how good these are, but I'm in the process of upgrading to 2 pot rears and larger discs if I can get hold of some new age STI rears.

Wayne.

 

Done 1000 miles with this kit using Ferrodos and all i can say is WOW!!!!!!!
I have tried everthing to make them fade,but not a chance.......
Had no probs with sqealing brakes yet...I do jetwash wheels and brakes once a week ,and drive fairly hard though,maybe i aint giving them a chance to complain..

 

Wayne,

I'd be really surprised if you need to fit 2-pots or larger rotors to the rear. Do you feel the braking is unstable or diving too much?

Some more agressive rear pads could be all that's needed to address any unbalance. I've some cheap Kvlar pads on the rear and I'll be changing them soon.

Stefan

 

The rattle I got was caused by not using the spring clips at all. After installing them, no probs. And they didn´t need any bending (I use OZ Superleggera 17"). The brakes have been perfect all the way, and I´ve used them for about 6000 miles now. A little squealing in the beginning caused by the edge that develops on the top of the pads because they are higher than the discs. After grinding the edge down everything has been quiet. What I don´t like though is that the caliper is not centered around the disc. Maybe you could send some washers with different thickness along with the new bolts, Ian?

Going to the Ring next month. Looking forward to testing the brakes for real.

 

What pads are you running TARManiAC?

And, out of interest, what spring clips are you talking about?

Stefan

 

TARManiAC,
A quick word of advice mate, take a new set of pads with you, I did a trackday recently, and because of the pad not having equal piston pressure all over, I ended up with wedge shaped pads!!

 

I´m using Ferodo DS2500 and so far no probs, but also didn´t give them a real tough job yet. Will report back after Nurburgring.

The clips are the gold coloured plates holding the pads so they don´t rattle.

Ron, thanks for the tip. Is there any way to solve this problem? Maybe using OE size pads? How are your brakes doing overall?

 

You can use the OE pads, but they won't provide as much braking force as the large pads. Ian commented on this last week and said the difference is pretty large.

I wonder if runnign OE pads would have any untoward wear patterns on the discs. Guess that would only be the case if you used pads for a long time.

Stefan

 

Overall the kit is fantastic, the only downer I've found so far is this wedge pad issue, I run Mintex 1144's, and they were fine on the road, but after only 140 miles on track, they were wedge shaped!! just goes to show how they get used on the road, even though I think I push them! I clearly don't!! wasn't chuffed as the pads were not far off new, and now they're in the bin!!

 

Good stopping power, there's no doubt. But people (like myself) are getting wierd noises like the pads catching the disk, even though I have just freed them off and my steering wheel wobbles under havy braking which implies something is not right, not sure what yet.

 

I'm currently trying to battle against the wheel wobble/vibration. After i give them a good hard thrashing it seesm to go, but tootle about and it's back . May try a different set of pads.... has anybody with Mintex pads suffered the same (or maybe EBC reds)?

Tony.

 

are you using ferrodo pads? how long you had the kit? I think I may have to fork out some dosh and try mintex pads. If that doesn't sort it I think I'll remove the discs and fit some different ones.

 

Phil,

I've checked my details from Ian and I've had my kit for almost 12 months exactly. Mine still vibrates, but only under light to moderate braking. It's more noticeable at higher speeds though. For example, if I'm doing 70-90 and have to brake down to 50 or 70 applying some normal pressure the wobble starts.

If I go down some B-road at 90 and brake hard and late, they're fine Personally, I suspect the pads more than the discs.

Can I ask if you're using the split pins supplied in Ian's kit?

Stefan

 

I would say mine's noticeable all the time. It wobbles less under light braking but you can feel the vibrations through the pedal, and it's very noticeable under hard braking.

Yes I'm using the split pins supplied. You didn't say which pads you have.

 

Ferodo DS2500, if that questions directed at me.

Stefan