EBC Yellows a bit crap?
 

Hi all,

Have a Hawk WRX and find the brakes a bit naff for spirited driving. They are ok day to day but anything more they cannot cope. The pedal will basically go to the floor after braking hard 4-5 times. ease off a little and allow them to cool and all ok.
Confident no air in lines as bled a few times to be sure.

Brakes are the 4 pots but they have HEL Braided lines, Gulf Racing DOT 5.1 fluid, EBC Vortex disks and EBC yellow pads all round.
Just amazed at how poor they are.

Any other pads I should consider or is it simply how it is and I am better off getting bigger brakes?

thanks,

HI
If you lose the pedal , that is usually the fluid boiling , not pads , although the yellowstuff pads are not our cup of tea .

A very good , well priced pad is the CL RC5+ , these give very good bite , bigger will always be better , but you can make what you have work very well

Cheers Ian

Hi Ian, Was just looking at your website funny enough.
I totally agree on the boiling... But after only 4-5 firm stops? I went for the Gulf racing fluid as it states it has a high boiling point.
Is a bit disconcerting when the pedal near enough goes to the floor. does still stop but no feeling.

I was considering the Ferodo DS2500's but will check the CL RC5+ out.

thanks,

HI
If the pads are fading , then the pedal stays firm but doesn't seem to want to stop the car , if the fluid boils the pedal will hit the floor , but then come back once the fluid cools.

I have not tried the fluid you have so cannot comment on it , it may have a higher boiling point than standard , but you still might be going over it.

I would recommend the CL RC5+'s over the DS2500's , a much better all round performing pad , and a lot cheaper as well

Cheers Ian

Interesting read, I need new front pads soon (wrx 4 pots) not overly impressed with the mintex ones I put on last, they have lasted about 7,000 miles, so I estimate maybe 8-10k total.
Very dirty pads though!
I will have to go look at your website and price these pads (CLRC5+)

Ouft £125. That will be a negative

Ian, Any recommendations on fluid? Just looking at the the Gulf RF800 and RF1000. They have a much higher boiling point than the Gulf racing fluid. Not looking to be cheap just don't want it to spend a fortune on fluid and it not rectify the issue.


Boosted - What Mintex pads are they? the 'performance' Mintex pads are over £100 a set.
If just cheap ones then look at Pagid from your local ECP. Currently £25.14 with their winter sale
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Su...4f3fa6b&000036

I paid £180 for drilled and grooved discs with red boxed mintex pads all round at the beginning of the year. Not sure on exact model of pads, they do work, just very dusty. But then I am quite hard on them.

red boxed pads are simply an OEM style and not the best...............

fluid wise then the likes of Motul dot5.1 works very well for a fast road car, Motul RBF600 for track type use and the ultimate is PFC RH665..............

Went for the Gulf RF800 because has a boiling point of 305c. hope 3 bottles is enough lol.
Will stick with the pad/disc combo I have until I have changed the fluid to see if this improves things.

Have you defo bedded the pads in correctly?


A good road pad would be Mintex 1144 or ferodo 2500. Brake fluid I've always used ap 5.1 dot

Yep I am pretty confident I have bedded the pads in. As I say day to day driving they are perfect and infinitely better than when I 1st purchase the car.
Just on the rare occasion I give them some abuse they cannot cope.

Going to see how it fairs after the fluid change. No point binning expensive pads for the sake of it just yet.

cheers,

Just to add , when fitting new pads , the final part of bedding them in is getting them very hot which usually means they fade out , and then once they have cooled right off , they will be good from there on.
When they faded on you , was it the first time they had been used in anger ?

I have had the brakes very hot in the past.. ok I will admit probably not as hot as I did on this occasion but they do tend to get abuse from time to time.
all other previous times the pedal has had a little more travel than usual but not to this extent.. It truly was near enough on the floor.

Sounds like fluid then , all the pistons free to move easily in the calipers ?

They did when I fitted the pads around April time. But when bleeding the new fluid I will check them all and copper slip them up just to be sure :)

Finally got round to changing the fluid. I was considering going for a set of Brembo's but I cannot justify the cost at present.
The first few pumps of fluid that came out the front was black!! rear was ok colour wise.

I think the fluid must have boiled. Instantly the brakes feel better and the pedal travel is less than before. I have given the brakes some abuse the last few days and no sign of brake fade or pedal going to the floor.

The only thing that did surprise me was how much the master cylinder moves when depressing the brake pedal. I have been sucked in and ordered a brake stopper from Tegiwa. :)

seems to me that if you want to drive the way you drive, you need a set of bigger/thicker discs to absorb more heat (bigger disc = more thermal mass), as well as some fresh/decent pads, as well as the fresh fluid.

I'm very happy with my EBC yellow pads on K-Sports bb kit, i'm using it on a classic and braking on trackday is amazingly good and they keep on braking. Something my standard brakes were never able to do no matter which discs or pads i used.

I wouldn't say I drive it hard all the time.. far from it. It is nice to have confidence in your brakes when you need them though.
I have been tempted with the Brembo setup for ages but I keep telling myself I do not 'need' them.

might be worth re-bleading the system 1 last time to make sure all the crap is out of the lines - eve if not for a bit of peace of mind but it cant hurt!

I have planned to bleed them once more to be sure.
The brake stopper is a nice addition. gives a better pedal feel and helps to be a bit more progressive with the braking.