really disappointed with performance friction pads
 

so back in feb i sent my car to chevron for a complete suspension overhaul and various other bits which included new discs and pads all round.

i have brembos with stainless lines and fresh fluid. i went with godspeed single piece g-hook discs all round with performance friction pads.

now i did jump the gun back in feb by saying i wasnt impressed with them after my return trip but that was me jumping the gun. i have since followed the bedding in procedure and im still in shock at how bad they are.

even just pulling up to the junction at the end of my road i feel as though im pressing the pedal and there is nothing there,i honestly have 0 confidence in stopping should somebody pull out on me.,there seems to be no initial grab with them.

anybody else had issues with these pads? the ebc's in my old blob sti were 10x better than these.

could there be another issue? the discs/pads i had before i replaced with these were miles better and they were pretty much on their last legs.

im not having a stab @ godspeed, ian has been more than helpful and the service from his company was spot on.

ian if you read this would it be possible that the pads may be faulty?

to bed them in i took the car between 2 roundabouts, up to 70mph then hard braking down to around 20mph around the round about then same again, i did this around 8-9 times and i could smell the burning heat from them which i assumed is the de-glazing. i have now done around 500 miles so far with them. they did seem to get marginally better the hotter they got but i cant drive like that eveywhere.

car is a 2007 hawk sti running 350bhp road use

I had the PFZ pads on a Blob STI with the PF discs, but my experience of them was very positive indeed. Doesn't really help I suppose but I thought they were great.

thats why i went with them as i had read great reviews on them.

When I got my performance friction pads I'm sure the bed in process was 350 A/B road miles and then 5 or 6 times hard braking from 70-20mph ensuring you allow the pads to cool each time.

yeah pretty much what i did

Mime have been spot on. Maybe a bad set of pads then?

to bed them in i took the car between 2 roundabouts, up to 70mph then hard braking down to around 20mph around the round about then same again, i did this around 8-9 times and i could smell the burning heat from them which i assumed is the de-glazing. i have now done around 500 miles so far with them. they did seem to get marginally better the hotter they got but i cant drive like that eveywhere
i may be proved wrong but all you have done is glazed the pads, i was always told 300-500 miles gentle braking to bed them in followed by a spirited drive a few times then use as norma. what you have done is over heated the first couple of mm of pad material making them very hard, as this wears off they may improve

the bedding in was done 1 week ago, i have had the pads in since mid feb and done around 500 miles before the bed in procedure and as far as im aware i have followed the instructions as best i could.

fair enough i have to say i have them on my 4pots and broke them in real nice, black dust is awfull compared to ebc and they are only about 1/3rd worn and only just passed the mot for braking force, thats with totally free ss pistons in the calipers as you not impressed but i suppose compared to the cost of ebc red stuff or yellows you cant moan to much for everyday use

thats another point........i get 0 brake dust, literally hardly anything at all

edit- in fact I can't be bothered getting involved.

Shrek which compound did you go for?As I have been using performance friction pads for years now problem free and rate them highly.SJ.

Not sure,I just ordered the package from Godspeed website

had pf pads on my hatch and they were a top quality product with no issues ever...

It’s probably the Z-rated compound...my only advice would be to try running them in again shrek because the PF pads are a superb pad.SJ.

I also have nothing but positive things to say about the PF Z's. I use them on road and track and from cold or baking they always give a reliable pedal.

Im also on the godspeed 2 piece discs.

What are the options with PF other than the z rated? maybe youve got these instead? ive never explored anything other than z rated as they suit my road/track usage so well.

Your bedding in procedure sounds good to me as well, except i never bother with the 500miles bit. Just fit and do 70mph to 5mph 10 times with no stopping, then a good coasty drive home to make sure theyve cooled down. The smoke and smell is the release agent burning off the pad (so ive been told), so once bedded in you should have a nice layer of material on the disc and the pad surface pulled in to suit it.

I have just (last Thursday night) completed the bedding in of my PF-Z pads with new Godspeed Brembo big brake kit and they are excellent. Although my previous set up was standard WRX calipers and EBC Orange pads so I suppose they should feel good in comparison.

Ian

PF pads
 

Hello Shreky , While I respect the views listed,


Your experience should tell you what you prefer as bite from your pads. It sounds to me as if what you are looking for is a pretty much instantaneous bite. If that's what you want I do like the same , I use DOT 4 Motul RBF , Steel lines , Ian's big brake conversion on standard callipers and get that bite from Ferrodo 2500, on rear to get good bite I use Carbon Lorain RC5 's.


I suspect that the PF's are making everyone else happy due to the superior track performance capability where they are excellent. That is not always what you want when approaching little old ladies and prams on zebra crossings.


Take a good look at the Carbon Lorain web site , they explain the various virtues with graphs that are IMHO easy to interpret , then match you expectations to the nuances explained. ;)

https://pfc.parts/motorsports/pfc-compounds/
As do most performance brake pad companies worth their mustard;).SJ.

thanks buddy, yeah i like some initial grab from the brakes as that gives confidence that the car will stop.

its going to mark @ tdr for a week in 2 weeks time as i need it off the driveway for a week whilst i have all the stuff delivered for my back garden transformation, he will be using the car for a few days to inspect a poor idling issue so i will ask him his opinion of the brakes and maybe get him to take the pads out for inspection.

I bought the same package for my hatch. They were crap pads. No better than the standards. Waste of money. I bought Carbon Lorraine RC5+ and threw the performance frictions half worn and they are ten times the pad!

ahh so its not just me then. were you experiencing the same issues i am?

brilliant on my hatch !!!

Yes mate. I really couldn't tell the difference between them and the standard set up the car came with when I got it. I guess you could call them progressive if you wanted to say something nice about them but as I actually like to stop the bloody car when pushing on I will just call them crap! Lol

Godspeed g hook discs, PF Z rated pads, standard lines and RH665 brake fluid.


RC5+ have great bite and I guarantee are the pad you are after! Work well from cold and amazing with heat in them. Squeal a bit when slowing from slow speeds but you know...because race car... lol

Sha at Pole Position drove my car with both pads and agreed.

I have used PF discs and pads for years now after trying various combinations and have not found a better combination. I found the pads did not work quite as well using other make discs but once the PF discs were back on the car it was noticeable. The combination can out do the grip on my road tyres without too much trouble but they are very good with high grip track tyres.

Shrek their is nothing wrong with performance friction pads at all,i have used the Z-rated compound at 450bhp "Hard Use"with no fade what so ever......rc5+ pads are a different kind of animal they do work very well but...dirty wheels and squealing like a pig is two traits that I could not put up with on a daily,a strictly track car it would not be any bother to me.SJ.

Clue ^^^^.

don't you also find that what one person likes another wont as it is all down to how you drive etc etc....

if all brake pads & discs worked the same you would only need one make as well !!

I'll chime in too...

I've ran them now for 10 yrs+ on a few different cars and love them

95% road use. Cold bite great, modulation good, stinking hot performance spot on (in fact the same as just a bit warm). Minimal dust, no noise, and they are kind to your discs

Your bedding in procedure seems a little suspect. 2 brakes is no-where near enough. I usually do a 20 mile run with light braking 60 to 40. Build back up to 60 for a mile or so and repeat a number of times (at least half a dozen), you should be feeling the brakes biting at this stage.

Then increase the braking force and speed so a couple of 70 to 40 at moderate levels. Keep feeling what the bite is like and let the brakes cool in-between. I don't think should smell them. IMO, that's a sign you've over-done things

After that lot you should be getting close. Keep using/building

I would suggest removing the pads and giving them a light rubbing to remove any possible glaze and starting again

They really are great pads. My hatch came with AP 6-pots and AP pads (who use DS2500's I think). They were wooden and never performed well, so I swapped them out for PF-Z's. Bedded in like above and now the braking is where it should be. Just got back from a 300 miler round north wales - epic :)

Totally agree with your bedding in procedure may well be suspect....

I recently fitted new discs and pads on my car and bedding them in well and they are all working perfectly well....