ST-X

So I’m looking for a bit of brake pad advice from people. Currently I’ve got AP CP5200 4 pot calipers on the front and a set of standard WRX 2 pot calipers on the back. In the front I have a set of EBC Orangestuff pads which have lasted 4 years, and a set of Redstuff pads in the back which have lasted less than 18 months. The Reds ended up being used as it was all I could get locally at the time when one of the old pads delaminated. Previously I’ve used Mintex M1166 and liked them but was put off getting another set as they delaminated when they were only about 30% worn – it looked like they’d corroded off the backing plate.

The Oranges seem to be pretty good at holding their own, and work pretty well from cold although sometimes I find I don’t actually use the brakes enough to get them up to temperature to really make the most of them. The problem there is that using a pad with a lower operating temperature is that they then overheat when I do end up on a road where you’re using them a lot… Personally I’d rather go for a pad that works consistently even if it does take a little warm up over something that falls off a cliff ala Redstuff.

So what are my options?

EBC Orangestuff – I see these are now available for the rear as well as the front, although the fronts have gone up c50% since I first bought them!

Mintex M1155 – these do get good reviews but it’s hard to objectively place them against the M1166 and the Orangestuff as there aren’t many comparative reviews.

Cosworth TrackMaster – available for the front at a steal right now, but are they actually worth it? The Streetmasters don’t get glowing reviews so I’m inclined to view them as an equivalent to the Redstuff. Do the Tracks take much heating to actually work on the public road?

Ferodo DS2500 – the go to but also spectacularly expensive. If I was spending this money I think there are probably some better options out there.

I’ve discounted the PF and CL options as they just seem so prohibitively priced (and therefore probably the DS2500 for similar reasons). I’m happy enough with the longevity and performance of the OrangeStuff, I’m just curious as to whether there’s anything out there that’s perhaps worth considering. Any other options to consider too?

Cheers!

stockcar

Cosworth pads are simply E*C in disguise i believe...........simply "badge engineering" / personally won't use either as they are 'wooden' at best.........

ds2500 & PFC Z-rated in the 5200 AP shape are not particularly expensive IMO and will give a far better stop in all conditions

ultimately you get what you pay for

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

As Above......SJ.

ST-X

Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. It's interesting you say the Cosworth pads are re-branded EBC's. Do you happen to know what compounds are what? StreetMaster = Red, TrackMaster = Yellow or Blue?

It's also interesting you say the DS2500 are better than the Oranges as I found the opposite. From what I can see the PF Z's are over £100 more for a set of front only pads and I've seen reports that their cold performance isn't as good. While I'm willing to sacrifice a little cold performance to get better stability at higher temps, I'm not willing to throw it away totally. I also can't see them listed anywhere for WRX rear calipers and I would ideally match the pads front to back.

Also, StoneJedi, what makes you agree with Stockcar? I'm not challenging you but I'm also one for taking answers at face value without trying to understand why someone suggests one option over another.

Ultimately pretty happy with the Orangestuffs with both performance and life, especially given a full front and back set is a little over £170. Unless a set of something else lasts twice as long and works better at all temperatures I'm not really seeing any reason to change at this point in time...which I guess is the point of asking the questions on here in the first place!

Cheers.

stockcar

ds2500 is just over £150inc. at RRP & the PFC Z-rated are less (and thats before any deals / discounts) so not sure where you get E*C at £50??

maybe you need to price them at the 'right' company............

have personally tested various pads over the years and have never seen anything from E*C that would change my view, currently run PFC Z-rated in my own personal car and have just recently completed some work with a customers RB5 complete with ds2500 for comparison

both cars stop instantly even when cold BUT they do tend to be susceptible to poor 'bedding' which can glaze the pad surface and hence lead to low performance

siluro

I run PFC Z-rated and they are great. Good stopping cold and better when hot. Why would you skimp on brakes the 2nd most important parts on your car. The 1st being tyres, do not skimp there either as no matter what pads you put in if tyres are crap.............

Heard good things about DS2500. I have tried Kevlar and they are rubbish. That 3 votes for PFC.

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

My answer is based on personal experience as I have used most of the brake pads that have already been mentioned,give or take some different compounds...E*C brake pads are SH1TE!,but if you personally find the orange pads acceptable then go for it as braking will always come down to user functionality and what the user is comfortable with,i will always praise Performance Friction Compounds as I have been using them for well over 17 years now on numerous cars and they have never faded on me and the modulation of their performance when in use are superb,Always try to spec a pad for your intended use and driving style.SJ.

SouthWalesSam

iTrader: (1)

I stayed with DS2500s on PFC rotors on my disk and pads change last month.
It was the good all round performance and long 5-year pad life that made me choose to go for the same again.

ST-X

Thanks - that wasn't intended as a personal sleight or anything like that, it's just quite hard to quantify people's experience online. Are they simply parroting what other people say, or are they from personal experience? And if personal experience, is it in any way relevant to the question? I'm not doubting the performance of PFC, simply questioning whether they're actually likely to give me any benefit over what I've currently got in the AP's. The Redstuff's on the back I will gladly agree with you on but the Orangestuff's seem to be a totally different ballgame. They certainly felt better than the M1166's I had, and it's not as though those pads are viewed poorly.

I'm not sure if you're suggesting I'm trying to skimp on the brakes here? I am certainly not doing that! The DS2500's I've used in the past were okay, and pretty good all round. But I preferred the M1166 and then preferred the Orangestuff to them again. Does this sound like I'm skimping? The Redstuff's certainly have been poor compared to the Orangestuff but even then, I'd hardly say they were rubbish, just that they weren't up to really high temperatures. That hardly makes them dangerous unless you're using them on a track, you just adapt and don't push them so hard.

Rusti

iTrader: (4)

I would add Project MU to the mix, I have run them on both a forester and my hatch and found them good.


I have also run PFC on my hawk which were good particularly from cold and DS2500 on a DC5 which were crazy dusty but very good.

siluro

I was not trying to say you were skimping, just putting my 2 cents up, sorry but my post does sound that way. Other people may read this and decide to not skimp. Too many people forget brakes and tyres and just go for power or bling.

If you have APs on the front then no your not skimping at all, they are not cheap plus all the compounds you have tried. You did say "I’ve discounted the PF and CL options as they just seem so prohibitively priced (and therefore probably the DS2500 for similar reasons)." and yes the CLs are pricey but I think my PFC pads are worth the extra IMO. Brakes can be subjective so i suppose the only real advice i gave YOU is not to use Kevlar on the rear. (which I guess is skimping) The standard brakes on my wrx were shocking, fade if you look at the pedal, which I replaced with a Brembo setup before any other mods.

Please lets the forum know what you picked and if they were any good.

ST-X

Okay, I’ll give you that one. What I meant by prohibitive was when a quick look came up with c£200 per end!

I wasn’t blown away by the German made Godspeed Kevlar pads either but even then they’re not exactly dangerous if you have them in a stock car, just a bit underwhelming. It’s all
about use. I’m not the biggest fan of pads which really require a chemical layer of deposit on the disc to work at their best as it means that after a week or two of gentle driving you’re back at having to give the pads a run in to really get them back to their best. I’ll see what I end up with and report back.

nufctoon

How do the project mu fair in comparison against the pfc pads?