kryten

Well, I've managed to warp my Prodrive/Alcons somehow

I've had them on the car for less than 3000 miles!! They've been replaced under warranty today but I was just pretty amazed as I've not seen anything about the Alcons warping before.

Now I know I've done two track evenings (Donington and Bedford), though that probably only accounted for about 200 miles of track usage but the pads are also very worn and really need replacing.

Is 3000 miles a normal sort of wear rate for DS2000 pads with the Alcons? Shouldn't they be replaced along with the discs anyway, due to uneven wear from the warped disc?

Anyway, I need to figure out what to do for the future as I don't really want to be replacing pads every 3k as it will get a little expensive. The rear pads are also prodrive DS2000 - not quite as badly worn but not too far off.

Would I be better off putting in a set of DS3000 for the track outings? I'm not sure that this accounted for a huge amount of the wear as the wheels are _constantly_ covered in brown brake dust, no matter how often I clean them.

There's so much brake dust anyway, would it be worth going for DS3000 the whole time?

Or is the only solution to remove the lead from my right foot?!

slimshady

martyn,
fancy buying a set of 4 pots with ebc discs from an rb5 ? one careful owner !! lol- seriously, though i thought that the alcon kit was meant to come with ds 3000 anyway and not the 2000's ?
slim

Mac's Power

The DS3000 were giving problems so prodrive replaced them with DS2000's. I had the same pad wear. After 40 minutes on track I had no pads left. I have since replaced with DS3000 but now my discs are cracking!!

Paul.

chuckster

Do you always allow the brakes to cool before parking the car? Main reason for discs warping is people doing track days and coming into pits off a hot lap and parking up. The same could happen if you went from a mental B road blast to standstill.
DS3k's would almost certainly ruin your road wheels unless you washed them after every outing IMHO, they killed mine.
My DS2000 experience has been good though.
Your pad life doesn't seem great, but then 200 miles on track is pretty significant, especially if you tend to rest on the brakes before corners.
Chuck

kryten

slim - very funny

I always cool the brakes after a run, on road or track so I'm not sure why they warped.

I'm a bit more worried about the pad life two of them are right down to the 2mm minimum, the others are just under 3mm.

I know they are a consumable item, but I didn't expect eat them up at this rate!

I may get a set of DS3000 to take to Bedford in August to see if that helps - would this be a good idea?

chuckster

My DS3000's were almost to the metal after less than 3000 miles
They bite incredibly well when hot, but eat the discs and wear quickly.
Sorry mate, it's bad news all round.
Big brakes = big bills
If you had a set of 3K's for track use only that may make sense, as long as you are comfortable swapping the pads over to 2K's after.
Regards
Chuck

kryten

Just been out doing the bedding in process - after the 60-70mph stops the pads were starting to smoke a little - are they meant to do that (it may have been the grease)??

Also, I'm still skeptical about whether these pads are DS2000/3000 - is there any way to tell from just looking at a worn set??

kryten

So, does anyone change their DS2000s for DS3000s on track?

I assume the wear rate is higher at the higher track temps - would DS3000s last longer??

Oh yeah, being a complete idiot when it comes to mechanical stuff - I assume changing the pads wouldn't take long...Do I need to rebleed afterwards...?

Hoppy

So what have we got here. Martin (Kryten) has warped Prodrive/Alcon discs and Paul's are cracking! I've not heard of this before and it's not very satisfactory for a £1,500 upgrade. Have you guys reported this directly to Mike Woods at Prodrive? I guess we could all have our theories, but what was his response? Are there no other pad choices for these calipers?

Mart, I know a lot of people talk about changing their pads for track use, but how many actually do it? It's a good plan, though. But I would change the pads a few days before just to settle them in properly, and forget changing them back at the track unless you've got asbestos fingers. It's a very easy job though and there's no brake bleeding required.

Ferodo have a DS2500 compound coming out shortly. Could be the answer. Don't ask me when, ask them!

Richard.

Mac's Power

Yes I have e-mailed Mike Wood on this one and he suggests changing pads from DS2000 to DS3000 for track use. As i do one track day per month this is a little annoying but it's what I'm doing. I change them before the drive to the track and again when I get home.
I've got a lot of small cracks but I'm told that this nothing to worry about unless they crack right through. My DS2000 only lasted 1 day on track and 800 miles on road and my DS3000 have now done 3 track days but i don't think there is another one left in them as they are down to 3 mm !!

Expensive Hobby,
BTW my other car runs Brembos with Pagid Blues and while I think that the prodrive ones stop me better these seem to last forever ??

Paul.

Pete Croney

Paul

I'm certain you can get Pagid RS42 pads for Alcon calipers. You would need to speak to Alcon to find out the caliper part number.

Mac's Power

Thanks Pete,
I checked and I can get Pagid Blue's for the Alcon setup but I have decided to give the DS4000 pads a chance and see what they are like.

Paul.

Trouser

Just to let you know guys....

Ferodo do a BLINDING DS 4003 pad that drops neatly into the Alcon's.

Probably the ideal compromise.

We just happen to have a set or two on the shelf ... and Alcon braided lines as well

Hope this helps

Cheers

Paul TSL Motorsport

kryten

Thanks for all the advice, though I'm still not really any clearer on what to do next!

There seems to be a big choice of pads (DS2000/3000/4000/4003) or Pagid that fit so I may try something different.

I know the DS2000 generated a LOT of brake dust before, but after a run to/from site yesterday (115 miles, mostly motorway/dual carriageway) I noticed that the driver's side front TYRE is stained brown with it!!!

I'm beginning to wonder if there's something wrong with the caliper as I can't see that there should be that much dust coming off them. Also, my wheels appear to be totally stained from all the dust

And does anyone change their pads for track days, or just use their normal pads. After having seen the cost of new discs for the Alcons (OUCH!) I really don't want to eat them away if I can help it.

So, a disc friendly pad, that doesn't leave dust all over the wheels, lasts for ages and stops like hitting a brick wall would be nice, though I think there may be some problem with the laws of physics there....

Trouser

Hi Kryten.

sorry to keep banging on about these. I'm not saying that they are the only fantastic pad out there, but DS4003's do seem to provide silly stopping with easy cleaning.

We all run these as every day pads, but two track days on Dad's car later...there's still plenty left. ... discs too!

Me also being a lazy bugger, means i don't like cleaning. Even one quick squirt of boggo "wonder wheels" gets this dust off... even after a week on Scotlands awesome 'B' roads

Perhaps i just don't drive as hard as you mate!

Cheers

Paul
TSL Motorsport