crispyduck

iTrader: (1)

Scoobynet'ers,

I'm due for new fronts pads on MY03 WRX. Dealer wants £145 (all in), trusted alternative local scooby specialist wants £135 (all in). It got me thinking about alternatives, as I'm 'handy' so can replace my own pads if required and not that fussed if that messes my warranty for say disks.

Anyway, I found a company/guy called Nippon Auto Parts on Ebay. He sells two variants:

1. Brembo Caliper type pads
2. Japanese Caliper type pads

At under £20 these are very cheep and I have come to 'the community' to see if you think this is too good to be true. Also interested in anyone's comments (on here or PM in confidence) if you have used this company before or think the pads will not be at least as good as the original equipment.

Also, anyone know if I have Brembo or Japanese type pads? as the company did not actually answer my same question, only stating that they do the above types.

Regards,
-Steve.
P.S: I have no interest or connection with the above company - simply seeking advice being a cautious buyer.

Leagro

Personally, i wouldn't use ebay for something as critical as brake components. I'd rather pay extra for peace of mind.

I had my pads done a while back, for about £100 all in (not at a dealers)

Buckrogers

Not trying to put you off, but there are a lot of "cheap" pads out there, more so now China is a big player.

Just be careful, at least find someone has has actually had these pads from this person. These are YOUR brakes after all and IMHO, not worth taking ANY risks for the sake of saving £50 / £60.

The ebay feedback for this guy is very good but only in the sense that he is delivering the goods.

Neil W

Anyone had front pads changed on STi8?

My Dealer quoted me £185 + Fitting + VAT Can that be right, seems pretty expensive to me!

SirFozzalot

Two of the products I never mess about with are tyres and brakes.....especially in the scoob.....just not worth the risk of getting sub-standard/dangerous stuff in my opinion.

I always try to go with stuff recommended by friends who have used them or else bite the bullet and go with the dealer suggested stuff for piece of mind (although try and source them cheaper elsewhere )

corradoboy

There's a lot of bogus pads kicking around, some of which I recall a year or two back came from Eastern Europe and were made from compacted grass They had a habit of setting on fire, that is if you hadn't binned it into a hedge before they got chance. Not worth scrimping on the most critical safety component on the car

Stick with known brands such as Ferodo, Mintex, Pagid and from a reputable supplier. IIRC Scoobyclinic do Ferodo DS2000 fitted for £90+vat on standard Scooby 4 pots, which is what your WRX will have. STi's have Brembo's. They are a doddle to change, so you could source and fit them yourself, but again buy from a reputable outlet.

supertouring

Bought a set of pad for old WRX from local motorfactors - 35 quid! Ok for around town but were soon on fire when I went on track! Use DS2500 in the end, which were excellent.

My STi 8 now has EBC Reds which I again rate over the standard pads. I changed the pads on both cars myself and it is really easy to do. Just take you time and make sure you have no bits left at the end, like I did the first time I did it.

crispyduck

iTrader: (1)

Thank you all for your excellent recommendations, which all seem to be from experience. The consensus is stick with standard Subaru pads or the usual trusted up-rated pads. It's just not worth the risk - full stop (no pun intended!)

I intend to take this advice. FYI, I will stick with Subaru standard pads and fit myself. £50-60 in the back pocket towards items to make the new pads work harder ;-)

Thanks again,
-Steve.

corradoboy

You do know they're $h!t don't you Ferodo DS2000 are much better and cheaper than dealers OE crap

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

Are Ferodo DS2000 better than Mintex red ceramic..?

corradoboy

Mintex don't do Red Ceramic, they're by EBC and they bite well from cold, but only lasted me 6k Mintex do the 1155 race pad which is noisy and can be a little reluctant when cold, a bit like Ferodo DS2500. Mintex also do the 1144 road pad which is fine for most peoples uses in a Scoob, like the Ferodo DS2000 which I'm currently using without any problems.

crispyduck

iTrader: (1)

corradoboy,

Thanks for your time in responding. I do a lot of motorway driving but have a couple of forest 'stages' along the way. I've found the standard pads average on (my) day-to-day driving however have found that they can fade much quicker than I would had expected after 5 or 6 consecutive hard breaking spells.

You've convinced me, I'll take a look at the Ferodo DS2000's. What supplier have you used in the past?

-Steve.

GE90

Have you considered Prodrive pads....?

corradoboy

Steve, I'm on my 1st set of DS2000's, and use them in conjunction with braided lines and DOT5 fluid. Since the lines and fluid were fitted I haven't had one incidence of fade. When I 1st got the car it had the OE things in, which were rubbish but lasted me 6 months on what was left on them. When I added the uprated stuff I tried the EBC Red Ceramics, which were a much better pad. A little noisy and lacking in feel when cold, but I was shocked to wear them out in just 6 months. I believe many others have had similar experiences. I then replaced them with the DS2000's supplied and fitted by Scoobyclinic for £90+vat. These have much better bite and feel from cold, and so far have been very good in extreme situations (on their 2nd day fitted they did 60 track laps). Only downside is they tend to be a bit dusty.

GE90 - IIRC the Prodrive pads are rebranded Ferodo's

fastfrank

alright dude,

FYI - I had the same dilemma when choosing replacement front pads for my WRX03 last year. Looked around at all the alternatives but since they all seemed to come in around the £100 mark I decided to stick with the Subaru ones. Since the pads on the back still had some life in them it made only sense to use the same again on the front. Fitted the pads myself which was a really easy job to.


It has to be said £100 for a set of brake pads is extreme - 50-70 would have been reasonable.

supertouring

I think brakes and tyres are critical components on a car and therefore you should buy the best you can afford. I only needed fade on my OE pads once to make me decide to swap to something more upto the job. An extra 30 quid is worth it where safety is involved.

rallyfan1977

My sentiments exactly, have just had the third set of pads on my WRX 03 and I've stuck with the same formula.
I buy Ferrodo DS2500 pads from demon tweeks (£140 set) and have them fitted by my local garage (£15 labour charge)
My local garage also fitted me 2 new Goodyear Eagle F1 G3 tyres at the same time, total bill for pads, tyres and fitting £401

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

Yep sorry brain fade I mean't EBC

I'm looking at getting basically the same setup as you've got (Braided hoses/dot 5.1/pads) and from what you've said it works well. afterall I don't do any track days..

powerman1

Try Grahamgoode web site standard OEbrake pads £38,I got some EBC RED ceramics 31200C from S&J in Bradford came in at £70 plus vat ..Mintex dont do any pads for WRX 01 upwards yet,but the mintex rep says they will be available soon

P.S if the pads required changing on the service they will still have a bit a mileage left in them but they wont reach the next service..read the handbook regarding audible sound when pads need changing
powerman

XR-Wayne

Which are better outta EBC REd and ProDive pads?

corradoboy

AFAIK the Prodrive pads are rebranded Ferodo DS2000's. I'm running them now after wearing out a set of EBC's in just 6k miles The EBC's are noisy when cold and lacking in feel, but stop well once up to temp. The Ferodo's are excellent both cold and hot, although squeal a little when cold at slow speeds. Ferodo also do a DS2500 compound which behaves more like the EBC's, but isn't recommended for road use due to the poor cold performance. Once you are used to it, you drive accordingly, but I'd go for the 2000's unless you're on track regularly.

Due to my disappointment at the wear characteristics of the EBC's, I'd receommend Ferodo's over them.

powerman1

Corradoboy ..6K that seems a bit low for £80+ brake pad that doesnt work very well when cold.Do you do a lot of quick stops? because if i only get 6K out of my EBC's when fitted then i am straight back to the supplier ..not fitted them yet but still cant believe that 6k is the bench mark for normal driving conditions

corradoboy

As a comparison, the OE pads which were in when I bought the car did 6k and a trackday with what was left on them, but I have no way of knowing how old they were. The EBC's then did 6k winter miles and no track work. The Ferodo's are now on about 6k with one trackday and mostly summer use and so far they are fine. I'll be popping the wheels off soon to have a look at the inner pads as that is the one which wears most, but I have no cause for alarm as yet. There have been a few threads on here about the short life of EBC Reds (search for "Chocolate Brakes").

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

Yep. The EBC ceramics didnt last long on mine either. Waste of money IHO

powerman1

ive clocked 21k on the standard pads and still a bit of life left in em yet so I may get simular mileage on the EBC agree/not agree
P.S no trackdays but plenty of town driving with plent of stop...starts

corradoboy

not agree

powerman1

Looks like I will have to fit them and if the above is true then its back to standard fit parts if i still have the car when replacement is required

jmk

I went for Pagid 4.2.1 on my WRX PPP. Top end re price but great performance, not too much dust and no squeal and work well cold or hot. Running standard rear pads for now, but will go the Pagid route when they wear out.

IMO, better to spend the extra money on good quality components and one less session in the pub.

stiler83

Scoobyworld have the RedStuff Ceramic for £60 inc Vat
http://www.scoobyworld.co.uk/catalog...fd11af0921f1bb

My Redstuff C's lasted 8000 road miles. Good pads in general, a tad on the noisy side, work from old work great when hot. Not as good as Pagid RS 4-2-1 or the Ferodo DS2500 which have lasted far longer and see a few track days but then they do cost approx twice as much. Are they worth £60 YES are they worth more to put them in to line with the competition then I would have to say no.

Have you considered the Godspeed 335mm Upgrade Kit ?..

ozzy

Scoobyworlds pads @ £60 are for 2-pot calipers. You'll pay over £100 for the later car pads.

The Redstuff's don't seem to last at all. I'm on my 2nd set back with std brake setup. If they don't last this time around I'll give up on them and go back to DS2500.