Ferodo Ds3000

[PHaT MR30]

Just looking at options for brake pads to run in our Targa car and these pads seem to have cropped up in my search.

Car is an S15 which we will be running R32 GTR calipers on the front and brembo's on the rear (brembo's we had up front don't fit under standard rims which we have to run for Targa).

Will also be getting new rotors, what are peoples recommendations here? DBA4000's? 5000's?

Ive heard these pads heat up a fair bit so im guessing alloy hats will aid in cooling somewhat.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Cheers

Tim,

[ferni]

Go the DBA5000 if you can spend the extra few hundred, lighter and dissipate heat better (so I've been told). DS3000 pads need a bit of heat into them first, so first couple of corners they won't be up to temp...

[PHaT MR30]

DBA don't appear to make the 5000's for R32 GTR calipers (296x32). Only 4000's... or is that just as stated in the catalogue?

[ferni]

Sorry not sure i got them for my R33 GTR but they are 324x30

[VHR32]

Yeah Tim the 5000 series aren't available, just go DBA4926.

DS3000 maybe a bit too much of a race pad? DS2500 might be ok, just depends how much he uses the brakes.

I have Hawk HT10's which are good. Howard at Race Brakes Melbourne would be a good bloke to chat to. RB74 front, comp 2 rear?

Make sure he uses Motul RBF600, Penrite 600 or any Dot4/600 brake fluid!

[scathing]

As people have said, DS3000s near a fair amount of heat into them before they work. Depending on how long the transport stages are between competitive stages you might start off with no brakes for the first few corners of every stage

I'd suggest DS2500s, especially at first. They generally survive a full practice session / sprint race without fade, and they're pretty much on from the get-go. Especially now that you've got uprated calipers.

As for rotors, I'd suggest against DBA's. I've seen too many crack (including my own) to trust them in a motorsport situation. They're not cheap, but I hear nothing but good things about Project Mu hardware (pads and rotors).

[PHaT MR30]

As people have said, DS3000s near a fair amount of heat into them before they work. Depending on how long the transport stages are between competitive stages you might start off with no brakes for the first few corners of every stage

I'd suggest DS2500s, especially at first. They generally survive a full practice session / sprint race without fade, and they're pretty much on from the get-go. Especially now that you've got uprated calipers.

As for rotors, I'd suggest against DBA's. I've seen too many crack (including my own) to trust them in a motorsport situation. They're not cheap, but I hear nothing but good things about Project Mu hardware (pads and rotors).

Funny you should say that, i have heard the same about DBA's but not seen it in the flesh.

Yes I have done a bit of homework since and come to realise that the ds3000 don't operate well from cold (although they crap on about having really good initial bite?).

The Driver doesn't like DS2500's either so we'll be scrapping the idea of Ferodo's.

Looking into Project Mu now, Titan HCs sound ok with an operating temp from 0-800 or thereabouts. Time to hit up some sponsors me thinks

[afifield]

Looking into Project Mu now, Titan HCs sound ok with an operating temp from 0-800 or thereabouts. Time to hit up some sponsors me thinks

Have you thought about SBS ceramic or carbon ceramic? They certainly seem to handle high temps. A bit light on for low-temp bite, but not as bad as a DS2500 in that area.

[phunky_monkey]

As people have said, DS3000s near a fair amount of heat into them before they work. Depending on how long the transport stages are between competitive stages you might start off with no brakes for the first few corners of every stage

I'd suggest DS2500s, especially at first. They generally survive a full practice session / sprint race without fade, and they're pretty much on from the get-go. Especially now that you've got uprated calipers.

As for rotors, I'd suggest against DBA's. I've seen too many crack (including my own) to trust them in a motorsport situation. They're not cheap, but I hear nothing but good things about Project Mu hardware (pads and rotors).

My project MU SCR rotors and Titan HC pads are doing a great job at the moment, can't fault either of them. Well worth the money in my books.

MR30: With the DS3000's, when they say initial bite they are referring to the pad once they're warm.

[VHR32]

Have you thought about SBS ceramic or carbon ceramic? They certainly seem to handle high temps. A bit light on for low-temp bite, but not as bad as a DS2500 in that area.

I knew there was one more brand that I couldn't think of! My mate Brad is the state distributor for these, says good things about them too. Offered me some to try in my car for the track.

[VHR32]

I'm sure DBA 4000 series heat treated rotors will be up to the task.

They are used alot in production racing and are designed for club racing.

I've never had any problems over the past 7 years.

[T04GTR]

yeah. get brembo "sport" rotors. there cheaper than dba's and there better and propperly ventalated.

[T04GTR]

dba are garbage.(4000's) if you havent experianced there short comings then your not driving hard enough

[BHDave]

My project MU SCR rotors and Titan HC pads are doing a great job at the moment, can't fault either of them. Well worth the money in my books.

Agreed, type hc+ pad and scr pro rotors are fantastic on my car. ok when cold, fantastic when warm, very confidence inspiring.

And r32gtr rotors are available too

[Al]

Yeah Tim the 5000 series aren't available, just go DBA4926.

DS3000 maybe a bit too much of a race pad? DS2500 might be ok, just depends how much he uses the brakes.

I have Hawk HT10's which are good. Howard at Race Brakes Melbourne would be a good bloke to chat to. RB74 front, comp 2 rear?

Make sure he uses Motul RBF600, Penrite 600 or any Dot4/600 brake fluid!

1/ Howard at Race Brakes is a TOOL!!

2/ RB74's are good till they fall to pieces at about 50% wear. Have a close look at Ferni's avatar, those are sparks flying off his brakes at a track day. The pads had more than 50% left and should have lasted a few more track days, but they crumbled to pieces, leaving Andrew with a big repair bill.

[VHR32]

Yeah whatever, I was just tying to help! I know Howard is hard to talk to sometimes, RB74 was just an example...

Edited March 1, 2007 by VHR32

[Snowman]

BTW - I totally disagree with anyone that says DS3000's need to be "warmed up". I think they would be a perfect Targa pad and they are what I'd use if (should I say when! ) I do a Targa.

I use them for the Dutton Rallies and they are quite often a 1 stop event and they pull up on that one stop as good as anything I have used AND are still great on the longer track events.

[Roy]

1/ Howard at Race Brakes is a TOOL!!

2/ RB74's are good till they fall to pieces at about 50% wear. Have a close look at Ferni's avatar, those are sparks flying off his brakes at a track day. The pads had more than 50% left and should have lasted a few more track days, but they crumbled to pieces, leaving Andrew with a big repair bill.

1/ Dont hate the bloke because he tells you things you dont want to hear. He knows plenty, i have found he is a great guy to deal with...He can talk though , and talk, and talk

2/ I used RB74 pads for years and still use Race Brake pads on the rear of my car. I found their Comp 9s to be equally as good as the DS2500s that everybody raves about. They make good pads. I never had a single problem with RB74 pads in the 5 years i used them. Sorry to hear about Ferni, and maybe shouldnt have happened....but one or two exampls of something happening in hundreds, maybe thousands sold doesnt mean anything.

[scathing]

Funny you should say that, i have heard the same about DBA's but not seen it in the flesh.

Is a picture close enough?

I had a mate with an S15 that cracked 2 sets of DBA 5000's. Both didn't last more than a few months. They wouldn't offer him a warranty replacement on the first since he used it on the track (even though he'd bought the "track configuration" set, and reminded them of that little thing called the Trade Practices Act). They did offer him a warranty replacement on the second set pretty quickly, though, since he told them he wanted a refund.

He got his refund, and put them towards Project Mu rotors. They haven't cracked.

[Roy]

Now problems with DBA rotors does seem a lot more common. I never had a problem with my old DBA4000s (324mm). They travelled a total of around 75,000-80,000kms including numerous track days.

I now have a new set of DBA 4000s on the front. I know plenty of ppl that use the 4000 & the 5000, some of these cars happen to be very quick to boot and no problems.

But i have also seen plenty of photos of cracked DBAs so????? Is it the fact that ppl scream out of the pits and dont warm them up? Maybe they dont cool them down? I dont know...but its a worry as my new rotors look like the ones above that are cracked. I look at the little slots from the circumference and think "Wow what a great place for a fracture to propogate from"