Brake Pads Users Ratings Guide

[Paradizzle]

Guys any idea where the best place to get Motul RBF 600 fluid from, and price? Im also hoping to get some Bendix Ultimate front pads before a track day the weekend after next.. someone told me they got them for $100 form Repco so ill give that a go. Cheers.

[Ant97GTR]

Started off using Bendix Ultimates in my 33 gtst on tracks days...std brakes, motul rbf600 and braided lines - as others have said good street pad with little noise and good for light track use. I found when I started pushing and doing 3 hot laps in a row they would fade.

Racebrakes Rb74 (front), Comp2 (rear) - same setup as above and found these to be a great combination. Brake balance front and rear was good and consistant and never faded. Did find them noisey on the street, produced a lot of dust and needed a bit of heat to work properly. Good value for money.

SBS carbon/ceramic (front), Comp2 (rear) - using on a R33 GTR with motul rbf600 and front dba5000 rotors. Awesome pads with absolutely no fade. Good brake balance and consistant pedal feel throughout a sprint. Extremely noisey on the street but don't produce a lot of dust and have decent braking from dead cold.

[Wogboy]

Guys any idea where the best place to get Motul RBF 600 fluid from, and price? Im also hoping to get some Bendix Ultimate front pads before a track day the weekend after next.. someone told me they got them for $100 form Repco so ill give that a go. Cheers.

Try a bike shop for the Motul RBF 600, that's where I got it from over here. Cost me about $25.00 a bottle. As for the Bendix, try HIGHTEK Brakes in Factory 11, 59-65 Keys Rd, Moorabbin. I got mine from there, good price, he may have the Motul as well.

[Paradizzle]

Try a bike shop for the Motul RBF 600, that's where I got it from over here. Cost me about $25.00 a bottle. As for the Bendix, try HIGHTEK Brakes in Factory 11, 59-65 Keys Rd, Moorabbin. I got mine from there, good price, he may have the Motul as well.

Thanks for the reply mate, how much fluid will i need for a 33 gtst? Im in Bulleen so Moorabbin is a bit far, but if the price is decent im willing to travel.

[Wogboy]

Two bottles at least. I'm in Tassie, had the pads posted over.

[gslrallysport]

I think most people agree tat they are good for the money.

Bendix Ultimates???

In order of performance with rough prices, based on DB1170:

- Bendix Ultimates, 550 degrees $120

- QFM HP-X, 550 degrees $79

- TRW Lucas, 650 degrees $55

- QFM A1RM, 780 degrees $110

Ultimates would be VERY low on my preferred list of street/track pads! Any of the above won't squeal or eat rotors anywhere near as fast as the Ultimates... I'm still bemused as to why everyone likes Bendix? They obviously do the best marketing!

Edited July 20, 2007 by jetpilot1986

[Duncan]

good call wogboy, cheapest I've seen motul rbf600 was in a bike shop

[Sydneykid]

Bendix Ultimates???

In order of performance with rough prices, based on DB1170:

- Bendix Ultimates, 550 degrees $120

- QFM HP-X, 550 degrees $79

- TRW Lucas, 650 degrees $55

- QFM A1RM, 780 degrees $110

Ultimates would be VERY low on my preferred list of street/track pads! Any of the above won't squeal or eat rotors anywhere near as fast as the Ultimates... I'm still bemused as to why everyone likes Bendix? They obviously do the best marketing!

That seems as excessively simplistic view, temperature and price being quoted with squeal and rotor appetite being innuendo, not supported by any numbers.

Personally I have NEVER EVER had any squeal from Bendix Ultimates, on any car, at any track or on any piece of road. So perhaps it’s not the pad that’s the problem.

As for rotor appetite, on the Stagea the TRW Lucas are just as hungry (if not more so) than the Ultimates on the R33GTST. Both using DBA 4000 series rotors of course.

A word of warning on comparing pad temperature, are you looking at it as higher is always better? Saying 650 degrees is BETTER than 550 degrees? When in fact it could be exactly the opposite? It can be validly argued that a pad that GENERATES 650 degrees is not as good as a pad that GENERATES 550 degrees, for the same stopping power.

cheers

[a20089]

That seems as excessively simplistic view, temperature and price being quoted with squeal and rotor appetite being innuendo, not supported by any numbers.

You've been told now

[gslrallysport]

Sorry, at no point was that meant to be the 'be all and end all of brake pad guide'. My point was that for the money I don't believe that Ultimate are good value for money... The overall feeling from people is that despite the performance of Ultimates (which I'm not questioning) they do tend to be more dusty and noisy, as well as eat rotors more so than your average street pad. My point was for similiar performance in QFM-HPX you've got a pad which performs just as well, for alot less money and better daily driveablity...

Sorry I said anything. If Ultimates are your thing, and paying over $100 for a set of pads has become the norm for you, then good. My only argument (and you obviously wouldn't have run TRW if you didn't believe in their performance), is that for the money, there's better pads out there.

I specialise in talking people into the cheapest set of pads that will 100% fulfill their requirements, not the most expensive... Are you saying that for a student who wants to compete in club level racing , with absolutely no money to waste wot so ever, that the Ultimates are a better choice than say the Lucas at over double the cost???

Greg

[rs73]

Has anyone had any experiences with EBC redstuff pads, especially the new ones with 3000 series compound as mentioned on www.ebcbrakes.com

Need some end-user feedback regarding these pads... I know they're not full racing spec, only street spec but like to know if they're really better than the old greenstuff?

[atessa]

sorry, can't help myself. but...

"A word of warning on comparing pad temperature, are you looking at it as higher is always better? Saying 650 degrees is BETTER than 550 degrees? When in fact it could be exactly the opposite? It can be validly argued that a pad that GENERATES 650 degrees is not as good as a pad that GENERATES 550 degrees, for the same stopping power."

just to clear this up, the temperature rating is what they can HANDLE, not what they produce. The higher the temp rating the hotter they can handle... ie they can take sustained harder braking.

and my 2 cents...

ultimates are great... for producing dust and squeal.

I run the Ferodos and they are great. A little scarey from cold, but one or two nervous jabs gets em up to temp ok. A bit dusty and a squeak now and then but nothing compared to the ultimates. and they run against DBA 4000 rotors and they absolutely kill my mates '06 HSV GTS for pull up and feel. and they are endless on the track. I run a few laps at barbagello and that track has one of the hardest braking corners in aus... (ford fast brake) and my car has yet to kiss gravel.

[260DET]

You see this is what worries me, useless statements like 'Ferodos are great'. Which Ferodos FFS?

[govich]

Just in case there was doubt in anyone's mind..

EBC Green Stuff - fine for fairly gentle street use, lasted about 2-3 laps at Wakefield before fading and were rubbish by the end of the day. A few days of normal street driving later they essentially melted onto the discs and had to be replaced.

Now trying out Ultimates as a street pad, changing to DS3000s for track days. I'm almost totally convinced that having a dedicated set of pads, like tyres, for the track is the best way of doing things.

[Hardman69]

Why are people paying $120 for Bendix Ultimates ? ?

$85 people! (more or less) - Get a trade-contact . . . . . . STAT ! ! !

I'm on my 3rd set of Ultimate fronts (blame 3.5 trackdays for short life) since I got the GTS-T, and I think they're a GREAT street pad (no squeal, instant yet progressive bite, consistent feel) apart from all the dust.

SO much DUST!

I get 3 laps @Winton on a 37deg. day b4 they fade, and I learnt how to brake in Karts! (I'm "less than kind" to 'em)

Actually, I'm damn-near abusive, considering it's my daily driver ! ! Speaking of which - I'm harsh on 'em street-style too. I've only (lightly) machined the discs once in 63,000km - and that was not long after I got the car. I don't think they're harsh on discs at all - however the pads get chewed up pretty quick on a full track-day.

I'm with Govich on having different pads for track days tho - I kinda get frustrated with doing 2 or 3 hotlaps, and then doing a cooldown. Conveniently, my engine's coolant hits 115-odd degrees about the same time as the Ultimates fade - so it's mandatory cooldown (in summer at least) anyway ! !

Where can the Queensland Friction pads be sourced from? Some of them sound pretty good.

[BHDave]

I am running pmu HC titan kai's which cost me $340 for fronts a year ago, they are down under $300 a set now. Same track day as Govich, 1 biggish stop coming into the last turn at wakefield on the first lap out got them hot enough and feeling nice for the first big brake at the end of the straight from ~180

No fade all day in 6-12 lap sessions, no cool down laps required (other than when the water temp started to creep up on the longer sessions) Still heaps of pad left after a couple of recent track days, no shudders or noises, no excessive dust, no excessive rotor wear (pmu scr pros) and a tiny bit of squeel at very low speeds.

I really can't fault them.

[BAMR33]

You see this is what worries me, useless statements like 'Ferodos are great'. Which Ferodos FFS?

If you don't do any track work and you have a r33 gts-t like me Ferodo excel's are the go. They have a good feel, only fade slightly if your really riding the brakes hard down a step hill for a long time, don't squeak (that I've heard anyway) and are really cheap if you ask for trade prices. I don't honestly think there is a better value for money pad for street work and occasional sprints.

Fronts for r33: DB1165XL

Rears for r33: DB1220XL

[Malz34]

Anyone used EBC Red Stuff??

i am after a low dust pad for street use only....and red stuff seems to be looking good buy looking at specs on the website.

or anyone know of somthing better, all i see in this topic so far is a war about bendix.. LOL They are sum dusty mother F#@%

i have no idea wot pads are on my car atm but they stop good and have virtually no dust, which is a brownish sort of color. (sound familuar to anyone?)

Edited August 16, 2007 by Malz34

[rs73]

I previously supplied an SAU member in WA and he was very happy with those redstuff... Too bad I myself only ever tried greenstuff, never tried red. Probably I can try chuck in some red on my wife's RAV4 but a RAV4 won't be driven hard so there's not really much advantage to it...

Edit: found it, I think his user is NO_RSPECT.

[GTRgeoff]

PS; maybe you guys you should spend the money on increasing the cornering speed, that way you wouldn't have to spend so much on brakes thumbsup.gif

I'm no fan of the Bendix Ultimates but I'm still working on the above.

So those experts that don't rate the advice above..... how many are race and suspension engineers?????