Front Brake Pads (Again)

[Wheaty]

I know this is a much discussed thread and I’ve trawled through the searches, but anyway I’m still undecided...

My front pads are nearing the time to be replaced at the moment I've got the Standard Renault discs and pads.

I’ve bought myself the Brembo HC Disks but I’m undecided which pad to go for I’m looking for a mid range pad which is better than the standard pad, it’s going to be used for road use (mostly commuting to work which is a 15 minute run).

Options
Brembo Pads – Can’t see any info about people running them on here, saw these when I purchased my disks just wondered if anyone had any info on them? (http://www.kamracing.co.uk/car-tuni...o-2-0-16v-rs-oem-front-brake-pads-brembo.html)
Mintex 1144 – Little information on here about people running them so not too sure what they are like?
Federo DS2500 - There is a mixed opinion on this site with regards to these, some people say they are rubbish when cold but quite a few people seem to be running them…??
Pagid Blues – Expensive but a good pad, probably an overkill for just road use??

Do I stick with the standard pads or go with one of the above options? does anyone else have any suggestions/opinions on these?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Rawhide]

I have just put on Brembo HC disks all round with Federo DS2500s. After doing the fronts I was initialy I was unimpressed with the cold braking bite but having replaced the rears and bedded them in a bit better I'm happy with the braking effort from cold.

The feel is a bit wooden for road driving but I am able to modulate the braking force quite well. They make the brakes almost feel non servo assisted. (some might like this, feels a bit like an Elise) I'm not really familiary with Clio brakes as my old renault brakes were pretty worn when I bought the car so I can't really compare. The

I've yet to really try them in fast road applications or on track so can't comment on this but am expecting good things.

I'm not sure I'd recommend them entirely for majority road use but they ARE acceptable.

 

[moono16v]

I owned my trophy for three amazing faultless years!!

I come on here from time to time just to see what's going on. As soon as I bought my T the only problem I had was how cheap and spongy the brakes felt! My lupo sport previous to the T had better brakes. I therefore after only a few months went for the Brembo HC discs and ferodo DS2500 and yes from cold they wasn't 'superb' but the pads are something which work better with a bit of heat! When from cold would you be slamming the anchors on anyway?!

I can seriously say with that set up I never ever had any fade what so ever! I took it to the ring' for a few days and genuinely driven it hard! And not a single hiccup they was astonishing!!! Highly recommend that set up! It's a set up ill be possibly going for on my megane 250 unless I read / hear about a better set up.

 

[rubens172]

I'd echo the above. I have fitted brembo discs with DS2500s and have had no issues at all. Yes they do seem a bit more wooden when cold; the pedal is nice and solid but bite isn't instantly there. I've yet to test them on track but I'd expect them to perform judging by a few country road blasts.

I'd offer a word of caution with the standard Brembo pads. They are probably the best value on the road but cannot handle any track use. I took mine down to the backing plate within 15 laps at Oulton park in October. However for road use they offer the perfect compromise between value and performance. I'd actually say they were the stronger stopper, they just can't hack it pounding around a track.

 

[Alex_Conway]

I've had DS2500 and RC5+, both run on Brembo Max discs. I'll not be going back to DS2500 as the cold bite was scary for me but the RC5+ were brilliant when hot (better than DS2500) and perfectly ok when cold.

Personally I can't recommend RC5+ enough from experience (albeit limited)

 

[SharkyUK]

My experience differ from those presented above... thing is, I get very good cold performance from my Ferodo DS2500's and fantastic performance when hot (especially on track where you can really get some heat into them). I'm not saying they are the best pad for you, but I've found the cold performance to be better than the others I've tried (OEM, Mintex 1144's, Brembo and various EBC's). I do think that the DS2500 might be overkill though if you aren't really tracking it. I've never tried the RC5+ but they sound good by all accounts. I'm running Brembo HC plain discs.

I think it might be a case of choosing the best you can afford and giving them a go...

 

[Will#I#Ams]

As above really. Iv had ds2500s fitted to most of my williamses, I find the cold performance is as good as or if not better, but when a bit of heat is in them they are superb. Countless trackdays at Donny, oulton, spa, never had a bit of fade. The t will be getting them also soon, the current set up, std, is dire

 

[eljeffo64]

Ask yourself why the Pagids are twice the price.... There's the answer.

 

[asim]

For normal driving/commuting, I'd take the OE pads. They do the job just fine.

 

[j333evo]

I've got Pagid Blue on my car which are good from cold, superb hot. They have now done 40,000 miles on my car & are onto the 2nd set of Brembo discs. Highly recommended even if they are expensive but the extended life makes up for it.

 

[neilc]

Anyone running Pagid discs and Mintex M1155 pads ??

 

[RsMax]

I am running a completely different setup.

I am using ATE Powerdisc, ATE (normal) pads
and ATE Superblue racing Fluid. No other
modifications and these parts are TUV approved.

This setup offers perfect brake performance from
cold and good performance on the track (Nurburgring
Hockenheim,Sachsenring).

For me this is the ultimate combination for
road and track use. Even BMW M3 drivers choose
this combination for tracking their cars. The
parts are approved by the 24h race at the Ring.

And they are durable (30.000miles including 4 Trackdays).
No squeaking and even improved performance
under wet conditions.

So these are my experiences After 50.000 miles
running them.

Regards
max