brake pads for occasional track use

[stealthy21]

Hey everyone, looking for a pair of front pads for the coupe, will be doing a track day once or twice a year so apart from that will be my daily driver. Been looking at yellow stuff pads and can get a pair for £70 but I've heard mixed reviews!

Cheers all

 

[AndyBeech]

Performance Friction Z rated pads will see you through a few track days, good for the road too! Good reviews on Cutters and the like

 

[Brasseye]

problems iv found with the track oriented pads are poor braking until warmed up.
Also can be noisy when braking gently.

 

[mmm-five]

I've used both the EBC (Yellowstuff/Bluestuff) and Pagids (RS19/RS29). Not had issues with either brand.

The Pagid RS are 2-3 times the price, create more dust and last half as long as the EBCs, but they do stop better from cold.

If you want the best performance, and money's no object go for the Pagid RS.

If you want a day-to-day pad that can also be used on the track then the EBCs.

I'm back on EBCs at the moment because my Pagids fell apart less than a lap after the brake warning light came on and the EBC Yellowstuff was the only pad that I could get on a Saturday afternoon

 

[thepits]

I've used both the EBC (Yellowstuff/Bluestuff) and Pagids (RS19/RS29). Not had issues with either brand.

The Pagid RS are 2-3 times the price, create more dust and last half as long as the EBCs, but they do stop better from cold.

If you want the best performance, and money's no object go for the Pagid RS.

If you want a day-to-day pad that can also be used on the track then the EBCs.

I'm back on EBCs at the moment because my Pagids fell apart less than a lap after the brake warning light came on and the EBC Yellowstuff was the only pad that I could get on a Saturday afternoon

If as you suggest "will be doing a track day once or twice a year so apart from that will be my daily driver" they are for only occasional track use then I ....

+1 the EBC's

 

[BMWZ4MC]

I used EBC Yellowstuff for years. They're pretty effective from cold and excellent when hot. However, they deteriorate rapidly under heavy track use and last only a couple of track days. I changed to Bluestuff a couple of years ago and found they perform better when hot and last longer. They can be a little unpredictable when cold but they are still adequate for road use even before they've got heat in them.
I found with one set of Yellowstuff that the friction material delaminated from the backplate. EBC replaced the pads and offered me new discs for free. I understand that others have had the same issue but EBC have now addressed their quality control.

 

[stealthy21]

Cheers all, the only bad things i've heard about the ebc's are that they wear the brake discs quite quickly, any truth??

 

[BMWZ4MC]

Not really - I've recently had mine skimmed to remove the lip after 40,000 miles including a couple of thousand track miles all with Yellow or Bluestuff.

 

[stealthy21]

Not really - I've recently had mine skimmed to remove the lip after 40,000 miles including a couple of thousand track miles all with Yellow or Bluestuff.

Cheers bud, will probably buy these fronts tonight. Will be interesting to see how much my near new rear oem's fade compared to the yellow stuffs after the track day!

 

[abar121]

Another vote for performance friction. A few caged E46 M3s were running them with PF discs at Bedford. Stock sizes and calipers, no fade all day.

Not a fan of the Yellow stuff pads. Some are ok, other's terrible. They have changed the design several times. I've also had Green stuff pads fall apart with moderate track use (not on the zed). You may be lucky

 

[mmm-five]

've also had Green stuff pads fall apart with moderate track use (not on the zed). You may be lucky

Greenstuff are not meant for the track though, so I'd not expect them to be much use.

I've had Yellowstuffs & Bluestuffs on 1700kg e34 M5s and they've lasted the whole day without fade at Bedford, Donington, Oulton, the 'Ring, etc. The only reason I switched from Yellowstuff to Bluestuff was that I thought I might as well go for a 'better' pad for the same price.

Although I don't drive track days/'Ring trips as if I am racing (sanymore), so I'm probably not doing my best to kill them like some others are

Probably also why my tyres now last 20k miles rather than 150 (i.e. 1 track day)

 

[BMWZ4MC]

...Although I don't drive track days/'Ring trips as if I am racing (anymore), so I'm probably not doing my best to kill them like some others are

Oi, are you aiming that at me?

I did find that Yellowstuff gets a bit melty if you really thrash them, something I've not found with Bluestuff :evil:

 

[BMWZ4MC]

Not really - I've recently had mine skimmed to remove the lip after 40,000 miles including a couple of thousand track miles all with Yellow or Bluestuff.

Cheers bud, will probably buy these fronts tonight. Will be interesting to see how much my near new rear oem's fade compared to the yellow stuffs after the track day!

Make sure you switch off the DSC on track days or you'll cook your brakes. The ///M generally has more grip than the DSC anticipates even in OEM form. As such it repeatedly applies the brakes to try to trim your line through corners.
Interestingly and for reasons I can't explain, I get through rear pads at least as quickly as fronts, perhaps more so. You might find the car is unsettled by mixing pad compounds front and rear. When the brakes are cold, the OEM pads on the rear might be more effective and vice versa when the brakes are hot. I've not tried different compounds between axles, so I'm speculating...

 

[stealthy21]

Went with the performance rated z's. Got them brand new for £56 as opposed to the £70 2nd hand Yellow stuffs, will be interesting to test them out! Really appreciate everyones comments, thanks all!

 

[Zikim]

There is a lot of talk on this thread about Yellowstuff or Bluestuff but I thought Redstuff should be the pads to use for occasional track use , as they give the best of both worlds?

Anyone used Redstuff?

 

[hopz121]

I have Redstuff on my 3.0i Zed. i have the 3.0si brake upgrade and they didn't let me down once on my recent track day. They have been great on the odd sunday hoon as well.

It was my first track day though so maybe thats why

 

[JimmiVW]

Really interesting reading this tread having done my first track day in the Z4M at Blyton yesterday and really struggling with the brakes after 5 fast laps!
- hadn't considered the DSC interference with brakes to be honest, which is a very good point
- not sure how many track days I'll be doing in the Z but thinking a pad upgrade will be a good next move!

 

[hopz121]

Really interesting reading this tread having done my first track day in the Z4M at Blyton yesterday and really struggling with the brakes after 5 fast laps!
- hadn't considered the DSC interference with brakes to be honest, which is a very good point
- not sure how many track days I'll be doing in the Z but thinking a pad upgrade will be a good next move!

100% worth the upgrade

I upgraded mine along with ATE Super Blue Dot 4 fluid and braided hoses worthwhile upgrade for any Zed IMO

 

[Beedub]

for an occasional track day how about stock? i used to find them REALLY good tbh, so maybe upgrade to braided lines, better fluid and stick with the stock pad.

 

[abar121]

've also had Green stuff pads fall apart with moderate track use (not on the zed). You may be lucky

Greenstuff are not meant for the track though, so I'd not expect them to be much use.

Yes, however I would have expected them to at least last as well as the OEM pads, which they did not. In fact they were dangerous after a few slow laps. Pretty terrible really and a waste of money.

Some of the Yellow stuff pads do work fine. But then again, they probably are the most conversational pad out there if you look at the other car forums. Plenty it seems have been let down by them.

For me, predictability and safety are the first priorities when buying pads (and tyres).