EBC Green Stuff Pad Failure

[RichardG]

Mods feel free to move this if you think it is in the wrong place.

Driving home from visiting relatives and Nosa on Sunday, fortunately taking it easy at the time we apporached a bend and I gently applied the brakes only nothing happened other than pedal went to the floor, I applied them again and got pressure. I did think it odd but we had just gone over several bumps and thought maybe just maybe the pads had somehow backed off abit coupled with the fact no warning lights came on.
A bit further into the journey and pressing the brake pedal resulted in that all familar metalic scraping sound, with there effectively being nothing that I could do at 10pm on a Sunday in the middle of nowhere, I decided to carry on but start to plan ahead and try to avoid using the brakes as much as possible.
A quick investigation the following day showed that offside outer pad to be non existent, a quick check round the other brakes showed healthy amounts of pad left (new discs and pads were fitted no more than 20K ago). I did nothing more then other than order a new set of pads.

In preperation for the new pads arriving I set about removing the existing pads and found some remains of the old pad.

The pieces are approx 8mm thick, so nowhere near the end of their life. The wear sensor was fitted in the other pad, hence the reason for no warning light.

I'm not sure what if anything could be done to prevent this from happening, I had no undue vibration or hint that anything was amiss before it happened.
I just thought I'd warn people what happened as I know several members are running the same pads. I have ordered exactly the same again just to keep everything the same but will seriously look at other options when everything needs changing again.

 

[a11y]

Probably a dodgy batch of pads. A similar thing happened with mountain-bike disc pads made for a company called Superstar Components - basically the pad material was breaking away (mostly intact) from the backing plate due to a manufacturing error. I'd take a guess that's what happened with yours...

 

[Anonymous]

And before anyone suggests it, NO i did not sabotage his brakes. :wink:

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Wow, that's bad! Glad you were okay and the failure didn't occur at a worse moment.

I know some people have and like Green Stuffs, but I think they're awful - I binned mine off after a few thousand miles... the cheapo ATE pads I bought from EuroCarParts out perform them (they were only meant to be a temporary measure). Surprised you're sticking with them.

I know that Richard's was a freak failure, I hope, and not related to the performance issue I had.

ADD: I would take this up with EBC, see if they will compensate in some way, as Ally said, probably a dodgy batch.

 

[mmm-five]

Did you buy them from EBC themselves or from someone like EBC Direct (which isn't actually EBC, just a reseller)?

I've never used EBC Green or even Red and went straight to Yellow then Blue, so can't comment on the quality of the Greens, but never had an issue with the Yellows on my M5s or Z4M.

Either way, I'd give EBC technical dept. a call (01604 583344)/email ([email protected]) (Bob Sketchley is the guy I call to take advantage of the marshal's discounts) and explain your issue. They may be able to trace it back to a bad batch, or even give you some answers to why one did this when others didn't.

 

[Oakandacorns]

Omg, not good. Glad you're safe. There I was thinking I want upgraded brakes the other day. (This forum starts things!). You'd expect pads to last longer than 20k miles.

Must be all the Scottish roads

 

[mmm-five]

You'd expect pads to last longer than 20k miles.

Mine used to last 10k miles on the M5s, but the same pad has lasted 30k on the Z4M - although one of the inside fronts only had 2mm left when I replaced them after my last 'Ring visit

 

[Oakandacorns]

You'd expect pads to last longer than 20k miles.

Mine used to last 10k miles on the M5s, but the same pad has lasted 30k on the Z4M - although one of the inside fronts only had 2mm left when I replaced them after my last 'Ring visit

:? I forgot about the spirited driving

 

[shortfuse 2]

if the bits were that thick i would the pad manufracturer and get them replaced at thier costs must be faulty :headbang:

 

[RichardG]

I'll dig out the reciept and contact EBC and see what they say and also let them know that you have to remove X amount off pad material from the new ones to fit them, what a PITA.

 

[RichardG]

I posted this a few weeks ago after suffering a rear pad failure at the time I replaced with the same, however I have just been cleaning the wheels rotatation sensors to try and over an alarm that has been occuring with increasing frequency and noticed one of the front pads is about to go the same way.
So it will come as no surprise that I want to change the brake and will not using EBC products ever again.
Just looking at Eurocarparts and am tossing up between Pagid and Textar does anyone have strong leanings either way before I order tham in the next couple of hours.

 

[Neilw]

Is there any chance the pads could be fakes or counterfit?

I don't know if its just as they are dirty but they don't look like GreenStuff's

 

[aquazi]

I have always black diamond or mintec myself.

I found EBC produced too much dust.

Also on the Z, i would be more inclined to use Red stuff.

 

[RichardG]

Is there any chance the pads could be fakes or counterfit?

I don't know if its just as they are dirty but they don't look like GreenStuff's

They have been fitted for a little over 3 years and 25,000 miles so I hope they are just dirty.
Biggest problem is I have a set 3.0Si brake calipers now do I replace just the pads or do full change over.

 

[Georgio]

I had 'Reds' on my Elise and found them absolutely excellent over the 4 odd years they were fitted. They gave great confidence in all kinds of weather and were far better than the stock pads.

 

[peddy]

I've had RedStuff for the past couple of thousand miles and they are brilliant!!

I've heard bad things about Greenstuff. I would definitely go for RedStuff. Great pads with very little dust unlike OE (Textar).

 

[Gargybloke]

Doesn't sound good. It shouldn't break away like that when just driving normally and there is quite a bit of pad left. Worrying

 

[Gremlin500]

As someone involved in the industry, I would say this looks like a manufacturing fault.
Friction material is bonded to the steel back plate using a thermosetting epoxy adhesive, which is applied to both surfaces, allowed to dry, then heated in a press to cure the bond. During the process, the stack of pads in the press will shrink as the excess adhesive is pressed out. The press should be re-tightened part way through the process, or the bond will be weak.
If this is forgotten, the whole batch will be likely to fail in a manner similar to that above.

 

[mihai.ile]

Hello,

I found this thread on the net and similar ones and I just registered here also to say that I too have EBC brake pads and failed by separating themselves from the metal part on both sides on front wheels (the inner part on both sides) and thankfully I did not have to do an emergency brake or brake hard on the highway!

The pads were EBC red stuff and had very very very very light use, no abuse at all. They failed after around 1year and half.

Below I add the pictures, my car is not a BMW, but a Smart Roadster but it does not matter really, I just found this topic on the net and wanted to warn that this is not a reliable product! Brakes is not something you would ever want to fail. Now I have nothing against EBC, I am actually shocked that this happened especially because for Smart Roadster there are not many brand of brake pads apart OEM ones, but wanted to spread the word that while some of the pads work perfectly, others, like mine fail miserabely and this is serious matter; imagine if I had to brake on the highway here in Germany at speeds over 170km/h which while I do not do regularly it happens from time to time to travel at those speeds.
If you have EBC brake pads fitted, please check your brake pads people.

 

[X-S-Z]

Hello,

I found this thread on the net and similar ones and I just registered here also to say that I too have EBC brake pads and failed by separating themselves from the metal part on both sides on front wheels (the inner part on both sides) and thankfully I did not have to do an emergency brake or brake hard on the highway!

The pads were EBC red stuff and had very very very very light use, no abuse at all. They failed after around 1year and half.

Below I add the pictures, my car is not a BMW, but a Smart Roadster but it does not matter really, I just found this topic on the net and wanted to warn that this is not a reliable product! Brakes is not something you would ever want to fail. Now I have nothing against EBC, I am actually shocked that this happened especially because for Smart Roadster there are not many brand of brake pads apart OEM ones, but wanted to spread the word that while some of the pads work perfectly, others, like mine fail miserabely and this is serious matter; imagine if I had to brake on the highway here in Germany at speeds over 170km/h which while I do not do regularly it happens from time to time to travel at those speeds.
If you have EBC brake pads fitted, please check your brake pads people.

I can add to the list... slightly different circumstances but the same end result!

I had red stuff pads fitted all round on my 3.0i it went for an MoT and service with an advisory that the front break pads were wearing low. I had covered c. 5k miles all be it some of that mileage was track mileage. Upon looking through the wheels the pads looked and felt fine.

A few days later the brake pad sensor then came on! So I promptly ordered new front pads (not red stuff) and a new sensor. When I took the pads out they fell apart in my hands, the friction material coming loose from the metal backing. This happened on two of the four pads. What I also noticed was the brake sensor had melted exposing the metal contact and this was the reason why it had signaled the pads requiring replacement and not the fact they were worn. The pads had loads of friction material left and may have lasted a lot longer left in place or they may have failed in use with catastrophic results :thumbsdown:

These pads are designed for high temperatures and fast road / track use but they don't seem to stand up to the pace? I thought I was an individual case and I didn't think much of it but I'll be avoiding EBC brakes on the ///M now!