Warning on EBC Redstuff Rear Pads - don't buy them

J

jwa1

Member
I recently changed all of the pads to EBC red stuff (along with new standard discs). On the front, no problem. The rear ones however don't fit properly! The back plate has been badly manufactured and there is a couple of millimetres play in it which allows the pad to rattle/vibrate. This causes some really annoying problems:
* Squeaky breaks (biggest cause of squeaky breaks is vibration)
* An audible rattle when driving with the roof down
* Also the bad doesn't pull off of the disc properly even if copper grease is used, so you get the rotary squeak when going slow.

Yesterday I switched back to standard pads on the rear and all of these problems have been eliminated! I will be sending the rear pads back saying they don't fit my car!

Note that the front pads fit ok and I have no problem with them.
 
Have you bedded them in? My greenstuff pads were similar until they were bedded in and used for a couple of hundred miles. I get they occasional rubbing sound at low speed after a long journey when using the brakes a lot. I hve the slotted ebc discs though.
 
A rattle is never good and no way bedding them in will cure a non fitting pad.
 
It could be a fault in the manufacture of the backing plate, but as they're done in batches I'd assume there'll be more users complaining about this too.
Have you checked with EBC yet to see if it's a known problem?
 
I'm going to write to them tomorrow requesting a refund. I'll post the results up here. The Indy I use didn't have anything good to say about EBC. Apparently they always have problems with the back plates being the wrong size and shape. I could only hear the rattle when I had the roof down and was driving next to something (e.g. A hedge). My new standard pads haven't rattled or sqeaked once since I put them in! Redstuff works ok on the front, if I get brake fade wry this set up I will change the brake fluid for synthetic fluid = almost no fade.
 
I'm sure such a large and reputable company as EBC will want these pads back, offer a full refund and investigate.

As an aside I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with 2 different types of pad front to rear. The relative performance at different temperatures could create some unusual balance issues
 
EBC are utter s**t.

My z3m Coupe had them and the poor chap who owned the car prior to me was suckered into spending about £700 on this absolute crap set up all around the car - EBC drilled / red stuff pads.

The amount of vibration, the crap pedal feel and the squeak was laughable not to mention hugely embarrassing in town traffic.

Avoid.
 
Just fitted redstuff all round last weekend and have absolutely no problems at all!

Admittedly I haven't driven with the roof down yet, but there's no play whatsoever in any of the pads and they only squeaked once; the very first time applied the brakes!

There's loads of people on here using EBC pads, I did a lot of reading up on them before getting mine and this is the first time I've seen anyone have any problem with fitting. I wouldn't write them off so quickly and like cj says, I'd be concerned using red fronts and oem rears.
 
I have RedStuff fitted all around, and i DO have a annoying sound coming from the rear left side, that i hear also when driving along something that reverberates sound.
I've had this sound for some time now, and i've been eliminating sources one by one. Since i wil be able to do some serious mechanics during the long week-end to come (yes, i'm french, and i have an awfully lot of vacations... :D), i was about to check for my rear springs. I'll also check that pad issue and i'll let you know the outcome.
 
Shooter said:
...and i DO have a annoying sound coming from the rear left side, that i hear also when driving along something that reverberates sound.
Click to expand...
That'll be the engine noise coming through the exhaust :P
 
mmm-five said:
Shooter said:
...and i DO have a annoying sound coming from the rear left side, that i hear also when driving along something that reverberates sound.
Click to expand...
That'll be the engine noise coming through the exhaust :P
Click to expand...

Gosh, so that's what people are talking about ! i never realiszed that.... :rofl:
 
I will probably put standard pads back on the front too. I guess otherwise i'll end up cooking the rears, warping the discs and boiling the brake fluid!
 
do you have pictures?

i provided pictures of my overheated EBC greenstuff which caused the insane amount of squeak on the general thread.

everyone seems to suggest i get red stuff

would be helpful if you can provide pictures of the pads so at least i could see where the defect it, and perhaps not get the red stuff afterall

thanks
 
sorry to add to the pain of this link but thought i would add my story as well....
just had mechanic out AGAIN about a clattering noise that sounds like a horse and cart coming down the road following me.
- handbrake shoe come loose?
- rear wishbone playing up?
- wheel bearing?
- stuff in the drive shaft?
etc etc etc
NO! Its those damn EBC green pads. rubbish. you can see them moving around in the carrier when you turn the wheel!
Me too am swopping back to OEM (on the back wheels only tho)... will have to suffer the brake dust!
 
Just to come back to this after a bit more use on my redstuffs... they do squeal when going at very low speed (like 'inching round a petrol station' low speed... sub 5-10 mph). But don't rattle at all.

Did notice that the rear pads didn't have the black pad on the back of them, but a quick google image search showed that loads didn't, so assumed this was normal for the rears. May take them off and apply some compound if the squeal doesn't sort itself out, but I'm not bothered by it really.
 
I've fitted yellow stuff, and thus far no problems...but I have driven only a few hundreds of miles with them so far...
 
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