Which rear disc brakes are best value?

[Mr_E85Bim]

So I am about to become a novice mechanic and have decided to take on changing the rear disc brakes as one of my first projects

I am look at the Brembo 280mm on auto doc. They are going for £34.28 ex delivery. Is this a good deal in your opinion?
Also, it recommends you replace your pads. But the pads look like they had been changed quite recently. How important is it to change the pads at the same time?

Thank you as always for your thoughts

 

[SonnyA85]

I'd say brembo it's what I put on the rear as they are smaller. At the front I used mtec dimpled and grooved.

Pads shouldn't need replaced at same time but take it easy for the first 200 miles until they bed in properly and you should be fine .

 

[Special Kay]

I think when your replacing brake pads, its always best to go for the best quality pads your finances allow. Personally I've always gone OE, be it ATE or similar. However, I remember buying a GTI back in the day that had Ferrodo pads, and they were very good pads. I think where I'm trying to go with this, is don't just go for any old pad or pad manufacturer. I remember trying to go the value route having a complete and utter nightmare replacing new pads and discs for Pagid discs and pads from a well known ECP. Never again will I buy or try to skimp on such an important safety feature.
I don't know an awful lot about Brembo, other than their high end stuff goes on some very classy sports cars. I think they'd definitely be worth a punt having a company with such a huge reputation. I know of a few mechanics that used to refuse using euro car parts for service items such as brakes as "they never fit properly". But times have changed and so have euros (hopefully for the good of the consumer).
Good luck with replacing your pads, don't forget to take it easy for the first 200 miles in order for the pads to bed in.

 

[mr.tourette]

never had a problem with pagid stuff before..been using them on my daily drivers for donkeys years :scratchhead:

that said I'd be happy using brembo gear on my z4

 

[Thrustyjust]

I bought some Borg and Beck rear discs and come in a nice box with hologram on it. The discs have coated heat resistant drums and to be honest were far better quality than I was expecting for the price. Not being tight , but had some Mintex ones , which were more expensive and were the wrong ones in the right box and was glad to send them back. The disc faces now they are bed in and nice and smooth and not showing any lines also. Not seemingly that common to find , from a quick search. Parts In Motion are the UK supplier .

 

[Rockhopper]

Brembo do a budget version which is the ones that ECP stock. £34 sounds very reasonable for back disks as they tend to be quite a bit more expensive than the fronts as they have the handbrake drum in them as well.
Pagid are as good as any other you will find. MTEC are a good option if you want drilled or slotted.

 

[Mr_E85Bim]

Thanks Rock! They sent me an email thos morning saying they will throw in free shipping, so I think I will go for it.

I've never bought brake discs before!! I have a pre face-lift 2.5. From what I have read up I need 280mm discs. If anyone knows otherwise, please do shout! I will order them this evening

 

[Rockhopper]

Degrease them before you put the pads in I'd always use new pads on new disks because why not? These days its not unusual to change pads and disks at the same time, back in the day disks never wore out!
The only drama you will have is setting up the handbrake - its a bit of a performance to do it correctly, get it wrong and when the car is back on the ground the handbrake will be dragging slightly.

 

[Lance]

Pretty straightforward job changing the discs and pads. Make sure you have good quality tools for removing the disc locating screws and the bolts that hold the caliper mounting brackets, round either of these off and it all becomes a PITA.

 

[patriot66]

Thanks Rock! They sent me an email thos morning saying they will throw in free shipping, so I think I will go for it.

I've never bought brake discs before!! I have a pre face-lift 2.5. From what I have read up I need 280mm discs. If anyone knows otherwise, please do shout! I will order them this evening

The standard 2.5i pre-facelift rear disc is a solid unvented one like this whereas the 3.0i is vented like this
I replaced my 2.5i setup last year with a full 3.0i setup. Well worth doing. I will be going up to 3.0si 325mm fronts when possible

 

[Special Kay]

For not alot of money, it may be worth changing the brake fluid as well.

 

[Mr_E85Bim]

Oh wow! Apologies gents! For some reason all the other responses didn't show up when I last checked.
Noted on the advice of taking it easy for the first 200 miles.

I'm sure it won't go as smoothly as I like when it comes to doing the change. I'm sure I will be back asking questions

Thank you all.

 

[Rockhopper]

I’d argue that changing the fluid isn’t a job for a novice mechanic. You run the real risk of ending up with an underivable car, especially if you accidentally let air into the ABS pump.

 

[Mr_E85Bim]

Agreed! I watched a couple of quick videos on brake fluid change. I think I will leave that alone for now. Maybe something to learn later down the line.

So I have ordered the 280mm solid disc brembos.

Degrease them before you put the pads in I'd always use new pads on new disks because why not? These days its not unusual to change pads and disks at the same time, back in the day disks never wore out!
The only drama you will have is setting up the handbrake - its a bit of a performance to do it correctly, get it wrong and when the car is back on the ground the handbrake will be dragging slightly.

Why would I need to fiddle with the handbrake setup? I thought it would just sit in place as long as I leave it alone?

 

[Rockhopper]

The original drums might be worn or rusty and so on. You might even struggle to get the old disk off without backing off the adjusters (I’ve seen that before!).

 

[Lance]

Agreed! I watched a couple of quick videos on brake fluid change. I think I will leave that alone for now. Maybe something to learn later down the line.

So I have ordered the 280mm solid disc brembos.

Degrease them before you put the pads in I'd always use new pads on new disks because why not? These days its not unusual to change pads and disks at the same time, back in the day disks never wore out!
The only drama you will have is setting up the handbrake - its a bit of a performance to do it correctly, get it wrong and when the car is back on the ground the handbrake will be dragging slightly.

Why would I need to fiddle with the handbrake setup? I thought it would just sit in place as long as I leave it alone?

My guess is you won’t need to mess with the handbrake set up. When I changed my rear discs which had been on for AT LEAST 30k miles, it was all easy, discs off easy, new ones on and no adjustment required. You can always lube the adjusters while the discs are off (careful not to contaminate the shoes) and then adjust through the wheel bolt holes if need be.

 

[SonnyA85]

Thanks Rock! They sent me an email thos morning saying they will throw in free shipping, so I think I will go for it.

I've never bought brake discs before!! I have a pre face-lift 2.5. From what I have read up I need 280mm discs. If anyone knows otherwise, please do shout! I will order them this evening

The standard 2.5i pre-facelift rear disc is a solid unvented one like this20170212_153602_Richtone(HDR).jpg whereas the 3.0i is vented like this 20210403_164003.jpg
I replaced my 2.5i setup last year with a full 3.0i setup. Well worth doing. I will be going up to 3.0si 325mm fronts when possible

What's the difference on insurance for upgrading fronts for you? I know it won't be the same for me. Also how much you paying currently and what declared mods do you have for a ball park figure.

I haven't bothered with a lot of mods because of insurance complications.

 

[Mr_E85Bim]

Agreed! I watched a couple of quick videos on brake fluid change. I think I will leave that alone for now. Maybe something to learn later down the line.

So I have ordered the 280mm solid disc brembos.

Degrease them before you put the pads in I'd always use new pads on new disks because why not? These days its not unusual to change pads and disks at the same time, back in the day disks never wore out!
The only drama you will have is setting up the handbrake - its a bit of a performance to do it correctly, get it wrong and when the car is back on the ground the handbrake will be dragging slightly.

Why would I need to fiddle with the handbrake setup? I thought it would just sit in place as long as I leave it alone?

My guess is you won’t need to mess with the handbrake set up. When I changed my rear discs which had been on for AT LEAST 30k miles, it was all easy, discs off easy, new ones on and no adjustment required. You can always lube the adjusters while the discs are off (careful not to contaminate the shoes) and then adjust through the wheel bolt holes if need be.

Ahh you had me worried for a moment. Thought I had missed something important in all my theory training haha.

Thanks for the clarification and I will lube the adjusters as suggested

 

[Mr_E85Bim]

Being the novice I am, I only realised the rear discs and pads had been changed quite recently. The pads were almost as good as new!! Luckily, the Mrs convinced me to take Safe Order on AutoDoc

Anyways, it were the fronts discs and pads that were causing the issue. I think I have managed to fix the near side after 3hrs of graft!!! The disc as a PITA to get off. There was a small pile of rust on the floor after I was done thanks all for your help! Feels very rewarding!!

After a 30min test drive it looks like the chirping that was coming from the wheel is gone
But I saw on trusted tube that I should be able to slide the caliper back and forth with my hand once it's all assembled again. Is this correct? I took off the back wheel and tried on that one too. Hoping I haven't discovered a bigger problem