6 replies to this topic

[Prawn]

hey guys
ive decided that the brakes in my mini just arnt up to the job now ive got a 1275 fitted, they stop em ok, but i dont totally trust them, the car was layed up in very wet condition for 2 months, and the discs got very rusty, this has no cleared up after a few days driving, but the discs seem to have large ridges in them :S and are generally not great.
so
ive decided to go with a set of ebc greenstuff pads
and a new set of uprated discs, im thinking of drilled and grooved ones
but there are so many around, which are best?
looking for a good set of drilled and grooved 8.4'' discs, that dont cost the earth, ive not really dealt with brakes before apart from changing pads, so dont knwo a great deal
whats best? and where to get it from?
cheers
nick
oh yea, will a set of drilled and grooved discs with ebc pads be noticably better than my current totally standard setup?
cheers again
nick

[siggy]

Even a set of standard new discs and pads should be an improvement over a used set. Groved and green stuff pads will be a big improvement.

BUT remember to run them in as per the instructions, unless you want them to be worse than your old ones.

Also make sure the calipers (pistons and seals) are in good condition

I have used Tarox stuff in the past and found them to be good.

Siggy

[TimS]

u wont need drilled, grooved or dimpled discs unless ur using the car for regular track days or rag it everywhere, i would say used the green stuffs on std discs, itl feel much more responsive once its warm though im afraid at the end of the day u wont b able to stop any quicker, just b alot safer!

[Pavel]

www.minijohn.com

Get a pair of new discs, at 7 or 8 quid a piece its a bargain. No need for drilled stuff unless you want them to look pretty or do some pretty serious racing.

On the road, I can bet you won't notice difference between drilled and standard discs. And the cost is significantly different (think of all the stuff you could buy).

[Bluemini]

Indeed, drilled and grooved disks are for fast road aplications, but I wouldnt have anything else tho - I rag my car everywhere!!

The grooves are to clean the glaze off the pads that is caused when they get hot, and the driled holes are to help with the cooling. If your gonna be on the Rat Run alot tho, I would recomend a set!

I would also recomend a set of EBC Green Stuff pads too, they are for fast road use and I find them a lot better than standard pads. When I spoke to EBC a while back, they said that they are good enuf for the race cars too, even tho they are not sold as race pads. They said that the BC Black pads that they do are designed for heavier cars like BMW, etc and would never get to the right temp on a road mini.

[David_J]

Nickprawn,

If you're not happy with the brakes there are other things you can look at changing other than worn out discs and pads. Remember that brake fluid is best replaced every year or so as it can suck up moisture a bit and 'go-off', draining, replacing with new and bleeding will help. Also if the rubber hose parts of your brake system are old they can expand when under pressure and make the pedal feel spongy, braided stainless steel goodrich type hoses will cure that problem. And, if the master and slave cylinders are old and worn they can also decrease the 'feel' and confidence that you'll have in the brakes - a new set of seals or cylinders will help that.

I'd agree with the above comments about grooved and drilled discs - unless you are going to really really need them they aren't worth the extra cost and they can make your pads wear out faster. If you are going to go with grooved and drilled discs you'll probably want to make sure the rest of the system is in good nick anyway!

Greenstuff pads are excellent, I noticed a real improvement when I put them on my spitfire (with standard new discs)

[TimS]

dont supose anyone knows where i can get a plastic resiviour part for the back of a later type tandem non servo assisted master cylinder as the once from the earlier one doesnt fit(one with 2 scrres in it) as its too small:(???

im also changin the rear subframe at the same time as well as rear wheel cylinders, hoses and ner brake shoes hofully it will make a big difference as the stopping pow3er b4, even with fast road pads was apauling