Brakes / Standard vs aftermarket

[sisson18]

I need new front and rear brake discs & pads.

 

Euro car parts have a 35% off sale today, so shall I buy the standard brembo discs off them or go aftermarket?

 

Also are brembo pads any good?

[veeg33]

Depends on how you drive your zed, if you need more/better braking, aftermarket would be ideal. If just normal driving, they should be good enough.

[sisson18]

Drive it hard but only on the road so don't really need anything to fancy.

 

Was just trying to find out if aftermarket ones are significantly cheaper for the same quality as standard.

[veeg33]

I think with 35% off, those Brembo is a good bargain?

[sisson18]

I think with 35% off, those Brembo is a good bargain?

 

£592 with pads.

[Aashenfox]

You can get all 4 as dimpled, grooved or cross drilled for 369 quid before forum discount, from MTEC. I see no reason whatsoeever to pay after market prices for a solid disc of metal.

 

http://www.mtecbrake...0-03-01-10.html

Edited June 19, 2017 by Aashenfox

[veeg33]

Good call Aashenfox, i was looking at them MTEC a year back and have forgotten about. They will do the job and looks great at the same time without OTT price.

[MDMetal]

I have mtec and love them was easy enough to pop them on, they look good and response seems the same if not a bit nicer with decent pads

[Adrian@TORQEN]

StopTechs in stock, all parts in this pack: https://www.torqen.uk/nissan/350z/brakes/pack-deals/8886-350z-stoptech-fr-brake-discs-pads-lines-and-fluid-pack-slotted-brembo.html

 

You can select just the discs and pads if you don't want the lines and fluid.

[Jake.Lowther]

StopTechs in stock, all parts in this pack: https://www.torqen.uk/nissan/350z/brakes/pack-deals/8886-350z-stoptech-fr-brake-discs-pads-lines-and-fluid-pack-slotted-brembo.html

 

You can select just the discs and pads if you don't want the lines and fluid.

 

I commend your efforts Adrian but sometimes I feel like you don't even read the threads, I mean OP was talking about finding aftermarket ones that were significantly cheaper than the OEM £590 ones. You just linked some that cost almost 30% more than that....

Edited June 19, 2017 by Jake.Lowther

[sisson18]

You can get all 4 as dimpled, grooved or cross drilled for 369 quid before forum discount, from MTEC. I see no reason whatsoeever to pay after market prices for a solid disc of metal.

 

http://www.mtecbrake...0-03-01-10.html

 

Cheers, I think I'll go for the dimple grooved discs. I'll also have a google for the best pads.

[monkeybrain1234]

I got hawk hps ceramic pads at the front. Around £110 for a front set.

 

Great pad for fast road driving. Have been really impressed with them. Noticeable improvement over brembo pads.

 

http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/high-performance-street

 

[Oversteer]

I've spent a good few hours reading posts and looking at different disc & pad combos, so ideal thread

 

I'm also mainly daily, but may do the odd track day. Had 2500 frodos previously and they were a bit squealy / dusty / wooden from cold (shims helped)

 

Was thinking oem Brembo discs, but even with 30% ECP discount code, they're more expensive than either MTec or RTS.

 

MTecs are winning because the anti-corrosion treatment is available and the comment above about the dimples matching the Rays!

 

I'm veering towards Hawk HPS front pads and may be Stoptech Street rears.

 

I got hawk hps ceramic pads at the front. Around £110 for a front set.

 

Great pad for fast road driving. Have been really impressed with them. Noticeable improvement over brembo pads.

 

http://www.hawkperfo...formance-street

 

Was thinking Hawk Ceramics after reading a few posts, but HPS (Ferro-Carbon) state they can be used on light autocross, suggesting a slightly better ability than the Ceramics on track (which say street only).

 

A lot of choice of braided lines too!

[Aashenfox]

Braided pipe of certain length and diameter is braided pipe of certain length and diameter, get the cheapest you can find and be happy.

[Oversteer]

Braided pipe of certain length and diameter is braided pipe of certain length and diameter, get the cheapest you can find and be happy.

 

Haha! Only difference I've found so far is zinc plated or stainless steel; and price range 70 - 260 gbp

Edited June 23, 2017 by Oversteer

[Aashenfox]

My braided brakelines are the HEL (yeh, that's a brand, lol) cheapest ones, AND I bought them second hand. Think I paid 30 quid shipped to greece.

Edited June 23, 2017 by Aashenfox

[Jack94]

I'm in the same position as you OP and got the same question really, whether to go oem or whether there's a decent upgrade for the same sort of money. Had a look on eBay though and you can get brembo discs and pads for £330 or MTEC discs and brembo pads for £300?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401196414212

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331877984781

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330606505596

Edited June 25, 2017 by Jack94

[Lanky]

Don't know if it's adding value to the topic, but a set of DBA T2 600S discs all-round and Hawk HPS pads were just obtained for a shy under £600. If you're looking for aftermarket in the same price range as the original Brembo offer on ECP.

 

As for the reference to it just being a lump of metal you're buying - you'd be surprised how much goes into the various stages of making "good" discs. If you want them to last and also depend on them, there's only a few brands you can really depend on.

[Ewen@Clark Motorsport]

You can get all 4 as dimpled, grooved or cross drilled for 369 quid before forum discount, from MTEC. I see no reason whatsoeever to pay after market prices for a solid disc of metal.

 

http://www.mtecbrake...0-03-01-10.html

 

That's like saying all tyres are the same because they are all made of rubber, the quality of the cast iron used is the main factor in what determines a good quality disc.

 

The Brembo discs that ECP sell are good for general road use, we can supply these with the Hawk HPS pads and can normally beat the ECP price for the discs.

 

We can currently supply the Hawk HPS pads for £85 for the front set.

[TT350]

You can get all 4 as dimpled, grooved or cross drilled for 369 quid before forum discount, from MTEC. I see no reason whatsoeever to pay after market prices for a solid disc of metal.

 

http://www.mtecbrake...0-03-01-10.html

 

Wow, I just got a set of brakes and pads by MTEC for 270 quid. Drilled.

[Aashenfox]

You can get all 4 as dimpled, grooved or cross drilled for 369 quid before forum discount, from MTEC. I see no reason whatsoeever to pay after market prices for a solid disc of metal.

 

http://www.mtecbrake...0-03-01-10.html

 

That's like saying all tyres are the same because they are all made of rubber, the quality of the cast iron used is the main factor in what determines a good quality disc.

 

The Brembo discs that ECP sell are good for general road use, we can supply these with the Hawk HPS pads and can normally beat the ECP price for the discs.

 

We can currently supply the Hawk HPS pads for £85 for the front set.

 

OK, I'll bite, but firstly, no, it's not the same as saying all tyres are the same cos they are made of rubber, there is a lot more variation in the materials and techniques used to make tyres than to make a solid disc of metal. Think single mass flywheels as well, I paid 150e for mine and it's perfect, no need to pay 600e for a solid piece of metal.

 

So, yeh, for normal road use, as stated by the OP, please tell me what benefits I will reap spending any more than those MTEC cost? Also, I'm an amateur metallurgist myself, I'm curious what difference the standard of the iron will make in the DBA discs compared to the MTEC discs, lets imagine (though I am very sceptical) that the quality of the iron is better in the DBA product, what benefits does that mean for me?

 

Cheers!

[Lanky]

Ref to your point:- "here is a lot more variation in the materials and techniques used to make tyres than to make a solid disc of metal." - Actually no, there's a lot more alloys of steel than kinds of tyre setup in the world. That's just steel, let alone Aluminium and the rest. Even considering tyres are also made up of nylon beads, steel wire banding, anti noise membranes and such.

 

I'd be honest here if you know metallurgy you should know about heat treatment at the very least. Let alone the differences in source material compounds.

 

- Harder metal so lasts longer against same pads

- Tougher so less chance of it cracking

- treated so lower rate of oxidation, again lasting longer

- machined to better tolerances and quality checked more so you can be sure they're the same time and time again.

 

All in all, if the opinion is they're initially just all identical cuts from the same piece of cheese, it couldn't be furthre from the truth I'm afraid.

 

Generally all depends what you wanna do with your discs. I spent what more on mine recently than I've ever done for a set on a car, mostly cause of the car it is. I still wouldn't use them if tomorrow I was drafted in to drive it in even a 20-lap race.

I'm only piping up here because there's 3 things I avoid saving extra on for my cars - brakes, tyres and steering. All you've got in the way of hope of avoiding the unthinkables.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Lanky

[Aashenfox]

 

Thanks for being so condescending, that was really nice of you.

 

I venture that there are more tread patterns than different types of metal used in brake disc manufacture, let alone rubber compounds, radial types, and everything else but that's not relevant anyway so let's not get bogged down in whether or not I like Ewen's analogy.

 

My 5 year old knows what heat treatment is (probably?) what does that have to do with why the OP needs to spend double on some DBAs? Especially given that the stock discs on the Porsche 911s are well known for cracking and they're a grand a corner. Don't tell me they use cheap manufacturing methods or materials.

 

Let me save you the trouble guys, what you want me to say is that the DBAs are better discs and will last longer and shed heat quicker (which is what a brake needs to do, nothing else is important except converting that kinetic energy to heat and then dissipating it as quickly as possible). Yes, I admit that, of course they are, things generally ARE more expensive for a reason.

 

I have a base model, it has tiny tiny discs (I have brembos, just haven't decided what colour to do em yet, that's how unimportant they are in my upgrade plans), are the brakes rubbish? No. So let's be clear first of all that the Brembos are overkill for road use in the first place. Any brembo caliper sized disc is going to be effective enough at dissipating the heat generated by road (even fast road) use, so anything beyond that is cream.

 

Now, if the OP had said "I've got deep pockets and I want to put something nice on my car, it's for fast road use", then I'd be right up there with you guys, saying get a nice set of stoptechs, DBAs, or even a BBK, but that isn't the case here. People who are in the bizz get a bit funny about their personal preferences and tend to think they know what's best for everybody because it's what they've found works best on the car. Most people don't need what works 'best' they just need what works.

 

Edit: By the way, I don't cheap out on my brakes either, I just don't spend double when I don't need to.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Aashenfox

[Lanky]

I don't know how you took that as condescending but fair enough, not what I meant to portray. 

 

I'm not vouching my guarantee  for the DBAs against stock or even against cheap discs. Only adding here there's a wealth of choices and arguing against your point that there's no discernible difference between the discs - There will be. You didn't comment about the length of service the discs could manage? What if the dba lasts twice as long in normal use. That makes them at least the same value besides anything else.

Some things are worth paying extra for, some aren't granted. As it goes with these things on cars as far as advi e for the OP, I stand by my point. You never know whether they're certain to be OK until something happens. I can let a failure fly on a washer pump or window motor but not my brakes 5 years down the line or 40k miles whichever way you look at it. 

A raft of choices, I'd strongly suggest to the OP go for the best you can afford without overdoing yourself. 

Trust me on this - mintex pads on old brembo discs are not safe after just even one long braking stretch. Faded like hell. They still stopped but if I'd needed it shortly I'd not have made it stop in time. Just a word of experience. 

[Ekona]

On 30/06/2017 at 4:34 PM, Aashenfox said:

Especially given that the stock discs on the Porsche 911s are well known for cracking and they're a grand a corner.

Complete and utter bobbins.

http://www.design911.co.uk/fu/pt66_202_-cma81-cmo539-ct541/Porsche/997-MKII--911--2009--/997-MKII--911--Carrera-S-2009--/Brake-Disc-Standard/

 

Fronts on a 997.2 C2S are £168.18 per corner for the disc, assuming you want the nice shiny Porsche ones. Rears are £151.83. OEM pads are £213 per axle. Hardly £1K per corner! Not forgetting that, much like Nissan, you'd never buy OEM when you can get an identical pad (as in made on the exact same line and just not stamped with the Porsche part number) for half the cost. My 911 was much cheaper on consumables than my 350Z was, barring oil at a service simply because it needed twice as much

 

Also, they don't crack often at all. What does happen is that the drilled holes become full of brake dust, and you need to drill them out, but then that happens with every single drilled disc in the world ever.