Brake upgrade

[broady]

The discs on my car lasted a good 75,000 miles and 5 years but the overall braking system needed an upgrade as it struggled on track days and pads (EBC redstuff) were on their last legs. I asked Cougar Store for advice and was recommended Ferodo pads as the first upgrade. The downside to them (over my EBD redstuff) was cost, extra dust and possible noise when pads were cold.

 

At the same time I had some Black Diamond grooved discs fitted. I couldn't justify the cost of DBA's and I was willing to be a guinea pig for the 12 grooved Black Diamond's. To top it off I upgraded the hoses and fluid. All were fitted with no hassle by Andy and off I went with a much firmer brake pedal but some squealing noise at low speed when cold.

 

An impromptu track day happened not much later than the fitting and the new setup performed miles better than the OEM discs and redstuff pads. There was hardly any brake fade and the performance was a big improvement (ask the M3 who had the legs on me in a straight line but was quickly caught under braking!).

 

After the track day I have a slight vibration on the discs, I think the Ferodo's are possible too agressive for the disc, but a subsequent track day showed their performance to still be excellent and there are no ill effects when pushing them to the limit. Diagnosing the problem with the discs is a difficult task but the cost of the Black Diamond's means I can't complain, they still work well, may try the 6 grooved version next time and still have plenty of cash to spare over the DBA's.

 

So in conclusion Ferodo's are the way forward for track use and Black Diamonds are good value for money and do the job if you can't or won't pay DBA money.