alexwitham Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 So, I've had the DBA/DS2500 combo fitted for around 1000 miles now having driven at daily speeds and on track (I'm no slouch), I thought I'd give you my review which will hopefully help those researching what combo to go for. Setup: Discs - DBA T2 front and back Pads - DS2500 front and back (no shims, copper ease applied) Lines - Standard front and back Fluid - DOT4 Tyres (Just FYI) - RE050a's front and back Bed in: 10x60mph>10mph. Park up (no handbrake) and leave to cool for 30 minutes. Repeat cycle one more time. Road summary: An improvement over the standard setup is evident in all areas, albeit this setup is a little more 'grabby' that my previous OEM discs with mid-range Ferodo pads. Cold feel is good (pads mostly 'grabby' when cold), performance is great from the get go. When the setup is up to temperature (5-10 minutes of general road use) the braking power is a noticeable improvement over my previous set up (quantifying this is difficult, but lets say a 10-15% improvement) I have however suffered occasional squeaking when traveling through heavily built up areas (rush hour city traffic, for example) however this appears to cure once heat is put back in the brakes. This noise is not enough to be classed as a reason not to purchase, mind. Squeaking experienced when partially applying brakes from circa 30mph>10/0mph. I have not noticed any wooden/spongey feel on the road at all when either hot or cool. There is no more brake dust on my wheels in comparison to my original setup either. To conclude, a great setup, performance is excellent and you will definitely not be disappointed. The only negative is you 'may' experience squeaky brakes during low speed partial braking (however this may be resolved with the use of an anti-squeal spray, brake shims or a more generous serving of copper ease). Track summary: Having not used my previous setup on track, I cannot give a direct comparison, however, the DBA/DS2500 combo has performed brilliantly today (Snetterton 300). Baring in mind the 350z is not a light car, I was expecting that after 6-7 laps I would experience brake fade/overheating, especially considering I have standard DOT4 fluid with OEM hoses. Whilst not completely fade free after a number of laps, the brakes held up really, really well and provided excellent stopping power from the moment I left the pitlane to the moment I pulled up in the paddock garage. I was on track with some serious kit (Clio V6, GroupM MG metro V6 4WD with huge brakes) yes they were braking 2-3 car lengths after me at the end of the straights, but considering this whole set up cost less than £600, I was mightily impressed. Pedal feedback is great, the feel is solid and responsive, the pads give great stopping power from cold all the way to 20-30 minutes of hard abuse. Brake fade was minimal but noticeable after circa 20 minutes but performance and stopping power was still good enough to lock the front decelerating from 130mph>50mph without requiring pedal pump to get the performance back for the next apex. Pads and discs are holding up well, the disc faces have discolored through a day of hard graft however once again, performance on my drive home was superb. I have absolutely no reservations in recommending this setup to anybody looking for brakes that can hold up to both fast road/light track use. **The above is my opinion, disagreement is OK!** 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewen@Clark Motorsport Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Great review Alex, very informative for other forum members Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Good write up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexwitham Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Thanks chaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Nice write up, can't wait to get these babies on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaveney Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Love my DS2500 . Good write up . Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexwitham Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 They really are a great pad. My brakes have stopped squeaking after 1200 miles now, perhaps the track day has given them a more comprehensive 'bed in' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I'm running the same pads. Absolutely great on road and track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 What was your previous set-up ? Do you find these pads are compressible when cold/hot ? I'm finding, after bleeding my brake system around 6 times that my yellowstuff pads initial pedal travel is annoying (ie - I want it biting sooner rather than say 1/2 - 1 inch travel). So I'm wondering if this is just a compressibility characteristic of the pad compound ? (this is something Sly had suggested to me as well) I've not experienced any fade on these pads, and they really are reliable, I'm just not keen on that initial bite. Pads/Discs/Lines (SS) are only a year old, and I'll be bedding them in again anyway. If I decide to go for the DS2500's, Marcus is going to skim and inspect the discs first of all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 An improvement over the standard setup is evident in all areas, albeit this setup is a little more 'grabby' that my previous OEM discs with mid-range Ferodo pads. What was your previous set-up ? That might be a clue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Aye but sometimes it could have been those little jdm calipers or not the brembo pads. Can't assume anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexwitham Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 My previous set up was stock Brembo's with OEM discs, Ferodo pads (midrange but unsure of exact pad) standard hoses and dot4 fluid. The feel is firm, but I would suggest the travel distance is similar to what you currently experience, perhaps I could get a firmer pedal if I re-bled the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 (edited) Hmm, maybe I need to find someone nearby with ds2500's so I can see how they are. I'm really looking for quite a solid pedal at the top. Ah I believe I may have found the term I was looking for: pad knockback http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/pad-knockback As when I double tap my brakes, they feel brilliant, hmm doing some reading. Edited April 18, 2015 by RobPhoboS 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexwitham Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 (edited) I've had many bikes and cars with varying levels of brakes, all of which have suffered from a degree of pad knockback - even a brand new 1199 Ducati at Spa in Belgium. Unless you plow insane money into a car, I think it's relatively unavoidable. Edited April 19, 2015 by alexwitham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Yeah it looks like there are two ways to solve that, one is by popping in the brembo anit-knockback springs and the other is to have a valve in the brake system that has a pre-pressure in it already but they are both for pure track use (imho). I think at the very least I need to clean down my callipers and inspect them, perhaps get them rebuilt by the trader on the forum if required: http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/226-brake-caliper-specialists/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 @alex Thanks for sharing your experience. Though Ive never had this combo myself I've driven zeds with them and also with OEM discs and its a good setup overall fast road and occasional track work. In fact I felt no difference with the DBA and OEM brembo or pagid discs which are good quality and not to be confused with the crap EBC, black diamond etc Get some lines and upgrade fluid and I reckon it will reduce the fade you experienced. @Robbo, while I it possible that you are experiencing knock back it is unlikely a normal road speeds/driving. Most likely culprit is you may still have air in the system and the torque characteristic of the yellow stuff pad will be shiite anyway. Never rated any EBC pads. Used yellow stuff ones on my Scooby and was shocked how poor they were on track or fast road. Get DS2500 or better. I get knock back infrequently but typically when the pads have less than 40% life left and also rarely on the road. With the pagid RS15 race pads I'm currently using you get a slight lull on braking from cold at low speeds and part brake input but this is to be expected because it's a race pad that needs heat to be optimal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I'll give you a tinkle tonight if you're free (probably 9ish) mate I've still got to rotate the callipers on the next bleed just in case there's some in the calliper pistons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Yeah 9ish is ok👠Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Just wanted to echo some of the OP's points. I already ran DS2500 pads, braided lines and RBF 600, so the real change for me was to the DBA T2s from what I think we're the PO's OEM discs. This combo of pad, lines, discs and fluid has been a great real world driving experience the first 500+ miles, including my first spin round the Evo Triangle. I have a bit of squeal at low speeds also (which disappeared last time I had these pads fitted), the braking is very progressive, which at first was about weird but, once I settled into them, provides a good deal of control and ultimately stopping power if you really get on them. Great for fast road, not tracked them yet but have no reason to believe they won't be an improvement over my last track day on the old setup. Thanks to Clark Motorsport for supplying them PS - not a big consideration for brakes I know, but the discs look much better (particularly the painted hats) than before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarmoZ Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 [quote name='RobPhoboS' timestamp='1429394335' post='1467794'] Hmm, maybe I need to find someone nearby with ds2500's so I can see how they are. I'm really looking for quite a solid pedal at the top. Ah I believe I may have found the term I was looking for: pad knockback [url="http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/pad-knockback"]http://www.stoptech....s/pad-knockback[/url] As when I double tap my brakes, they feel brilliant, hmm doing some reading. [/quote] I have recently upgraded to the T2 and DS2500 as well, with existing RBF 660 fluid from the last recent service where they bled the system. I had the same issues with the old OEM pads and discs where I had to press the peddle twice to get decent initial bite. Since the new discs and pads (Front only) It seems as though the travel as become worse, it is indeed breaking when I press the peddle but very slightly, in short, its very progressive. Couple or three pumps continues to do the trick though. The car was services recently and the fluid was bled, so i doubt it's air in the system, I don't think it's knock back as it happens all the time not just after going round corner, plus i'm not cornering on track. I heard it could be master cylinder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 [quote name='DarmoZ' timestamp='1454600270' post='1582604'] The car was services recently and the fluid was bled, so i doubt it's air in the system, I don't think it's knock back as it happens all the time not just after going round corner, plus i'm not cornering on track. I heard it could be master cylinder? [/quote] I found after some time, and about 300000 attempts at bleeding the brakes they are now at a better biting point. I just have to get a few heat cycles into them more often and they seem pretty decent. It could well be air in the master cylinder or just that it's an old master cylinder. (and I agree, it's more than likely NOT knockback) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarmoZ Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Fair point I think ill send her in for a new Master and flush/bleed with new fluid. should do the trick....Hopefully 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 [quote name='DarmoZ' timestamp='1454601387' post='1582618'] Fair point I think ill send her in for a new Master and flush/bleed with new fluid. should do the trick....Hopefully [/quote] I may end up doing the same as well, even just due to the age of it. Please post up how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarmoZ Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Right, well I just got off the phone with H-Dev, after a discussion, I'm booked in next Friday morning for HEL braided lines and Fluid flush/bleed. So will update this thread then 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarmoZ Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Ok so I now have braided brake lines, and fluid bled. The pedal does feel a lot more responsive, it's not like brand new Audi feel with the initial huge bite, still progressive I would say, but a lot better, I'm not dissatisfied approaching stop lights and junctions anymore. Happy camper again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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