The following is for lister's information.
It is not any kind of a recommendation, or otherwise.
I have NFI in EBC.
I have not yet had a chance to fit, or to try these pads.
It is possible that some of you already have done so, in which case I would
be very interested to learn of your experiences with them.
I have fitted to my Triumph Vitesse a pair of AP Racing of England 4-pot
alloy front brake calipers and ventilated discs/rotors.
I have so far put some 5,500 miles on them, and they have the original Mintex
M171 pads fitted, but have no spares, so I thought I had better get some for
when I need them.
We called AP who say that they no longer produce these calipers, or the
discs, or the pads! (what a wonderful company!), but seriously it may be
worth thinking about their attitude when considering potential purchase of
their products?
I wonder if Tilton have the same policy to their products?
However, a company called EBC, produce Kevlar pads for all of our cars and
indeed for my AP calipers, so I have bought two sets, just in case...so with
the pads now fitted I should be OK for about the next 50,000+ miles or so.
It has taken me three years to cover 5,500 summer miles.
When I was building my car, I had to actively consider which parts to
purchase first, i.e. rare trim parts peculiar to the convertible version, and
body panels, as and when they became available.
You can only plan so far, as you never really know what may come up at
various autojumbles/flea markets etc, but now, my car is complete, the
emphasis has shifted to what I should have in stock as spare
parts/consumables and what other spares may be most useful in the future...
What for instance would we do without the TRF/Moss/Kippings of this world?
This is not in my opinion scaremongering or pessimism, merely sensible
foresight to protect our hobby cars and to keep them on the road as long as
possible.
OK, back to the plot.
The bumpf, (and there is a LOT of bumpf, or perhaps 'blinding with science'),
that came with these pads,
(which BTW, I ordered using a pencil drawn template), as I had no part
number...says the following...
EBC Brakes:
Green Stuff.
EBC's Kevlar' high friction roadsport compound for fast road and race use on
lighter cars. Has good initial bite from cold, effective up to 550 degrees
Celsius. Award winning feature is almost complete lack of brake dust.
(the box is here in front of me, and boy do they smell bad!)
Red Stuff.
A semi-metallic race pad also suitable for heavier cars in fast road use.
Medium friction rating with strong brake right up to 750 degrees Celsius.
Medium lifetime factor - zero disc damage.
Yellow Stuff.
EBC's flagship race material.
Yellow grade has highest lifetime and is heat stable up to 900 degrees
Celsius.
A major feature of this powerful brake material is it's zero disc damage
coefficient.
Apparently, Kevlar is Du Pont's registered trademark for its high strength
para-aramid fibre.
Q&A (provided by EBC)
Why Kevlar?
This world famous Dupont fibre is used in bulletproof vests and the space
shuttle. Very expensive but an excellent binding fibre, low abrasive, non
metallic and therefore cleaner and easier on rotors. Kevlar fibre is six
times as strong as steel when used in a brake pad in matrix form. Kevlar pads
are never the cheapest but often the best.
What causes Brake Dust?
As lower cost brake pads wear or carbonise at temperatures found in braking,
dust is released. Many pad manufacturers use materials that cause dust in
their pads. EBC Greenstuff contains none of these, hence pads run cleaner.
Plus pads do not surface carbonise until 550-600 degrees celsius, so in
normal street use, dust is almost entirely eliminated. Any dust that is
generated in performance use is easily wiped/washed away without damage to
alloy wheels. "EBC Greenstuff won the 1999 UK "Autotrade Magazine" innovation
award for its clean running, high performance features".
Brake Fade explained
All pads contain some organic materials. resins that bind pad compounds
together are organic - petro-chemical products.
As these overheat, the resins revert to gas and cause the pads to "aquaplane"
on a gas film which is caused fade> some pads only fade once or twice and
then settle down, (green fade or bedding-in fade). Other cheaper pads suffer
from continual fade, sometimes at surprisingly low temperatures.
Brake Temperatures
Temps between the pad & disc do not normally exceed 400-450 degrees C even in
heavy street use. In race use, 400-600 degrees C is common on smaller cars
and in championship cup races temps shoot up to around 800-900 degrees C
where discs will glow red or orange.
Always choose a pad adequate for your needs, NEVER just choose a race
compound because you think you're a hot shot. Many/most race pads need
"warm-up" and so don't become effective till (sic) 200 degrees C.
EBC greenstuff is effective from cold and needs no warm-up. Even so, EBC
green feels stronger as you use the brake harder. We call that progressive
braking.
Which Rotors/Discs to use
Knowing where rotor castings come from, not just where they are machined is a
major problem for consumers. There are a wide range of qualities on today's
world markets. Not all are equal. A good quality cast iron rotor, with or
without slots or grooves will work well with EBC greenstuff. Just don't try
to buy the cheapest, or you may end up with a poor brake or a "warped" rotor.
Brake Squeal/Noise
EBC greenstuff pads exhibit ZERO brake squeal...period. If they do, send them
back to us. HOWEVER, when using any pad on a slotted rotor, during "bed-in" a
purring or aeroplaning noise sometimes occurs. After 200-300 miles this will
disappear. Do not remove or return pads for this initial use reason.
Pad Lifetime
On sport compacts up to 3/4 ton and 2.5 litre in street use, 10-20,000 miles
is common. It depends a lot on how you drive, and slotted rotors will reduce
this lifetime. EBC greenstuff is a SPORT pad for people who want brake
improvement. If you want a longer lasting pad, either upgrade to EBC redstuff
(a race compound) or give us a call.
Front or Rear pad usage?
EBC greenstuff can be used both front and rear, but DO NOT fit to rear,
unless also using green on the front to avoid possible rear wheel lockup.
Do grooves or Slots in Rotors help?
They have several advantages. They break down surface gas films as and when
pads overheat, keep surfaces of pads clean and scrape away burnt carbon
deposits on pad surface.
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OK, that's roughly half of the bumpf, which seems to me to be a mixture of
claims about how marvellous these Kevlar pads are, some good advice, and some
technical stuff taken from the likes of Fred Puhn's Brake handbook
Not so sure about 'aeroplaning' or 'para-aramid fibre' ???
part two will follow in a separate mailing.
Has anyone out there actually tried these yet?
EBC seems to originate in Las Vegas, with a distributor in Northampton, UK.
Léon
Triumph Sports Six Club
International Liaison Secretary
1963 Triumph Vitesse 2-Litre Convertible
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