Brake Pads

[Peter Mallett]

Right then folks. Brake pads.

When I first got into tin top racing I found that the best pad for my application was the Ferodo DS11, which was extremely hard and would eat discs in a pretty short time. However I was racing a MG Metro and running the standard non-vented disc. I could really hammer the brakes and never worry about fade.

I then modified the car and ran vented discs with two pot callipers. Again the DS11 pad would work but by far the best was the Mintex pad (number escapes me). This was because the Ferodo would run too cool and take a little more time to bite than the Mintex. Of course the Mintex wore out that much quicker.

Running the Capri, which weighs in at 1072 KG plus me, I run Willwood four-pot callipers on vented and cross-drilled discs. When I ran the original Mark 2 Capri I used the standard front brakes with Ferodo DS11 pads. It’s a matter of record that this nearly cost me more than money when the brakes failed at the end of Park straight at Cadwell and pitched me over the tyre wall into the spectator area. I still brake far too early for this corner, which must be costing me 2 seconds, a lap!

The pads I have found to be the most user friendly are Ferodo 3000ff, which are hard but have an initial bite that comes in almost immediately. Last weekend I tried EBC Yellowstuff pads, which are carbon based. As many will be aware there are a fair amount of corners at Cadwell but also some fairly long distances between them. I entered the Mountain at a fair old lick and braked, only to find that the pads were not hot enough! I spun up the hill, which is pretty unique.

Not having time to change back to my original pads I continued and qualified pretty well down the grid of 25 cars. The brakes, needless to say, were appalling and on inspection afterwards, I had hardly touched the surface!

I changed back to my original pads for the race and felt so much more comfortable. This is not so much a query, nor is it an endorsement for Ferodo. However, it does demonstrate how something as fundamental as brake pads can be different for different people.

It would be interesting to hear the experience of others.