What Brake pads?

OK I've ordered some new front disc brakes from Buy parts by now I've just got to get some front pads. I think I'm running red stuff pads at the moment and I'm very impressed with them.

Does anyone know of any better pads? and most importantly where can I get the best bargain?

On another note I think my rear caliper is sticking as the hand brake is useless. Can you repair these calipers or do you need you get new ones?

Cheers Stu

There was a full set of pads on fleabay last week - front and rear for a start bid of £15 including free postage.

I thought that I would bid and keep them in the shed, forgot! Sold for the £15 - Bargain!

Dougie This is your trade mark isn't it?

"THERE WAS A REALLY GOOD DEAL! OH MY GOD YOU SHOULD HAVE LAST WEEK!"

now all we need is Niall to come on in a minute to say that there where some brake pads last week.

Then Duncan to say that hes got some brake pads in his boot but theres to much stuff in there for him to find them

sure is a bargain,

Brake Pads - Alfa Romeo 166 - FRONT on eBay, also Brake Components, Performance Tuning Parts, Car Tuning Styling, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 12-May-08 11:49:59 BST)

any good? don't know

Good pads very rarely come cheap.

Ferodo DS2500 are a great pad.

Originally Posted by stu_the_flat

Dougie This is your trade mark isn't it?

"THERE WAS A REALLY GOOD DEAL! OH MY GOD YOU SHOULD HAVE LAST WEEK!"

Only reporting what I see, not sure what quality is like but here they were - Alfa 166 break pads (front and rear) (also fit Fiat) on eBay, also, Alfa Romeo, Car Parts, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 29-Apr-08 23:31:41 BST)

Did not realise I was the bearer of retrospective good news, hence bad news

those pads are still on there

Alfa 166 break pads (front and rear) (also fit Fiat) on eBay, also, Alfa Romeo, Car Parts, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 12-May-08 00:07:01 BST)

all parts to comply with an EU directive have to perform to within 10% of OE to get certified, so should be OK, however things like DS2500 are not certified as they are more than 10% better, so fall outside of the tolerance along with most performance bits.

I think it's fair to say coming from Green Stuff you will notice a difference, and not a in a good way, so false economy IMO.

I think your right. We are just clutching at pennys here. I'll order some red stuff pads. Then Sombody will show me red stuff pads for £5!

Purple,
What do you mean by better? Longer lasting, lower disk wear, higher/lower coefficient of friction, quieter, less brake dust, better fade performance, better performance from cold etc?

Manufacturers choose pad materials as the best compromise between a number of paramaters and it's usually a trade off between them. With older vehicles, you can take advantage of improvements in technology over the years but for more modern cars, unless you have specific needs, the manufacturers pads (or a close match) are usually best.

Mike

thats where it all gets murky I guess, IIRC its based on stopping distances, but as you say, that does not take into account the other factors, plus technological improvements.

It was one of those rules (IIRC) that was brought in that dealt with copyright of parts, eg do Alfa have the right to stop another maker from selling eg a water pump based on their pattern as this was felt to be a restrictive practice if they did, yet the car maker claimed assured quality so the compromise was this 10% business.

Also all boxes of brake pads have to be sealed at time of purchase, not allowed to sell if opened, hence all these ones on ebay.

Originally Posted by stu_the_flat

On another note I think my rear caliper is sticking as the hand brake is useless. Can you repair these calipers or do you need you get new ones?

Hi Stu,

I just replaced one of my rear calipers as the handbrake was iffy and the caliper dust seal was shredded - I assumed the piston was seized or on the point of seizing.

Once I removed the caliper I discovered that the piston was still moving, but the inner pad had seized inside the caliper. This had transferred all wear to the outer pad, which had worn down to the metal.

Looking at the piston, replacing the seal would be tricky - Pomeo and others recently posted about this - so replacing the entire caliper is definitely an easier (although expensive) way of solving the problem.

I guess the other problem you may have is a seized or broken handbrake cable - either way you could easily diagnose this when removing the caliper once you've disconnected the cable.

Hope this helps...

Yes, it's an interesting mix. Personally, I think after market parts often have a sharp initial bite that gives a feeling of 'power' rather than a softer edge that the manufacturer may chose to give better control in real world driving when most stopping is relatively gentle.

Of course we can get used to almost anything, some Citroens are very sensitive and you can end up doing emergency stops continuously until you get used to it.

Unfortunatley, stopping distance is not easily measured on the road.

Also bear in mind that changing the pads on one end can change the front/rear brake balance and this will lose you performance as well as risking earlier lock up.

Mike

Cheers I'm hoping that a responible adult will help me and stop me doing anything stupid. As I've never done anything like this before.

Stu,
I agree with Jeremy, siezed handbrake cables do seem to be quite common, I had mine done recently.

It's interesting how 166s all suffer from the same issues and this site is a great way of getting information on them.

Mike

I have replaced the hand brake cable twice so I don't think that it is the handbrake cable!

I cannot compare the Ferodo's DS2500 to the Red Stuff, but they are a LOT better than Green Stuff's. Fairness should say I use them with Sandtler GT at the rear and stock discs (unfortunately by far not worn out yet, so no real excuse to buy new ones...) af the front.

The DS2500 also give very low disc wear and the pad life is excellent too. They even work from cold.

They do produce some brake dust obviously, but it cleans off easily and the quantity of dust is far lower than the OEM pads that my 156 left the factory with. The original OEM pads would turn a clean spotless wheel black in one rush-hour drive from London to Slough (26 miles).


I'm running DS2500 front pads and DS-Performance (also called DS2000) rear pads.