[Chuffy]

HI,

I have a 2 litre 147 and the front brakes need replacing. I am planning to upgrade from stock, without paying loads of money.

I was thinking of going for standard discs and Ferodo DS Performance pads. Maybe braided brake lines at a later date. Would this offer a good improvement over stock for the fairly modest outlay over standard pads?

I've seen people recommend the DS2500 pads and stock discs, but seeing as the DS2500 is more a race rated pad, (not to mention more expensive) would I not be better off with DS performance pads for the road? I won't be taking the car to the track.

ta

 

[Guest]

That's a good combination for fast B road driving/track days (although I note you won't be doing these). I used to have this setup myself.

Nice to see you're sticking with plain discs and not wasting money drilled/grooved discs.

Whether it's worth splashing out on those pads depends on the driving you do. If you mostly use A roads/town driving/motorway I'd save yourself some money and stick with standard spec pads as uprated pads would be no benefit to you. The DS Performance pads do need a little heat in them so if you did get them be careful after lengthy motorway stints.

I would not bother with braided hoses as I don't believe you will feel any difference. There are better ways to improve your braking performance and one of those would be to refresh your brake fluid if you haven't replaced it in the last couple of years.

 

[Chuffy]

Thanks for the advice Proteo.

I mainly do fast country A roads / B roads and town driving with a little motorway now and again.

I was tempted by the Black Diamond Predator discs and pads just because they look good, but my budget plus the threads on here recommending standard discs and DS2500 pads has won me over.

The heat issue is what has me leaning towards the DS performance rather than the DS2500 pads. With the DS2500 being a racing pad I would assume that they require more heat to work effectively. Plus I've read about some squealing at slow speeds. Ferodo website classes the DS performance as a high performance road pad, which I think may be more suitable.

I will bleed the brakes and put new fluid in at the same time if I decide against the braided hoses, which I probably will leave off for now due to cost.

 

[adf83]

Hi Chuffy. I have the exact combo you are talking about on my 2.0 147. I can't say I notice a great deal of difference with the braided hoses in day-to-day driving. - Perhaps I would on a track. The DS Performance pads are strong (I have Alfa ones on the rear), but did have a tendency to squeal. This was solved by chamfering the leading edge of the pad and more copper slip to the back. The downside is that between forward and reverse transitions and vice-versa, you can hear the pad moving a fraction in the calliper. I chose these pads, as I thought DS 2500's would be a little much. But to be honest, I would stick the DS 2500's on next time.

 

[zambugsky]

On my 147 Sele, I switched to steel brake lines and it made the pedal feel a lot less spongy, so I'd say it's a worthwhile upgrade. Tarox also make good pads and discs. I was running on G88 grooved discs and .401 Corsa pads and it was awesome on twisty roads and for track days. That combo needed some heat before it worked well and it did squeal occassionally at low speeds. Looked good though

 

[langers]

I run EBC Turbo Gooved and dimpled Discs with standard pads on my 145. Brilliant for everyday driving and spirited drives. The thing stops on a 2 pence! I managed to make a friend loose his breath as i stopped so quick.
However, on EXTREMELY livily drives, i start to get a bit of brake fade.

So, ideal for the road but not for the track. New pads would be be required.

 

[Chuffy]

Hi Chuffy. I have the exact combo you are talking about on my 2.0 147. I can't say I notice a great deal of difference with the braided hoses in day-to-day driving. - Perhaps I would on a track. The DS Performance pads are strong (I have Alfa ones on the rear), but did have a tendency to squeal. This was solved by chamfering the leading edge of the pad and more copper slip to the back. The downside is that between forward and reverse transitions and vice-versa, you can hear the pad moving a fraction in the calliper. I chose these pads, as I thought DS 2500's would be a little much. But to be honest, I would stick the DS 2500's on next time.

Do the DS2500s have chamfered edges? If not wouldn't they be subject to the same movement within the calliper? Or would you choose the DS2500 due to performance?

Are the Ferodo pads really worth the extra money over say the Black Diamond predators? I was going to mention the EBC green stuff, but I believe a lot of people on here have had issues with them.

 

[adf83]

Sorry. I wasn't very clear. My mechanic chamfered the edges slightly to cure the squeal. I think it is the extra copper slip that lets them move around a tiny bit. My main reason for going Performance instead of 2500s was price, and not wanting to have squealing brakes - which I associated more with the DS2500s due to their more focused nature. However, nobody seems to really complain about this with the DS2500s. I haven't driven a 147 with the DS2500s, so can't comment, but from what I have read, it sounds like they do have better performance. All in all though, I'm pretty happy with what I've got now the squeal has been cured.