Brake pads

[H2OSB]

I was recently asked a question about available replacement pads for Ghia calipers(well, the calipers used for front disc brake conversions). Does anyone know of a confirmed upgraded brand of pads that work in said calipers? I read of people trying Smart car pads as well as 90s Ford Taurus rear pads. Can anyone confirm. I think FJCamper uses Portfield pads for his race Ghia...which just SOUND expensive. I also believe I read somewhere EBC makes a Greenstuff pad but I wasn't able to confirm.

H2OSB

[H2OSB]

In answer to my own question, for the most part, I went to the Summit Racing website where you can look up parts by car. I used 1972 Ghia as the car. There are MANY available pads, including green, yellow and red pad materials from EBC.

Still, I'd like to see what others have used.

H2OSB

[Bruce.m]

To quote someone who knows better than me, “the best place for EBC pads, is in the box”

[H2OSB]

To quote someone who knows better than me, “the best place for EBC pads, is in the box”

Lol, fair enough

[Bruce.m]

Porterfield aren’t that expensive. Maybe $60-70.
Pagid RS.... those are expensive.

Road spec versions available from plenty of brands. Pagid, Mintex, Brembo, etc

[PhillipM]

I'd echo Bruce's thoughts on EBC. I'd counter that the only better place than the box is in the bin.

[FJCamper]

We just paid $130 delivered for an axle set of R4 Porterfields (Part AP30) for the ATE caliper as used on the 1972 Ghias, and cross-checked at Summit for Yellow Stuff EBC pads which were almost exactly the same price delivered.

We have never found a better pad than the Porterfield AP30 in either of the R4 (Race) or R4-S (Street) compounds. On our lightweight Ghia, we get at least two seasons out of a set. which for us is the carbon kevlar AP30's front and rear, came calipers front and rear. We have excellent braking.

By example, a set of stock pads, as delivered with new calipers or bought at auto parts houses, can wear totally away in one half-hour race. Even the pads generically labeled heavy duty or semi-metallics.

We run a 20.6mm "disk brake" master cylinder, Chinese knockoffs of the original ATE calipers all the way around, and at least DOT-4 fluid. Front rotors are crossdrilled. Rears are solid.

FJC

[VW&MGman]

FJC, how many race weekends do you run in a season with these pads?

I also have Porterfield (R4-S) pads up front and generic rear pads in the rear, and could only get 4-5 race weekends out of them.

[PhillipM]

I went through EBC/Mintex and various wilwood pads on the rail and never got more than a weekend or two out of them, eventually went with Carbotech 8's and 10's which I get a couple of years and 20-30 race/practice weekends out of

[VW&MGman]

Hi Phillip,

Is that with the stock VW Ghia calipers (ATE) calipers?

Would you happen to have the part number of the Carbotech pads you used?

[FJCamper]

Hi MG&German,

We've done the stock rears as well and that seems to throw more wear to the fronts. With Porterfields front and rear, We can get two seasons out of them, meaning four to eight sprint events. And then they're just over half worn. I change them anyway because I worry they might crack or break up on me.

On the Wilwoods such as we now use for front brakes on our over-developed LeMons Bug, We go through a set of B-20 pads in one endurance race. When we had Front AP30 Porterfields, it was slightly better -- we could get two races off one set of pads.

FJC

[PhillipM]

Hi Phillip,

Is that with the stock VW Ghia calipers (ATE) calipers?

Would you happen to have the part number of the Carbotech pads you used?

4-pots on mine, but Carbotech will custom make you pads for pretty much any caliper anyway, mine are all customs

[FJCamper]

Brakes Only Slow You Down

There are many variables in brake pad life.

The faster you get with your car the greater your pad wear will be.

Some drivers are just easier on the brakes than others even if their lap times are the same.

Sometimes brake pad friction material mixture batches are off, and poor pads get sold.

Brake pad drag, even if light, eats pads without you fully feeling or noticing it.

[UKLuke72]

Just to add to the EBC debate.

They're everywhere in the UK as they're a cheap performance pad. Here we have a lot of small and light hot hatches and they invariably work well.
I have a 380bhp Audi TT and people rate the Yellowstuffs highly although I'm yet to try them myself.

They seem to suffer on heavier and more powerful cars. Someone mentioned Carbotech XP8/10. That's a serious pad... Definitely a few tiers up from EBC in both performance and price!

All that said, I have EBC Green stuffs on the front of my beetle and I am I pressed with them. I don't race, just fast road. But they handle everything my 2276 can throw at them.

[PhillipM]

They are, but the lifespan of the carbotechs means they actually end up slightly cheaper in the long run. And the performance blows the EBC's away all that time. They're even better on disc life than the EBC stuff.

The only EBC's I liked are the Bluestuff NDX - but if you overheat them a little bit even once they loose their initial bite completely forever after, something must burn out or convert in the compound.