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brakes .. upgrade or standard?


OBE

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Hi all.
I have some work to do on the Stag front brakes. I have one caliper which although not seized is noticeably harder to push the pistons back than the other side. I also have a warped disc which is causing not only uneven retardation coming to a stop, but also causing a wheel wobble at around 50mph.
So, bearing in mind that I will be replacing both front discs and calipers anyway is there anything on the market which is an improvement over original, or do people find that the standard brakes are just fine for spirited drives if in perfect condition with good pads?
cheers

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sorry, forgot to mention the Goodridge hoses, I went down that route also.

Avoid anything that looks similar but is not made by Goodridge - they are the only manufacturer that (as far as I know) gives a lifetime guarantee and when asked advised they will never need changing unless damaged.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Time to go against the grain (a little, not much) ;).

Standard brakes with good brake pads (i.e Mintex or TRW branded pads) are the way I would go with braided brake lines and some good brake fluid (ATE Super Blue).  With this setup I can stop the car very well (even on the motorway when some berk decides to pull out in front me with zero distance to spare!) with a very firm pedal.

EBC Greenstuff however I have never been a fan of.  On my Spitfire they never seemed to work and it seemed that the previous owner agreed (although he went chasing around other issues (changing the master cylinder, replacing the braided brake hoses on the front for stock items etc.).  A friend of mine who drove the car also agreed.  My '86 Mini braked far better that the Spitty 1500 did.

Again, on a friend's Clio 172 he bought the car with iffy brakes with EBCs (partly down to its great condition and low mileage).  Again, he changed the brake hoses, the brake fluid (for pricey Motul RB600 DOT 4 fluid).  Things with him came to a head on a track day when the brakes seemed to work well for a while and then fell off a cliff?  The cause?  You guessed ;).  Some M1144s later and his brakes were transformed (I have driven his car and they stop very well on the Mintex M1144s; My Pug 205 GTi on the same pads also stops lovely (almost too well in town if I am honest; think of a modern Mini).

I am not criticising other's opinions but I do wonder what pads they had on before.  I for one have noticed many well known suppliers in the Stag world are happy to sell cheap unknown brands where I suspect almost anything will be better.  The same could be said for glazed pads being removed.

Just my 2p :).

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I have Stag brakes on the pi and the front of the estate, I use nos pads if I can. They have asbestos in them so be careful and they make the front wheels black but they don't wear the discs and they do brake well. Also much cheaper than the Mintex 1144 (which I would use if I didn't have the nos ones).

Colin.

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CRAJ wrote:
I have Stag brakes on the pi and the front of the estate, I use nos pads if I can. They have asbestos in them so be careful and they make the front wheels black but they don't wear the discs and they do brake well. Also much cheaper than the Mintex 1144 (which I would use if I didn't have the nos ones).

Colin.


Just as well this forum has a limited readership. It has been illegal to sell brake pads, clutches, gaskets, or anything else containing asbestos for years. Whether it be retail, auto jumble or eBay.

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taylormoran wrote:


Just as well this forum has a limited readership. It has been illegal to sell brake pads, clutches, gaskets, or anything else containing asbestos for years. Whether it be retail, auto jumble or eBay.


The clever ones stocked up on the old pads when they saw the writting on the wall.

Got 2 more sets of 1970's era Ferrodo pads for my Pi on the shelf

£5 a set I seem to remember......

:-)

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thescrapman wrote:


The clever ones stocked up on the old pads when they saw the writting on the wall.

Got 2 more sets of 1970's era Ferrodo pads for my Pi on the shelf

£5 a set I seem to remember......

:-)


I would hardly call it 'clever' to continue to use pads containing asbestos. Even if you use the correct protective gear and procedures, you risk contracting asbestosis every time you service the brakes. A particularly horrible disease which is on the increase. Many mechanics don't yet realise they have it........

Much better to pay a bit extra and fit Mintex 1144 if 'ordinary' pads aren't good enough for you.

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taylormoran wrote:


I would hardly call it 'clever' to continue to use pads containing asbestos. Even if you use the correct protective gear and procedures, you risk contracting asbestosis every time you service the brakes. A particularly horrible disease which is on the increase. Many mechanics don't yet realise they have it.....


Having experienced a similar but equally fatal disease, I would strongly discourage use of asbestos.

I have EBC greenstuff and they don't live up to the hype in my opinion.

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I upgraded to Mintex 1144s. My brakes were previously scary but now improved to acceptable. Not as good as a modern but about as good as they can be upgraded to.

I also have some grooved and dimpled disks which I haven't fitted as I'm told Mintex don't give off gasses like Greenstuff and that's what the grooves are for. So G & D wont make Mintex work any better.

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Thought I'd update this thread with my findings .. I bought new discs from rimmers and some pads too .. they were only cheap but I can't remember the name of them .. they were from rimmers too though.
In short the braking efficiency is pretty dire. It's just gone through an MOT though and the tester said that the braking effort wasn't anything to be concerned about, but I have to put higher pedal pressures in than I would like to .. so I think I might either invest in some better pads and see what happens .. or keep my eyes peeled on ebay for some nice alloy 4 pot calipers and make some adapters up over the winter ..

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  • 3 weeks later...

no stag clues but used green stuff on the Vit6 and it was hopeless at stopping, the only advantage wheels are easy to clean

M1144 we the best Ive ever used,

having just acquired a 2000 thats been off the road for many years the brakes were quite flat and uninspiring,  thus followed by a full breakdown of the servo,   new servo now gets some dive when braking, the discs and other bits are all up for a serious re build
with renewed.  but the dead pan braking is now gone ... there was a biological pong at the roundabout where it eventually showed its true colours as the bus  just skimmed past ,

so if you have alazy high efffort pedal have adream about the state of the much  ignored  servo

Pete

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I have wilwood dynalite 4 pots on my stag and recently drove a standard stag, it was noticeably different and scared the BJesus out of me a couple of times, I guess its what you are used to but I know what i would rather have.

Cheers Steve

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6949 wrote:
Thought I'd update this thread with my findings .. I bought new discs from rimmers and some pads too .. they were only cheap but I can't remember the name of them .. they were from rimmers too though.
In short the braking efficiency is pretty dire. It's just gone through an MOT though and the tester said that the braking effort wasn't anything to be concerned about, but I have to put higher pedal pressures in than I would like to .. so I think I might either invest in some better pads and see what happens .. or keep my eyes peeled on ebay for some nice alloy 4 pot calipers and make some adapters up over the winter ..


Where in the country are you?  You are welcome to drive mine and see whether they are an improvement from yours.  What brand were the brake pads?  IMO before going to 4 pots M1144 pads are worth a shot, assuming the result of your braking system is in good order.

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