EBC Yellow stuff - some observations

[Dino D]

so I've had EBC yellow stuff all around ever since i got the car (5yrs and some 30-40k miles) with plain Brembo brakes (standard sizes).
Always liked them but never had anything else to compare with like for like on the Z3.

I've only ever done one airfield handling day where I pushed the brakes (but not like you would on a proper track I don't think). I've never been one to be heavy the brakes but have never experienced fade.
Compared with something like my previous e46 330i the fade resitance was certainly better and it never stank as bad as OEM material pads or rumbled like some OEM brakes do.

So anyhow this last month I had a sticking caliper that got a bit hot so needing to get the car done quick I had both calipers changed and put in Pagid pads (the standard stuff). At only £20 and available immediately I thought I'd give it a go vs waiting a few days for the EBC and paying £60.
My mechanic said I might just like the standard pads more.

Now I don't know what effect the new calipers have had but I can tell you that from first application (cold) the standard pad are far better than the yellow stuff. A welcome surprise in this cold weather.

I've tried giving them some heavy breaking and apart from stinking a lot more than yellow stuff (it's smells much worse) I haven't had any fade (but I also don't drive like a WRC rally refugee!). The Pagids make more dust too but comes off easy (the yellow stuff were pretty dusty too).

So in my experience so far I think the standard pad is better on the road for the way I drive.
I'm a bit surprised by this.

 

[Grumps]

so I've had EBC yellow stuff all around ever since i got the car (5yrs and some 30-40k miles) with plain Brembo brakes (standard sizes).
Always liked them but never had anything else to compare with like for like on the Z3.

I've only ever done one airfield handling day where I pushed the brakes (but not like you would on a proper track I don't think). I've never been one to be heavy the brakes but have never experienced fade.
Compared with something like my previous e46 330i the fade resitance was certainly better and it never stank as bad as OEM material pads or rumbled like some OEM brakes do.

So anyhow this last month I had a sticking caliper that got a bit hot so needing to get the car done quick I had both calipers changed and put in Pagid pads (the standard stuff). At only £20 and available immediately I thought I'd give it a go vs waiting a few days for the EBC and paying £60.
My mechanic said I might just like the standard pads more.

Now I don't know what effect the new calipers have had but I can tell you that from first application (cold) the standard pad are far better than the yellow stuff. A welcome surprise in this cold weather.

I've tried giving them some heavy breaking and apart from stinking a lot more than yellow stuff (it's smells much worse) I haven't had any fade (but I also don't drive like a WRC rally refugee!). The Pagids make more dust too but comes off easy (the yellow stuff were pretty dusty too).

So in my experience so far I think the standard pad is better on the road for the way I drive.
I'm a bit surprised by this.

Interesting findings Dino with what Steve is finding with his upgraded kit at the moment.

 

[GazHyde]

Mine is the opposite experience, although I had BMW OE pads & discs on my 3.0si and they were shocking. Had a couple of rapid stops out on the road, and wasn't anywhere near convincing - definite squeaky bum moments. The amount of dust they produced was ridiculous too.

The initial thing I noticed with the yellows was that they worked better than the OE stuff ever did irrespective of temperature. Better then OE when cold, and really impressive when braking hard. Won't be able to give a full report until I manage to get on a track day but for now I'm really happy with them. The only thing I don't like is they can squeal a little when warm in stop start traffic, not very loud though so I turn the radio up.

 

[Bozzy]

so I've had EBC yellow stuff all around ever since i got the car (5yrs and some 30-40k miles) with plain Brembo brakes (standard sizes).
Always liked them but never had anything else to compare with like for like on the Z3.

I've only ever done one airfield handling day where I pushed the brakes (but not like you would on a proper track I don't think). I've never been one to be heavy the brakes but have never experienced fade.
Compared with something like my previous e46 330i the fade resitance was certainly better and it never stank as bad as OEM material pads or rumbled like some OEM brakes do.

So anyhow this last month I had a sticking caliper that got a bit hot so needing to get the car done quick I had both calipers changed and put in Pagid pads (the standard stuff). At only £20 and available immediately I thought I'd give it a go vs waiting a few days for the EBC and paying £60.
My mechanic said I might just like the standard pads more.

Now I don't know what effect the new calipers have had but I can tell you that from first application (cold) the standard pad are far better than the yellow stuff. A welcome surprise in this cold weather.

I've tried giving them some heavy breaking and apart from stinking a lot more than yellow stuff (it's smells much worse) I haven't had any fade (but I also don't drive like a WRC rally refugee!). The Pagids make more dust too but comes off easy (the yellow stuff were pretty dusty too).

So in my experience so far I think the standard pad is better on the road for the way I drive.
I'm a bit surprised by this.

Hmm very interesting @Dino D.
I had Pagid pads with standard disks until they warped on Jym's cruise and you're right they do stink when hot . But worked ok,nothing fantastic mind.
So by supposedly upgrading to black diamond drilled and grooved all.round with there matching predator pads I thought there would be a vast improvement........after a few thousand miles it's still not the case so makes me wonder if this set up is best suited to track use.
Might just try some Pagid pads in the fronts to see if there's any improvement.

Steve

 

[t-tony]

I'm seriously considering some EBC Ultimax2 pads all round, they have a good write up and aren't price prohibitive.
Good bite from cold, low dust and no noise in extreme hot or cold conditions. Has anyone else tried these for normal road use?

Tony.

 

[Dino D]

It's the difference in cold bite that has surprised me.

I'm sure on track they won't be up to the EBC but so far very good. Maybe in the summer I will find them lacking. The smell is not great though!

 

[t-tony]

Initial cold braking is a concern for me due to being my everyday car, mainly from leaving home in the morning as for leaving work in the crawl out of Lincoln in an evening I rarely break 30mph for the first mile or two. Some of the info on the Ultimax pads.

This is what Ultimax2™ brake pads deliver:

• Superb daily driver R90 type approved pad.
• Features red “brake in’ surface coating for instant safe braking after install.
• New 100 % ECO friendly material with ZERO sulphides.
• No shims for noise reduction needed.
• More bite from cold.
• Works in hot and dry climates as well as in cold.
• Fully R 90 approved as was the original Ultimax grade.

Tony.

 

[GazHyde]

From where you are coming from Tony, I'd think you'd be happier on pads which are less track/hard driving focussed. Then you don't have to worry about the "will they/won't they" question.

I don't have any issues with braking when they are are cold first thing in the morning. I really think it's a misrepresentation that they aren't good unless they are warm. That would definitely be the case for on track or hard use, but I don't have any issue with them on my daily with the recent cold weather.

 

[t-tony]

From where you are coming from Tony, I'd think you'd be happier on pads which are less track/hard driving focussed. Then you don't have to worry about the "will they/won't they" question.

I don't have any issues with braking when they are are cold first thing in the morning. I really think it's a misrepresentation that they aren't good unless they are warm. That would definitely be the case for on track or hard use, but I don't have any issue with them on my daily with the recent cold weather.

You dead right mate, it's all down to interpretation of how they bite from "cold" , I'm no boy racer but I do like to drive as quick as is safe. I expect that with better discs and hoses with any upgraded pads I will see an improvement in braking.

Tony.

 

[Fraser]

Hi all, just to add my pennies worth.

The best combination of brake pads and discs I've ever found is ATE pads with Brembo discs.

I had this combination on a 325ci a few years ago and the braking power was immense. Must be something to do with the compounds and materials that they use that work well together.

I've never had brakes as good as I did with that set up, and it's something I'm going to put on my Z in the new year.

I've currently got some drilled and vented discs on the car (fitted when I bought it), and I'm not really impressed with them at all. One of the discs is slightly warped and they buzz when you're on the brakes!

Think I must just be getting old!! I always wanted some drilled and vented discs when I was younger, but now I've got them I can't wait to get them off!!

 

[Dino D]

I've noticed some other threads on here about caliper piston deterioration and wondering what the impact on braking was.

When I changed to standard pads it went like this:
I first changed the left side as that was stuck.
Caliper only, same EBC pads which still had life in them.
The pedal feel was a bit off after this. Maybe I was more aware but the general feeling was I needed to press harder to get 'bite' especially when cold and felt spongy. I thought the brakes were imbalanced as it still felt like the left side was pulling harder so ordered another caliper.

Mechanic said do the pads while he has it all apart. So when the second new caliper went on the new Pagid pads went on too.

So now with both new calipers and pads I feel the difference straight away from very first application (not even bedded in yet). I don't believe the Pagids have any bedding in coating like the EBC's. It's been a couple weeks but not that much driving but still feels very good.

So did the caliper have a big impact here? Are they binary or they either work 100% or not? Or can they deteriorate and not give full power over time. I'm wondering how much of an impact in improved braking I'm getting is because of calipers vs the pads?

 

[t-tony]

My personal thoughts are that callipers are like shock absorbers and really should be changed in axle pairs.

Tony.