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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Brake Pads advice?

Brake dust + wire wheels = always looking for someone else to wash the car for me (do they have high school fundraiser car washes in the UK? Those kids get the wheels pretty clean, but they aren't always available when I need to "freshen up").

So, I tried EBC Greenstuff pads. Yeah, just the same amount of black dust as ever.

Now it is near time to replace them and first I want to ask around.

In researching the archives here, something called Mintex 1144 came up often. Looking around for them I also ran across something that Moss is calling "the least dust of any pads": Classic Gold Premium Ceramic.

Have any of you tried these and noticed whether either (the Mintex or the Classic Gold) really was less dusty than the supposedly awesome EBC Greenstuff?


Norm "dusty" Kerr
"Classic Gold" keeps making me think of old Cheech and Chong routines.
Norm Kerr

Norm
I run Mintex M1144 its a very good fast road pad but not dust free !
Ian
Ian Webb '73 GAN5

I run 1155's. They are great for road and competition, and the dust is tolerable. Way, way better than greenstuff.
Shawn

awesome guys, thanks. I am trying to find a source for mintex in the US (sent an email to their Troy, Michigan office asking for retail outlets - strange that their website lacks this information). Also, I found a guy on the MG Experience website, from Calgary who might be able to get them for me for $32CAN (awaiting a reply).

Regarding the difference between 1144 and 1155:

I found this at MiniMania/Spridget Mania:
"Brake pads for 8.4" diameter brake dics, with single pot calipers as fitted to all Minis 1984 on, later 1275GT, Spridget. In C-TECH M1144
General:
Improvements in braking efficiency can be achieved to a certain degree by replacing the standard asbestos free brake pads/shoes with alternative items employing different compounds. The Mintex C-TECH range produces asbestos free material M1144 which replaced the M171 type and is ideal for upgrading brakes when fade occurs. Center groove in pad to stop dust build up.
Also available is the much acclaimed carbon metallic compound which is the ultimate in current brake pad technology. Its broad operating temperature band encompasses everything from M171, DS11 and M1155. Exceptional co-efficient of friction combined with a low wear rate make these a must for all racers.
Note: Carbon metallic compound is NOT recommended on drilled or grooved discs. "

MiniMania/Spridget Mania will sell them to me ("by special order only") for $90 US (dang!).

Moss-USA will sell them to me for $99 (even more dang!)

Wow, that's some price difference (since the UK prices are, like, 10GBP for an MG set).
In seeking to learn more about the tradeoffs between 1144 and 1155, I also read what a bunch of other (non-MG) enthusiast sites had to say (always have to sift a bunch of posturing and arguing, to find trustworthy sounding testimonials but that's just part of the fun of internet research, right?) it seems that the increased fade resistance of the '55s might incur some more disc wear, or possibly more risk of squeal. The appeal of the 1144 is the early bite that helps with normal road use (cold brakes).

I am becoming acutely aware of my lack of experience in the area of brake pads. If I was shopping for a consumer product there are a number of companies who specialize in doing comparative analysis (Consumer Reports, for example), to help with such inexperience, but I don't seem to be able to find someplace that does back to back comparison testing of after market brake pads. I suppose that the weight of the car in question has a big part to play too, so even if an enthusiast magazine did compare these same pads on some big Mercedes, their results might not be worth much to us midget folks.

Without access to such data, I will go with the best resource I've got: the testimonials of the (several) folks here (in the archive) who recommended the 1144s.

With all of that said, thank for you time.
I think that I will try the 1144s for my car this time!


Norm


Norm Kerr

Norm, I have used 1155's for 4 years (I am on my second set. i am still on the original drilled brembo discs that i rebuilt the car with. These are standard size and thickness, just drilled. I have used them for track days, autokhanas, regularity, and road use. They have had to work from cold, and do so admirably. The difference at the end of the straight at donnington was remarkable after the green stuff. I got mine from Questmead in Rochdale (UK). Thye have a website, just google them. I also run castrol srf fluid. There is a lot of pontificating about what people have read here and there. This is my personal view on something i use and know well.
Shawn

Shawn they only work 'from cold' because where you are it's never below 30 Celsius !!!
David Smith

The 1155 I used on a Metro when applied from cold took only seconds to warm up and put you through the windscreen
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

I have used 1155's on our Minor for a number of years with Metro 4-pot calipers and intitially solid Midget discs and more recently vented Metro discs.

I tried 1144's about 9 years ago and found that they faded slightly under heavy braking on track days, so went to the 1155's. The problem was not just the fade, as once that had happened they would sometimes grab violently to one side under sharp road braking.

The Minor is slightly heavier than a Midget, but they 'bite' from cold without any problem at all, including UK winters, and so far have resisted fade totally, including many track days and lots of European mountains!!

Richard

Richard Wale

Come on david, it drops to 4 degrees in winter! Hasn't dropped below 30 for over a month now though, and no rain since the beginning of November! What did you think of my brakes? To me they are perfectly ordinary - just much better than stock when used in the extreme.
Shawn

Shawn the pedal feel was exactly the same as the 1155s in my race car, as one would expect - except I didn't drive anywhere near as fast ! Yes it's a good illustration of the improvement in friction materials in the last 20 years or so. The old equivalent is DS11 and ISTR they were awful on the road.
David Smith

David,

I had DS11 pads and VG95 rear linings in a Sunbeam Rapier convertible with no servo in the late '60s - great when warmed up, but the first few times had to be very careful indeed!!

Modern materials are quite amazing in comparison.

Shawn,

I was in Perth a few years ago in June and was told it was 'freezing', which meant that it was under 20°C!!

Richard
Richard Wale

It was 28 degrees today - bloody freezing after the last 2 months!
Shawn

Get someone to post them from the UK?????

I don't know about dust - mine are usually covered in mud and I just kinda plan my driving for them not working really!
rachmacb

i just painted my wires black on the previous midget....
Onno Könemann

This thread was discussed between 28/01/2010 and 02/02/2010

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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