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MG MGA - Mintex M1144 vs Greenstuff brake pads

I have just fitted a pair of Mintex M1144 brake pads to replace a set of Greenstuff pads that I fitted a couple of years ago.
I have never really been happy with the greenstuff pads, they didnt have that "bite" that the original pads had, they needed a lot of pedal pressure and also created a lot of brake dust.

It has taken some time to get the Mintex ones and I decided to fit some new brake discs (rotors)so as to get the best out of them. (the original discs were pretty good but you could just see that they had developed a slightly wavery surface)

I had forgotten that to change the discs you have to remove the entire hub and so it took me a long time to change the first one (about 5 hours), most of the time after the hub and disc assembly was on the bench, trying to find a box spanner that I could get into the front disc fixing bolts. In the end I had to resort to hammering on an old whitworth box spanner hold the locknuts whilst I unscrewed the bolts from the back.

(Is there a special tool or box spanner to fit these locknuts?)

The second disc was quicker as I then knew what to do, apart from a slightly scary moment when the rear bearing stayed on the stub axle when I pulled off the hub.
(It went back on ok)

Then I had to go through Mintex's recommended bedding procedure, you first have to warm the pads by braking lightly from 30mph. Then you take the car up to 70mph and brake hard down to 30mph and repeat 6 or 7 times.

It wasn't easy finding a road to do this on without scaring other drivers or catching the attention of the police force but I managed it in the early hours when there was no traffic.
I then had to drive gently home and let the brakes cool down.

When I went out for a 100 mile drive later that morning over the Yorkshire Wolds to Whitby I gave the new brakes a good test.

I was immediately impressed by the better instant bite the Mintex pads give and the progressive feel, where the deceleration seems to increase without having to push the pedal harder. Certainly you dont need as much pedal pressure as was needed with the greenstuff.

The only negative is that they squeal when applied lightly but not when you brake hard. This is a shame as it usually happens mostly around towns when you tend to notice it more.

I noticed that there were no anti-squeal shims with the pads and so I will look into getting a set to fit.
I just hope that fitting these soft shims doesn't spoil the feel of the brakes.

So overall, I am really impressed with the M1144 pads, the brakes have never been this good.

I will report back on the anti-squeal pads and the brake dust issue when I have run the brake pads for a while.

Colyn
c firth

Colin
You can cure the squeal with a dab of copper grease on the back of the pads against the pistons.

The minted pads are great, I didn't know they were now hard to find. Where did you get them from?
dominic clancy

Thanks Dominic

I have heard about using copper grease but I was a little concerned that when the brakes get really hot it could contaminate the pads.
I tend to use the brakes really hard.

Colyn
c firth

I have tried the copper grease but it has not cured my green stuff squeal. Like Colyn it only happens with light braking. A good bootful of brake sorts it. It is as if the brake pads glaze over with light applications and squeal.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Didn't answer your question Dominic, the pads came from bob wests just down the road from me.
Apparently he has to have them made to order nowadays.
c firth

Green Stuff are a harder pad. A lot of people install pads labeled "racing" or "high performance", thinking that means they will stop better. They do stop better, but only in a higher temperature range than standard pads. And you don't see those temperatures in daily driving, which means the pads will never heat up enough to reach their maximum performance. Standard road pads will have much more bite at low temperatures and therefore stop your car better.

I tried Green Stuff on my MGB and they were good, but were definitely a harder pad and had less bite when driving around town. They were only an improvement when I was pushing them down a steep, twisty canyon road. Once warm, they were wonderful.
Steve S

Hi Steve,
Just for information, I fitted green stuff pads in preparation for a trip over some of the high passes in the alps in 2012. On one very long descent we really caned the brakes, had them smoking at the ibottom, but the best I can say about them is that they were ok. They never felt good on the car and it felt like they were about to fade away as we reached the bottom. I honestly was relieved that we actually ran out of mountain to descend before we ran out of brakes!

I have used the m 1144 brakes pretty hard already and they do feel much better.

I will live with them a bit longer and let you know how they go.

We are going on a traverse of the pyrenees in July, from the med to the Atlantic and driving over all the highest passes en route so this should be a real test for the brake pads.
I am setting up a new blog for this adventure and I will let you all know how the driver, the car and the brakes perform.
Cheers
Colyn
c firth

I rebuilt my brakes a few tears ago with new disc's MGB callipers and Greenstuff pads.

They seem to brake fine with negligible squeal although I probably don't brake that hard.

Sounds like a great trip Colyn, looking forward to hearing more about it.

Regards...John
John Bray

I agree with Steve S.

The Greenstuff pads on my F require a lot of pedal pressure during normal road use but do come into their own on track days etc.

Got a set for the A but considering reverting to Mintex.

Chris.
Chris Bond

Chris
if you can wait a month or so before you buy the Mintex pads I can let you know how they perform on my MGA.

We set off on our Pyrenees Traverse on the 24th June (I think!) and I will try to write up the blog every evening (wi-fi permitting) and I will be sure to mention the brakes early on.

If you don't hear anything more from me, it will probably mean that the pads are useless and we and the car are probably embedded in the bottom of some remote Pyrenean ravine! :-)

Yours and Steve S's comments have made me decide to take the old Greenstuff pads along with me on the trip as a "Plan B" in case the Mintex ones are NSG.

Colyn

For anyone who is interested I have just published the first page of my new blog under the name of
mgachallenge.wordpress.com

Not much to it yet but I intend uploading lots of pictures of the journey and hopefully some Youtube video uploads, once I figure out how to do it!
c firth

Hi Colyn,

Are you able to provide any more details on the intended route. I appreciate that some of this will become apparent as part of the blog, but would be interested to know more.

Regards...John
John Bray

Thanks Colyn.

Yes, no problem there. The intended completion is next year, to co-incide with the 60th anniversary but that is probably a big ask.

Good Luck with your trip, hope all goes well. Will check your blog to see how things are going.

Chris.

PS.
Does anyone know what events are happening next year?

Chris Bond

Chris, it amazes me that you guys in the UK don't seem to keep in touch with the MGCC, and specifically the MGA Register. It has been well publicised about the 60th Anniversary Run from Lands End to John O'Groats, and already there are close to 20 cars coming from Australia.
Gary Lock

Assuming the brakes work as expected, we hope to be on the Lands End John o Groats trip or at least, part of it.

Another interesting event is the weekend tour over in Holland in may which is intended to substitute for the MGA Spring weekend next year.

Hope you get your car finished Chris

Colyn
c firth

John,
if you email me I can send you a copy of our most likely route, it is still a work in progress.

Colyn
c firth

I thought I had better update you all on this subject

The Mintex 1144 pads worked brilliantly on the Traverse of the Pyrenees, they had excellent "bite" from cold, they gave fantastic braking even without a servo and most important of all, they didnt appear to show any signs of brake fade at all.
They create a little brake dust but not as much as the Greenstuff pads did.

I also seemed to have cured the squeal problem by fitting a set of Mintex anti-squeal shims, these are a thin rubbery material with a self adhesive coating on one side. You just trim them to size with scissors and stick them on to the back of the pad.

So I would definitely recommend them.

Cheers

Colyn
c firth

Colyn

That is excellent information about the squeal, something that continues to plague me despite all my efforts - yes, I everything.

I have found the pads on line but am struggling to find the shims you mention. Can you give me the details of your supplier?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve,
Use the link below;
http://www.brakes4u.co.uk/brake_do.asp
they claim to send a free set of shims.

regards
Colin
Colin Manley

Steve
I just checked back to see where I bought the shims from.
They were on ebay and were £6.99
They are still on as:-

Brake Pad Anti-Squeal backing pads 3M x4 ASK1

and they are the same price.

When I opened the box I saw that the shims were marked "Mintex"

Colyn
c firth

I am still trying to get a set of Mintex pads. The designation below was Mintex 1144 . Is this a total description for the MGA 1600 front brakes ..or is the 1144 just the pad material and I need some more detail to get the right pads?
Neil Ferguson

Neil
Mintex M1144 is the pad material, I got mine from Bob Wests here in the UK.
He has them specially made in batches and so they are not always in stock as far as I know.
Probably he is the most likely source for you.
Colyn
c firth

With a drum does it make sense to try and get these on shoes?

Paul
Paul Dean

Paul,
Im pretty certain that it is just not worth upgrading the rear brake shoe linings for anything else except out and out competition use and probably not even then.

The front brakes provide virtually all the braking effort under heavy braking because of the rear to front end weight transfer.

I have heard that some people with race MGBs actually swap the rear brake cylinders for smaller ones to try prevent the rear drum brakes from locking.
Cheers
Colyn
c firth

Colyn..thanks for advice I have written to Bob West re supply of M1144 for my 1600.
I see there is no reference to Mintex pads for MGA on the Mintex site. They seem to have only provided for MGB onwards. Can the MGA brakes be altered relatively simply to accommodate B size pads..or is it a rebuild job?
Neil Ferguson

Paul,
I just realised that I mis-understood your question, I presumed that you were just asking about the rear brakes.

If your car has drum brakes all round, it is probably still only worth changing the front linings to M1144, presuming that anyone actually makes them.

My guess would be that you will have to get them specially made. If you contact Bob West he can probably help you either get some or suggest a good equivalent.

Colyn
c firth

Not a fan of the Greenstuff compound, although I ran it on my turbo Fiero (nothing else available on the one year 1988 brakes).

The EBC Redstuff compound is nice though - ceramic so low dust, great initial grab and excellent fade resistance. I run them on my 380 bhp Solstice.
Bill Spohn

This thread was discussed between 21/05/2014 and 24/11/2014

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