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MG MGB Technical - Best pads

I'm looking at brake pads, and have been wondering what the best pad for a hard-driven street car would be. The car gets used hard enough that brake fade has been an issue in the past, but it also is used for daily driver duty.
So what has worked for folks?
How are the moss semi-metallics?
Thanks
Bill
Bill Mertz

Bill - For a discussion about brake pads go to Doug Jackson's web site and his article on brake modifications. If I copied it correctly, you should be able to get to it from this link http://www.mgbmga.com/tech/mgb18.htm

I am using the EBC green stuff pads that I got from the MGOC and have been well satisfied with them. They seem to require a bit more pedal pressure, but remain consistant regardless of conditions. They are also available from Moss - in the front of the catalog.
Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

I'll second the Greenstuff pads. Excellent braking and they don't squeal like a pig either! They are a bit expensive, but after a year of hard driving they hardly show any wear at all.

Robert
Robert Rushing

check the archive there was an article (think on midget BBS) that discussed the greenstuff pads.

Conclusion drawn was that they produce alot of dust and don't last very long. Mintex seemed to be preferred choice.

Cambridge motorsport recomment HAWK Ferro-carbon. V High coefficient of braking. Ferro-Carbon is used by Formula-1 teams so must be worth a look....
archiver

Archiver,

The Hawk are real squealers, nothing wrong with stopping but a total embarassment on the highway.

Greenstuff work for road use (produce less dust and last well), however I think on the crossover to race the Mintex tend to perform better( last longer) but then perhaps should be compared to redstuff. The V8 pads are a recommended upgrade.

Paul
Paul

Anyone have experience with the Kevlar pads?
Charles Edwards

Charles - The EBC Green Stuff are kevlar pads.
Dave

David DuBois

Bill-
Today's brake pads and shoes are available in a wide variety of materials. Materials intended for racing applications are unsuitable for street use as they perform well only when hot. At the temperatures incurred outside of a race track their performance is actually inferior to that of materials intended for street use. Rather than use racing brake material, install a set of MGB GT V8 brake pads in the calipers. They will fit without modification and, due to their larger surface area dissipating heat more easily, are more fade-resistant. Avoid the use of pads made of the Original Equipment organic compounds as they are the least heat resistant, have the poorest coefficient of friction of .32mu, and produce more brake dust.
There are essentially three options for high performance brake friction material. The first and perhaps the most commonly available material marketed for a high performance street application are the Carbon Metallic compounds such as those marketed by Hawk. These seem to come in two categories: those suitable only for racing and those suitable for only street use. Those suitable for street use have a coefficient of friction of .36mu, which is too small an increase in performance (11%) over that of stock materials to make them worth the additional expense. The second choice is the Semi-Organic/Semi-Metallic type. Being more heat resistant than organic compounds, they also have a superior coefficient of friction of .48 mu, a fifty percent improvement over that of stock materials. These are available from Carbotech Engineering. They have a website at http://www.carbotecheng.com . While these may be popular, there is another material which has an equivalent coefficient of friction but yet an even greater resistance to heat: the Carbon Kevlar type (F 1,050). These are available from TSI Automotive (Pads- Part # CKPMGA/B, Shoes- Part # CKSMGA/B). They have a website at http://www.tsimportedautomotive.com . Be advised that whatever material that you choose for the front brakes should also be used on the rear brakes as well so that the coefficients of friction will be equal, otherwise one pair may prematurely lock up under heavy braking.
It is possible that under the heavy braking loads generated by stronger brakes the rear brakes may lock up prematurely, creating tail drift. This can be tuned out of the braking system by installing a proportioning valve or by changing the slave cylinders to ones with a smaller size piston. The latter change may require modifying the rear brake backplate in order to fit the different size slave cylinders. Another solution is the fitting of tires with more grip, although this can be said to be treating the symptom rather than the cause.
Steve S.

Good info here looking at choices

http://www.minispares.com/ms/BRAKES___Pad_types___choices_936.htm


Or option of going to a vented disc

Paul
Paul

Also,

Friction is not all the answer and greenstuff do work very well when cold which suits road use.

http://www.minispares.com/ms/BRAKES___Pads__function_and_parameters_935.htm

Paul
Paul

I used the Mintex semi-metallic pads for several years and was very satisfied. But, I wanted to uprate my system prior to installing the Moss Super Charger. I ended up buying the MGB-V8 pads and the cross-drilled and slotted rotors. I am extremely satisfied with the improved braking, especially after several 0 - 60 runs this past Sunday. Brakes did not fade at all.

Tim
Tim

This thread was discussed between 12/11/2003 and 17/11/2003

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.