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MG MGF Technical - Green Stuff 25% more Braking power - NOT

I fitted green stuff to my car 3 weeks ago. I have done over 1000 miles and I find I have to press the brake pedal a lot harder to stop the car in an emergency. Why is this? I was expecting the brakes to be easier.
Dave

Dave,

I had exactly the same problem when I fitted Green stuff and was very disappointed. Not only did the braking seem less effective than before but our Rover 200 with bog standard brakes seemed much more effective.

However now after 3k miles it is now a lot sharper. The surface of the discs on the F did not seem perfectly flat when I fitted the Green stuff and suspect this might have had something to do with the long bedding in. The discs now do seem to be a lot flatter and smoother.

I also suspect that using the F over the winter for minor "pottering" around the shops did not help to speed the bedding in.

Just keep waiting Dave!

Chers

Patrick
Patrick

Dave,

I too have green stuff pads up front. It did take quite a while for them to bed in.

Comparison with the R200 is valid BUT it is a front engined car, so you have the mass of the engine on the front axle when you brake.

Raj Jena
P58 NVF BRG
Raj Jena

I have never been that impressed with green stuff, but i have also never had them for long without going on a track day and hammering them. I suffered no brake fade however, but then i am the first to admit that i use the engine to brake far to much so the brakes might not get too hard a time.

At donnington last time i had standard (not sure what make) pads, and i didn't really notice the difference. If i was keeping the car i was going ot go for red, and just keep reminding myself they aren't going to be working to well till warmed up. but i'm not keeping it so i will never know.

As for black stuff...i have had them on the back twice, and both times they have been wiped out on a track day. stupidly quickly, two sessions at donnington in January and i had metal against metal (didn't stop me though) so my advice is that black stuff are no good for heavy use
Matt

Expect a bedding in period Dave- and use some judicious emergency-style brakes to remove the glaze that has likely built up. The EBC grooved discs help in this respect, but you should get good results with standard discs (I was happy with mine- but now I have the daddy of all brake pads- Mintex 1177s :o))

BTW- EBC Green stuff pads do need some warmth to work at optimal efficiency.

Rob
Rob Bell

Matt- I agree- back stuff is pants. Way too soft. I had to drive back from the Nurburgring with 'wafer-thin' rear pads... 8o(
Rob Bell

Hmmm I have green stuff on my F and on the wife's mummybarge FIAT 2.0HLX and in both instances they made a great/massive improvement.
OK I did change the discs on the F at the same time but had a track day the month afterwards and the brakes were great for the day. I would recommend them

N
Neil

The bedding in is absolutly crucial to the effectiveness of the braking, just as running in a engine, mileage isn't as important as the type of driving, use the brakes as frequently as possible at light loads. The green compound tends not to be as effective as the black compound for low speeds and town type driving.Glazed discs will make the braking effort excessive and compound ;) the problem.
mike.
mike

So is it worth going for the grooved discs as well as the greenstuff pads to reduce/prevent pad glaze? :-s
Paul Lathwell

Paul, I had Mintex Green (not sure if same as greenstuff), together with grooved discs, which did seem quite effective.

Nick
Nick

Personally, I find I have much more control with these green stuff pads. The braking is not harder but more even. I do have to push the pedal a little further to get the brakes to go on hard but they certanly stop the car faster than the standard pads. One thing to note is they need to warm up a little more before they reach best performance.

I find them to be a vast improvement over the standard pads. I found the standard pads were much more On and Off and quite often got me into trouble (no ABS) having me sliding to a stop. I have not had this with the green stuff pads, as I say, much more control. I have green stuff pads on the front and standard kevlar pads on the rear. I have not had them long enough to say how long they last.

One other plus point is less black dust on your front wheels.
Tony Smith

This thread was discussed between 30/05/2001 and 02/06/2001

MG MGF Technical index

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