EBC Greenstuff

[Dr Forinor 0]

Hey guys, I'm needing to change my front front brake pads and I dont want to stick to VAG 'cos of all the bake dust. Therefore I'm thinking EBC Greenstuff, is this a good idea or do you recommend something else?

 

Braking-wise, I don't need anything particularly amazing, even VAG brakes are good enough for me, I'm not using them like I would on a track on anything. I just dont want as much brake dust.

 

Any idea where the cheapest place to get them from would be?

TIA :)

[Neil VR6 0]

I've used Greenstuff and they were very bad. They didn't work from cold and then overheated. This was on a Polo as well with 60 hp! Either stick with VAG or I've been pleased with my Pagid Fast Road pads.

[dinkus 10]

The Greenstuff pads are supposed to be very good for minimising brake dust.

 

The only downside I've heard about them is that they tend to take a while to warm up before they work properly. How much braking you get before they warm up I don't know though, because I've never used them.

 

However, GSF sell them, so I'd guess they're as good a place as any to get them. According to their website, they're £33 ish a set (fronts).

 

Edit: Also worth noting that apparently EBC have changed the compound a few times recently to improve them and they are supposed to be a bit better than they were.

 

Pagid FR pads are damned good, but they kick out even more (or at least the same amount of) dust than the standard VW pads do...

[Dr Forinor 0]

Neil G60: That doesnt sound too good, how are the Pagid Fast Road Pads for braking and brake dust then? And where would be the best place to get them?

 

dinkus: Which brake pads do you use then? If you stick to the VAG, does the amount of brake pads not piss you off?

[dinkus 10]

Genuine VAG disks and Pagid FR pads. They work very well together, but they do make your wheels black pretty quickly (depending on how you drive of course ;) )

 

The dust does annoy me, but I clean my car most weeks so it's not too bad. I'd rather have the stopping power and have to wash the car more often tho.

[Neil VR6 0]

As dinkus said, the Pagid’s are quite dusty.

 

EBC did change the compound of the Greens and gave a few sets to some guys on the forum I used to be on. Their verdict was pretty much the same as the old ones, not much initital bite, not that great once warmed up. I’d rather have dusty wheels with decent brakes than clean wheels and rubbish stoppers.

 

Brake dust is a pain, especially on hard to clean BBS’s but it’s not that bad. Soap ‘em up and jetwash. Easy :)

[dinkus 10]

Top tip for keeping your wheels clean: Get them really clean one day and then give them a good coat of some high-quality wax. Repeat every 6 months or so and in the mean time the brake dust will just rinse off, or at most require a light wipe 8)

[Slimbo 0]

I'd rather eat wasps than use Green Stuff pads again.

[dinkus 10]

There's nothing like that brief moment of panic when you put your foot on the brake pedal and nothing happens... :?

[Neil VR6 0]

I had to pull over and stop for 20 mins. I was using the kak "Turbo groove" discs as well. They stunk of burning and my alloy wheels were too hot to touch. The discs also warped and had to be machined. Oh, and I was following a slow car down a hill at about 30mph for about 1/2 a mile. :x :2gunfire:

[biggrim 0]

When I bought my G60 it had EBC Greenstuff pads on and i think they were responsible for the warping of the front discs. Apparently they retain quite a bit of heat and if you keep your foot on the brake once you've slowed to a stop from high speed you can damage the disc. At least that's what I was told. I've now got pagid fast roadies on and they are really fackin dusty but they work well. Glad I've only got the steelies to clean and not some BBS.

[Dr Forinor 0]

Top tip for keeping your wheels clean: Get them really clean one day and then give them a good coat of some high-quality wax. Repeat every 6 months or so and in the mean time the brake dust will just rinse off, or at most require a light wipe 8)

 

I like your tip very much, now which wax do you use? :lol:

 

So Pagid FR pads it is then, where would be the best/cheapest place to get them? Is it worth me getting these pads then? Since the brake dust is the same or more, is it worth me buying them? How much better stopping power do they have in comparison to the VAG ones? ANd what is the price difference between the Pagid FR and VAG pads?

 

EDIT: And what is the life difference between the 2? Sorry for the all the questions :oops:

[Neil VR6 0]

Dunno 'bout life of pads, depends on how you drive but you can get Pagids from GSF and I always get a discount, just say you're a member of a forum, the guys are always really helpful. :)

[Dr Forinor 0]

So you reckon I should give them a call then rather than order online, cool. How long do they usually take to arrive to your door? I'll just let them know that I am a member of "the corrado forum" yeh? How much do you get yours for?

[Neil VR6 0]

Next day, maybe 2. Can't remember price, about £30 ish.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I use Swissol Autobahn on mine, which is specifically made to withstand the heat and acidity alloy wheels endure.

 

GSF sell Pagid FRs, so try there, yes, yes, less initial bite but better from faster speeds, about a tenner IIRC.

 

As said already, depends on the weight of your foot.

 

Just like taxes, brake dust is part of life, get used to it :) I rather like the rugged, blackened wheel and dirty paint look myself.... makes it look used and driven hard, rather than pampered with a feather duster every 10 minutes.

[Dr Forinor 0]

Thanks for the replies Neil G60.

 

kevhaywire: How much is that wax that you use? And where do you get it from? I don't necessarily mind the dirty wheels too much, it's just that I have seen what they do to the alloys (to a very bad extent) and so I'm really paranoid about the same thing happening to the Solitudes.

[dinkus 10]

I've got some P21S wax, but any of the Swissol/Zymol/P21S/Meguiar's stuff will work well. P21S is good, but in true teutonic style, it doesn't smell pretty like the others listed above :lol:

 

Pagid do their normal pads, which are similar to the VAG stuff (I currently have those on my new C and they'll be going in the bin very shortly).

 

The Pagid Fast Road (FR) pads are the ones to get, as they work considerably better than the VAG and normal Pagid ones. I would imagine they have a shorter life as a result, but I couldn't say for sure.

 

Edit: Have a look in the Suppliers Forum as there are discounts available for Swissol and Meguiar's polishes available in there ;)

[coolrado 0]

i bought a full set of greenstuff pads for mine to try and reduce the dust on the bbs rm's but there was hardly any difference, they are crap until they warm up and then seem to overheat too quickly the brake dust also seems to be brown instead of black (pads look like they are full of copper strands). what dust they do produce seems harder to remove, oh and the first set i got one of the front ones seperated from its backing and fell to bits, so i think i will go back to weekly wheel washes and get some pagid fr's

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Thanks for the replies Neil G60.

 

kevhaywire: How much is that wax that you use? And where do you get it from? I don't necessarily mind the dirty wheels too much, it's just that I have seen what they do to the alloys (to a very bad extent) and so I'm really paranoid about the same thing happening to the Solitudes.

 

I get it through John Wintle who sells Swissol stuff on the forum...think he's in the supplier forum.

 

It's not cheap, you probably don't want to know tbh!

 

The thing with VAG spec Pagids and the Fast Road pagids is the VAG spec dust is brown and really sticks to the wheels. Fast Road dust, which I've been washing off various VWs for about 10 years now, is black....but....it's lighter on wheels and washes off easier.

 

You know that brown staining you get on alloys that aren't cleaned for like a year? Never had that with Fast Roads.....

[Dr Forinor 0]

Thanks for the replies everyone, appreciated.

 

On the phone now to GSF ordering Pagid FR pads :)

[Dr Forinor 0]

Lol, the pads came in today, that's some crazy-ass quick service eh :D

[dinkus 10]

:cheers: Get em on the car and see what you think!

 

Bear in mind it'll take them a while to bed in, so go real easy on them for the first few hundred miles cos you aint gonna stop very quickly...

 

After a thousand miles or so they should be biting nice and hard tho :)

[Dr Forinor 0]

A few hundred miles???? Shucks, I only do like 100 miles a week, so I'm gonna have to wait until halfway through October till I can see the real benefit?

 

Oh well, good things come to those who wait eh :D

 

Lol, you sound more excited than I am dinkus, lmao!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

It's interesting that car dealers never tell you to bed the brakes in when you drive off the forecourt in a new car! At the very most, their 'bedding in' is delivery miles only?