350i front brakes

[keithTVR350i]

A Nissian Micra pulled out on me this morning, and it has been the first real emergency stop I have ever done in the wedge, It was damn close !
Has anyone got any recommendations for a front brake pad manufacturer which actually has some bite over and above the standard pads. Please bear in mind I don't have the cash for a full brake conversion.
Thanks Keith

[REV-EREND]

Tarox, Ferodo, EBC Green stuff - all are good.

Give Richard Thorpe a call at Wedge or Tower View.

You might also consider fitting braided hoses while your at it as they really improve the feel.

[shayes]

Mintex 1144 - fast road pad.

Find out what calipers you have and talk to RT Racing (Wedge) or Demon Tweeks.

Safe stopping!

[350matt]

Another cheap mod is to make sure the preload on the master cylinder is set properly. Remove the master and push the brake pedal down, unwind the push-rod end stop a couple of turns and bolt it all together and try it. I found this improved the start of the pedal 'bite' quite a bit.

Matt

[JMorgan]

Wedge do some nice inexpensive grooved discs that I found a great improvement on a budget along with Mintex 1144 and standard on the rear. Before I get shot down here this was sugested by A N Other and worked for me.

[GreenV8S]

quote:
Another cheap mod is to make sure the preload on the master cylinder is set properly. Remove the master and push the brake pedal down, unwind the push-rod end stop a couple of turns and bolt it all together and try it. I found this improved the start of the pedal 'bite' quite a bit.

Matt

Don't overdo it though. The last fraction of an inch of travel opens the circuit to the reservoir. If you take out this travel, the circuit never gets topped up, more important there's no way out for the fluid when it expands as the brakes warm up. It's a vicous circle with heat from the brakes expanding the fluid and the fluid expanding and pushing the brakes on harder and harder, causing more heat. In extreme cases you can end up doing an unscheduled emergency stop, could be embarassing on the motorway!

[danny hoffman]

There may actaully be something wring with your existing brakes. My old 280 had pretty poor brakes even though I couldn't find anything wrong with them, but my current 350 (not vented) has much better brakes even though the rear disks are well over due replacing

Danny

[edward1]

Had Green Stuff on a Scirocco and they worked a treat alhough you needed to get a bit of heat in then first.

I have recently had an upgrade done on my 350 by wedge as the solid discs couldn't hack the track days. The grooved vented disc with uprated caliers are certainl worth the money IT NOW STOPS!

[marks]

The brakes on my 350i felt like they were made of wood when I got it. I fitted Delphi Lockheed solid disks from motor factors (£53 a pair) and EBC green pads from local boy racer motor shop (£26). Improved things no end.
Always buy quality disks - I bought some rear disks / pads from an independant TVR specialist which pitted and rusted to an MOT failure in 18 months.

[mrcrappy]

Ive just done the princess upgrade as shown here
www.bress.freeserve.co.uk/wedge/maintenance.html
on this site, wish id waited until the complete in structions were one here, i was asured by many specialists that it wouldnt work, ive had them on now for 3 or 4 months now and it is an excellent upgrade, everything is working perfectly. If you buy some calipers from a scrapyard like i did they shouldnt cost much more than a tenner a pair, then just overhaul them over time if you want to keep the cost down, you can even fit them with your original discs and standard princess pads ( about £12 a set ).