MMC Brakes

Author
Discussion

Lefty

Original Poster:

16,704 posts

209 months

Saturday 26th September 2015
quotequote all
I have the option of getting my hands on a set of these for a very fair price and I believe pads are easy enough to get (if on the pricey side).

Are they noticeably better?
Is the difference in Unsprung Weight noticeable?
Are the calipers the same?

Scuffers

20,887 posts

281 months

Sunday 27th September 2015
quotequote all


1: define 'better'?

braking wise, not much in it, only big difference is if the disk gets wet, you have no brakes for 10 feet... (as in if you wash the car wet or drive up a mway in torrent)

2: Yes in the sense of some 4Kg's a corner.

3: Yes


AdrianR

822 posts

291 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
quotequote all
Additional points:

+ They are more original and in the spirit of the car
+ Your wheels stay cleaner as they make less dust

- They have been known to crack or melt under hard (track day) usage!

Still got mine and like them, but you have to live with their idiosyncracies. Simon's not kidding about the wet thing, be very careful with your braking distance on foggy winter mornings and in the rain.

AdrianR

GregorFuk

563 posts

207 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
quotequote all
I had them on my first Elise.

Loved the lack of brake dust and fade free performance. Pads & disks last longer too. But I'll echo the comments already made, the first stab at the breaks in wet conditions has been known to ruin underwear.


kambites

68,465 posts

228 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
quotequote all
I've only driven on them briefly but have the same experience as others. They're severely flawed to the point of being a liability for use on a daily-driver road car; for a "sunny days only" second car or track car, I can imagine them being fabulous.

Scuffers

20,887 posts

281 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
quotequote all
kambites said:
I've only driven on them briefly but have the same experience as others. They're severely flawed to the point of being a liability for use on a daily-driver road car; for a "sunny days only" second car or track car, I can imagine them being fabulous.
that's over-dramatising the wet problem...

once you know about it, it really is no big deal, only is a problem when the cars got very wet standing (ie, you just washed it) or driving in very wet conditions and not using the brakes for miles (raid + Mway)

even then, all you have to remember is to tap the pedal every so often to 'dry' them off..

Biggest problem was washing the car, then going to park it in the garage and not being able to stop before hitting the wall, all in slow motion!

Lefty

Original Poster:

16,704 posts

209 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
quotequote all
Hmmm, plenty to think about then. Thanks!

kambites

68,465 posts

228 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
quotequote all
Scuffers said:
once you know about it, it really is no big deal, only is a problem when the cars got very wet standing (ie, you just washed it) or driving in very wet conditions and not using the brakes for miles (raid + Mway)
I found it to be significantly worse than that but maybe there was something slightly wrong with the car I drove; to be honest my S2 when I bought it with EBC Greenstuff pads on it was just as bad.

Anyway personally I'd rather have steel brakes on a daily driver.

GregorFuk

563 posts

207 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
quotequote all
Scuffers said:
that's over-dramatising the wet problem...

once you know about it, it really is no big deal, only is a problem when the cars got very wet standing (ie, you just washed it) or driving in very wet conditions and not using the brakes for miles (raid + Mway)

even then, all you have to remember is to tap the pedal every so often to 'dry' them off..

Biggest problem was washing the car, then going to park it in the garage and not being able to stop before hitting the wall, all in slow motion!
This.

thegreenhell

17,304 posts

226 months

Sunday 4th October 2015
quotequote all
I used MMCs year-round on my S1 when it was my daily driver, in all weathers, and never had any moments due to wet discs. The modern pad compound is far better than the OEM stuff in that regard. They also give fabulous pedal feel when warm. Over the years I've tried many different pad compounds (Pagid blue/black, CL, EBC green/yellow/blue) on iron discs, and as a fast road setup the MMCs are a match for the best of them, with the added benefit of being much lighter.

The only use I would avoid with them is heavy track work with sticky tyres, especially in a higher-powered car, as the discs can fail if they overheat.

Jodele

55 posts

136 months

Tuesday 6th October 2015
quotequote all
I'd be interested in checking them out...

Does anybody have a link?

kambites

68,465 posts

228 months

Tuesday 6th October 2015
quotequote all
Ah I didn't realise there were aftermarket MMC pads of a different compound available. smile

Scuffers

20,887 posts

281 months

kambites

68,465 posts

228 months

Tuesday 6th October 2015
quotequote all
It'd be interesting to try some to see how good they are. I always liked the idea of MMC brakes but wasn't impressed with the original execution. Not that I have any particular intention of owning an S1 anyway.

Scuffers

20,887 posts

281 months

Tuesday 6th October 2015
quotequote all
kambites said:
It'd be interesting to try some to see how good they are. I always liked the idea of MMC brakes but wasn't impressed with the original execution. Not that I have any particular intention of owning an S1 anyway.
I have only driven with these new pads in passing, so can't really definitively comment on their day to day performance, that said, they are much better with the wet problem.

AdrianR

822 posts

291 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
I bought some of the Eliseparts MMC pads as a precautionary replacement, but the front backing plate size was 1-2 mm smaller than the originals, which meant that even with pad buffers I got a clunk each time brake was applied. Eventually took them out and put my old pads back in.