The current best brake and pads for MCS R53?

[Brompty]

Hi Everyone

Just acquired a beautiful green S, 55 plate. Many things are great on the car but the brakes are not. Closer inspection after the first clean revealed worn discs.

Now I know there are many threads on best discs and pads combo's but whenever I check I can only find threads that are about 10 years old.

Has anyone changed the discs and pads recently (last 12 months) and can make a recommendation either way (ie good and bad)? I am only changing the discs and pads rather than upgrading the whole system: it's too expensive and I feel that way madness lies and I won't be able to stop (better brakes can cope with more power, pulleys, re-maps, air intakes, back to better brakes etc).

All advice gratefully received.

[mon the fish]

Get hold of some R56 Cooper S brakes from a breakers - a much better upgrade than new pads on the current (too small) ones.

I've ran Yellowstuff in the R56 ones and were good, have heard good things about Ferodo DS2500 (I think) in R56S size as well

[CO2000]

I bought standard Brembo discs & pads all round off ebay and they have been fine & would buy again.

[smn159]

I'm in a similar position having recently bought an R53. Standard brakes don't inspire confidence and pads are pretty thin anyway. I've bought but not yet fitted a set of R56 front callipers and carriers. The existing R53 hoses won't match so I've also got a set of braided R56 hoses and while I'm doing all that I might as well throw in a set of yellow stuff pads and new disks.

Trouble is it's easy to get carried away with costs when you upgrade. The 'best' pads and disks are supposedly Carbotechs, but you're looking at £400 for disks and pads alone. I'd suggest second hand R56 callipers and carriers, new hoses and some OEM R56 disks and pads and see how you get on.

[Brompty]

Thanks for the advice. I discovered this link on MiniTorque which is incredibly helpful; to suggest that I might be one of many other owners wondering how to get the car to stop as quickly as it goes is an understatement:

http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f25/r53-front-brak...

In the short term I am taking the car this morning for new discs and pads. The garage is very reliable and did all the servicing and work on a previous car I had. I will then spend some time working out how to upgrade as cheap as possible. If I understand the link correctly, the front brakes from an R56 Mini should fit easily on an R53. If I don't need red paint then these should be very similar to the JCW brakes. Two calipers, discs and pads later, and the car should stop a lot better. I hope I have this correct, but I will check at a specialist (independent) further down the line.

[DrDantastic]

I'm running R56 JCW 4 pot calipers and discs on my R53 MCS and I love them. They're not common to find and aren't the cheapest option but I have absolutely no complaints!

[Brompty]

In the end I was quoted £425 to replace discs and pads with non-original parts. This included VAT, parts and 3 hours labour. Way too high I thought. I then checked with the Mini specialist: £325 for drilled and grooved discs front and rear and a couple of hours labour. Off to the specialist in the New Year...

Thanks for all the advice

[mon the fish]

DrDantastic said:

I'm running R56 JCW 4 pot calipers and discs on my R53 MCS and I love them. They're not common to find and aren't the cheapest option but I have absolutely no complaints!

Try 350z pads - I got OEM Brembo ones for £25

[smn159]

Fitted a set of Front R56 callipers, grooved disks, EBC Yellow stuff pads and braided hoses yesterday. Still need to bed them in properly, but initial impressions are very good, and they already feel like a significant improvement over the standard R53 set up.

Only downside is that I couldn't fully bleed the rears as one of the bleed nipples is seized. Will be getting some hoses and yellow stuff pads for the rear so I'll tackle that at the same time. Pedal feels good for now.