Discussion
I soon need to replace the brake pads on my NB '5. There's currently greenstuff ones on at the moment, but I was wondering is there anything better? I use the car everyday, including winter (down to -20C, so they'd need to work in the cold!). Also I was thinking of changing the brake hoses too - anything recommended?
No offence but GreenStuff are not a good pad, they used to be many years ago but they've changed the compound that many times....
I quite liked YellowStuff when I had them fitted, found them comparable to Axxis Ultimates in terms of stopping power with far lest dust created.
Currently I have a set of Rodders pads fitted - Rodders is a member of MX5Nutz, a respected racer in the MAX5 race series and by day a car recovery company/garage owner.
He now makes his own blend of pads which he also uses on his race car, they're brilliant IMO. braking from cold is great, I've never had them fade on track, (an instructer actually asked what brake upgrades I'd done as the car stopped so well, answer is none bar the pads). Dust creation is as per OEM pads i.e. not excessive like Axxis pads.
Price is/was £50 per axle + VAT which is pretty good value IMO, certainly no more expensive than the usual suspects.
I quite liked YellowStuff when I had them fitted, found them comparable to Axxis Ultimates in terms of stopping power with far lest dust created.
Currently I have a set of Rodders pads fitted - Rodders is a member of MX5Nutz, a respected racer in the MAX5 race series and by day a car recovery company/garage owner.
He now makes his own blend of pads which he also uses on his race car, they're brilliant IMO. braking from cold is great, I've never had them fade on track, (an instructer actually asked what brake upgrades I'd done as the car stopped so well, answer is none bar the pads). Dust creation is as per OEM pads i.e. not excessive like Axxis pads.
Price is/was £50 per axle + VAT which is pretty good value IMO, certainly no more expensive than the usual suspects.
Would Rodders pads be strictly road legal? i.e. do they have the required E-marking? Not that it really matters as nobody will ever know, just wondering. Sounds like an interesting product that I might have to try.
I love the Axxis Ultimates and currently have Yellowstuff which I don't find to be as good. I've had Greenstuff before and will never go near them again.
For a purely road car though I don't think you can beat standard Mazda pads, especially if you are talking about driving in really cold temps.
I love the Axxis Ultimates and currently have Yellowstuff which I don't find to be as good. I've had Greenstuff before and will never go near them again.
For a purely road car though I don't think you can beat standard Mazda pads, especially if you are talking about driving in really cold temps.
Ok, I didn't know if they were good or not, I just assumed they were since MX5parts had lots of good reviews for them and was selling them. I had thought the braking on the car was quite poor, but had assumed that was down to the age of the car (the other stuff I've driven is from around 2008, bog standard stuff like a focus etc). Great if it's not, as it was worrying me slightly if I would need to brake hard on the twisties when the weather gets better. Might change to the Mazda ones then, as there is no track days planned in the near future. Any good hoses, or just stick with official ones again?
thewildblue said:
Ive been running greenstuff on my NB RS and they have never caused me an issue at all, including a track day at brands. I would run them again, never had any fade at all. Tempted to try something different though as a comparison.
And that is one of the problems with them. The set you have might be good but the next set might crumble, eat your discs or just perform poorly. Generally though they are around the same as Mazda pads with a bit more dusting and don't last as long.thewildblue said:
Ive been running greenstuff on my NB RS and they have never caused me an issue at all, including a track day at brands. I would run them again, never had any fade at all. Tempted to try something different though as a comparison.
Well you'll s
t you pants when you try some decent pads 
I'll tell you one thing as a starter - a decent, fresh brake bleed works wonder before you even go near the pads or discs.
Anyway - I've got EBC Ultimax in mine currently - the ultimate power of the brakes is fine - if not overly powerful. However they have a distince lack of 'grab' initially and when cold and give a very soft feeling pedal - they seem to combine the worst aspects of trackday pads (not great when stone cold) with the worst of cheap road pads (not much power, bit mushy).
Don't get me wrong, there fine, and great value for a dawdler or an mot fix, but if you want to press on I know there must be better available.
P.S. Greenstuffs are a funny thing - I have friends that swear by them, and friends and sweat at them. Just goes to show... something, anyway!
Anyway - I've got EBC Ultimax in mine currently - the ultimate power of the brakes is fine - if not overly powerful. However they have a distince lack of 'grab' initially and when cold and give a very soft feeling pedal - they seem to combine the worst aspects of trackday pads (not great when stone cold) with the worst of cheap road pads (not much power, bit mushy).
Don't get me wrong, there fine, and great value for a dawdler or an mot fix, but if you want to press on I know there must be better available.
P.S. Greenstuffs are a funny thing - I have friends that swear by them, and friends and sweat at them. Just goes to show... something, anyway!
I run greenstuff and can't fault them on the MX5 so i am not sure where the bad rep comes from with this application. I've not managed to get any fade from them on 2 hard track days and a airfield day. The braking force gets better the more you stand on them.
However i will say I had Red stuff and their grooved/drilled discs on my 200sx and they were st. Warped just be looking at them! Standard brembos and Ferodo's were a huge improvement.
i'd say keep it on standard discs and pads... see how you get on.
However i will say I had Red stuff and their grooved/drilled discs on my 200sx and they were s
t. Warped just be looking at them! Standard brembos and Ferodo's were a huge improvement.i'd say keep it on standard discs and pads... see how you get on.
Don Phil said:
What if mainly commuting with some fast road driving and a track day thrown in, just stick with mazda ones or will the track destroy them?
Hard track use never caused any problem with Mazda pads on my previous Mk1. Well as far as I know they were OEM pads, they were on the car (with Mazda dealer service history) when I got it - and after 2 years of thrashing including a few trackdays I still hadn't worn them out.That was with standard 115bhp and normal road tyres, more power and stickies might work them harder.
Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 17th February 19:54
I find Greenstuff garbage on lightweight cars. Not enough bite or ability to modulate and very wooden from cold. Yellowstuffs on the other hand seem to be pretty good. Braided hoses, new fluid and a bleed have improved mine a fair bit, but there's still what feels like a good half-inch of pedal travel before bite.
master cylinder brace also helps with hard braking - you can make something quite easily with teh standard engine top strut and a doorstop! 
as for pads, axxiss ultimate and mintex m1144 are very good fast road / trackday pads, i'd use genuine mazda if just for road use, and following my experience of ebc ultimax (blackstuff) i wouldn't go for those again, heard too much negative experiences of greenstuffs, although i did buy a set of yellows to try them out but upgraded to sport brakes before i got a chance to try them out.
i too am a bit apprehensive about using rodders pads, but all reports so far seem very positive...!
as for pads, axxiss ultimate and mintex m1144 are very good fast road / trackday pads, i'd use genuine mazda if just for road use, and following my experience of ebc ultimax (blackstuff) i wouldn't go for those again, heard too much negative experiences of greenstuffs, although i did buy a set of yellows to try them out but upgraded to sport brakes before i got a chance to try them out.
i too am a bit apprehensive about using rodders pads, but all reports so far seem very positive...!
well i know that he uses them for his max5 racing (or whichever championship he's in) but nothing else.
for all i know he could be mixing up a special compound in his shed and pouring it into a brake pad shaped jelly mould. or he could be getting a professional specialist brake manufacturer to produce these to his own specs.
plus if we're already seeing variations in the quality / standard of the pads, even if he's good enough to send out replacement sets, it just raises a few questions. EBC's downfall imo is the variable quality of their pads, and they are a much bigger operation.
for all i know he could be mixing up a special compound in his shed and pouring it into a brake pad shaped jelly mould. or he could be getting a professional specialist brake manufacturer to produce these to his own specs.
plus if we're already seeing variations in the quality / standard of the pads, even if he's good enough to send out replacement sets, it just raises a few questions. EBC's downfall imo is the variable quality of their pads, and they are a much bigger operation.
Just found this thread......
First things first,
We have them made by a brake manufacturer to our requirments. (Not in a shed)
They are road legal.
As for QC we are all human and occasionally things dont go to plan......
If this is the case (So far only one) we will do all I can to put thing right....ASAP
How did this come about?
Originally I was having these made for myself and close friends, Obviously word of mouth is a wonderfull thing and many people were asking for them,
I don't do this to make a living, But I do belive in them and supply them for the good of the Mx5 community.
If you want them buy them, if not Its not a problem........
Regards
Paul Roddison
Roddisons Motorsport
First things first,
We have them made by a brake manufacturer to our requirments. (Not in a shed)
They are road legal.
As for QC we are all human and occasionally things dont go to plan......
If this is the case (So far only one) we will do all I can to put thing right....ASAP
How did this come about?
Originally I was having these made for myself and close friends, Obviously word of mouth is a wonderfull thing and many people were asking for them,
I don't do this to make a living, But I do belive in them and supply them for the good of the Mx5 community.
If you want them buy them, if not Its not a problem........
Regards
Paul Roddison
Roddisons Motorsport
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