Impreza STi Brake Pads - Advice
Discussion
EBC BlueStuff. Had very favourable reviews back end of last year when EBC did a mass brake pad test via ScoobyNet and a multitude of members. Excellent for the money.
Going up the scale a bit, Performance Friction have been tried and tested in events like Time Attack, TOTB, Scooby Shootout etc....
ETA: On standard scooby brakes you'll see the biggest positive effect by running decent quality pads. In all honesty changing rotors won't see much advantage until you start going for bigger diameters with bigger calipers.
Running really good pads on standard rotors makes a lot of sense and is easier on your pocket.
Going up the scale a bit, Performance Friction have been tried and tested in events like Time Attack, TOTB, Scooby Shootout etc....
ETA: On standard scooby brakes you'll see the biggest positive effect by running decent quality pads. In all honesty changing rotors won't see much advantage until you start going for bigger diameters with bigger calipers.
Running really good pads on standard rotors makes a lot of sense and is easier on your pocket.
Edited by ScoobieWRX on Sunday 10th April 11:36
I've just put a set of EBC Bluestuff NBX pads on my Impreza, and I'm impressed so far. I went on the PH Fish & Chip run yesterday, and the brakes were taking some punishment round the twistys!
I was after a set of Ferodo DS2500s, but the guy I bought them off said that he thought the NBX blues were better all round pads. Pretty honest of him, as the NBXs were around half the price. Got them from a supplier who is very well respected on Scoobynet.
I was after a set of Ferodo DS2500s, but the guy I bought them off said that he thought the NBX blues were better all round pads. Pretty honest of him, as the NBXs were around half the price. Got them from a supplier who is very well respected on Scoobynet.
Ok, sounds as if you (like me) are pretty serious about good brake pads. In which case I'd recommend Carbotech XP8's or XP10's.
The XP8's are a fast road/track pad. The XP10's are an extreme road/trackday pad. The XP12's are a race pad.
The XP8's and XP10's do dust quite a bit and can be prone to a bit of squeal if you've not driven on them hard. Basically this is because pads work using a combination of abrasive and adhesive friction. The abrasive working at low temp, and the adhesive at high temp. If you don't get the brakes hot enough to activate the adhesive then you'll get squealing as the adhesive layer on the discs wears off. The XP10's will work at higher temperatures than the XP8's, but their initial bite from stone cold isn't as good, due to the bias towards higher temps.
I had XP8's on my Evo, then wanted a bit more performance on track so went up to the XP10's. Now the car is used almost exclusively on Sunday morning country roads or trackdays, so I went for a big brake upgrade and now use XP12. The XP12's are pretty wooden when cold, and you have to work really quite hard to get them up to temperature, but they can take a trackday as hard as you like without fading, but are not suitable for 'every day' driving as you'd never get them up to temperature in traffic.
If you want more info then give Ian at Carbotech a call:
http://www.carbotech-europe.com/compounds.htm
Or alternatively have a search on lancerregister.com (Evo owners club) where you'll find a very large percentage of people running these pads.
I'll be honest, with the price, the noise and the dust they are not for everyone. But if you're prepared to wax your wheels the dust comes off pretty easy, and the noise isn't an issue if you regularly heat cycle them, and I think the price is justified for the immense performance you'll get.
(PS - without stating the obvious, when you fit these make sure you're running fresh and good quality brake fluid.)
The XP8's are a fast road/track pad. The XP10's are an extreme road/trackday pad. The XP12's are a race pad.
The XP8's and XP10's do dust quite a bit and can be prone to a bit of squeal if you've not driven on them hard. Basically this is because pads work using a combination of abrasive and adhesive friction. The abrasive working at low temp, and the adhesive at high temp. If you don't get the brakes hot enough to activate the adhesive then you'll get squealing as the adhesive layer on the discs wears off. The XP10's will work at higher temperatures than the XP8's, but their initial bite from stone cold isn't as good, due to the bias towards higher temps.
I had XP8's on my Evo, then wanted a bit more performance on track so went up to the XP10's. Now the car is used almost exclusively on Sunday morning country roads or trackdays, so I went for a big brake upgrade and now use XP12. The XP12's are pretty wooden when cold, and you have to work really quite hard to get them up to temperature, but they can take a trackday as hard as you like without fading, but are not suitable for 'every day' driving as you'd never get them up to temperature in traffic.
If you want more info then give Ian at Carbotech a call:
http://www.carbotech-europe.com/compounds.htm
Or alternatively have a search on lancerregister.com (Evo owners club) where you'll find a very large percentage of people running these pads.
I'll be honest, with the price, the noise and the dust they are not for everyone. But if you're prepared to wax your wheels the dust comes off pretty easy, and the noise isn't an issue if you regularly heat cycle them, and I think the price is justified for the immense performance you'll get.
(PS - without stating the obvious, when you fit these make sure you're running fresh and good quality brake fluid.)
NorthDownsScooby said:
I'm on yellowstuff all round at the mo which I'm quite happy with. Will probs give the new Bluestuff a go next time though as initial reviews are looking favourable !
]I have used EBC Yellows just before the Carbotech's and TBH thought fairly good pad for the cost
Ive used 6 sets of brake pads + the originals on my scoob averaging 4,500 miles a set. I always use the same Compound Pads front and rear.
The Standard Brembo pads are fairly good bar from squeal x2
Ran 2500's they were on par with Brembo pads but slightly better cod bite and no noise
Ran 3000's for 500miles and took them off, no cold bite
Pagid Blacks not very impressed, especailly as most expensive and didn't last very long 1,500
I totally agree with MRMR post
I'm presently using the x10's allround
But my next set will be EBC Blue NX pads next
Tony
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