EBC Yellowstuff brake pads review
#1
EBC Yellowstuff brake pads review
These don't see the most popular street/track pad here on the forum. It seems many are going with Carbotech, Project Mu, Federo, Hawk or others. Considering the price and the range of reviews, I figured I would give these a try. This is on my near stock AP1 with AP2 wheels and 215/245 BFG rivals. My car is a street car that sees 4-5 track days per year in the intermediate class. I wanted a do-all pad and for a complete front and rear set for about $180, I gave them a try.
I finally cooked my stock pads with my third track day and needed more heat capacity. I didn't want to give up street friendly nature of the OEM pads. I don't really care about dust, but I cant stand brake squeal. I bought the EBC yellows and installed them with centric blanks all around. Here are my findings.
EBC lists two bedding procedures, one for street and one for track. The total bedding time for street is about 1000 miles, which is too much for me. The track bed-in procedure is done by doing hard braking laps, then cool down laps. The similarities, were to be sure the brakes cooled back down before letting the car sit. Also the goals were the same; first, abrade the rotors to get full matched pad contact first. Then chemically bed the pad material into the rotor face by heating them up and letting them cool.
I ended up using a modified version of both procedures. I started by using moderate pressure and letting them cool. I did this for about 30 miles until I had a nice wear band going across the surface of the disc. Once I had full pad contact, I did 3-4 hard stops in a row and did see some dusting/smoke. Then I let them cool by driving around for a while. Then I repeated the process again.
The end result: For a street pad these are excellent. No noise at all, once bedding is done, the dust seems very reasonable. Stopping power is excellent, I would say 20-30% more braking power than the OEM pads. Cold bite is also great. No track time yet, so I will update this thread after my next track day. I can say, I have got them hot enough to smell/dust cloud, and the performance seems great. At the hottest I got them, I would say the braking power went down a little from peak. But still way better than OEM and not near anything I would call fade.
Track time will tell for sure, but even for an aggressive street car these may be a good choice. As comparison I have driven my friends car with pre bedded XP10s all around. Very similar feels to the EBCs, the XP10s do feel a little bit more "grabby" but they also squeal occasionally. The EBC yellow could be a very good cross over pad, for cars not running slicks and like to track with a streetable setup. stay tuned.
I finally cooked my stock pads with my third track day and needed more heat capacity. I didn't want to give up street friendly nature of the OEM pads. I don't really care about dust, but I cant stand brake squeal. I bought the EBC yellows and installed them with centric blanks all around. Here are my findings.
EBC lists two bedding procedures, one for street and one for track. The total bedding time for street is about 1000 miles, which is too much for me. The track bed-in procedure is done by doing hard braking laps, then cool down laps. The similarities, were to be sure the brakes cooled back down before letting the car sit. Also the goals were the same; first, abrade the rotors to get full matched pad contact first. Then chemically bed the pad material into the rotor face by heating them up and letting them cool.
I ended up using a modified version of both procedures. I started by using moderate pressure and letting them cool. I did this for about 30 miles until I had a nice wear band going across the surface of the disc. Once I had full pad contact, I did 3-4 hard stops in a row and did see some dusting/smoke. Then I let them cool by driving around for a while. Then I repeated the process again.
The end result: For a street pad these are excellent. No noise at all, once bedding is done, the dust seems very reasonable. Stopping power is excellent, I would say 20-30% more braking power than the OEM pads. Cold bite is also great. No track time yet, so I will update this thread after my next track day. I can say, I have got them hot enough to smell/dust cloud, and the performance seems great. At the hottest I got them, I would say the braking power went down a little from peak. But still way better than OEM and not near anything I would call fade.
Track time will tell for sure, but even for an aggressive street car these may be a good choice. As comparison I have driven my friends car with pre bedded XP10s all around. Very similar feels to the EBCs, the XP10s do feel a little bit more "grabby" but they also squeal occasionally. The EBC yellow could be a very good cross over pad, for cars not running slicks and like to track with a streetable setup. stay tuned.
#2
Community Organizer
XP 10 are noticeably beyond EBC Yellows in performance. I daily/autox EBC yellows front and back and outside of some excess dust, they're a very nice pad. XP10 are grabby until you get them up to operating range and then they smooth out, but they are are a far more aggressive pad allowing for significantly shorter braking distances.
#3
When you say performance, it depends on what you are looking for? For braking power and heat capacity, no question the XP10s. That was what I meant by grabby, they feel very powerful. My buddy also runs slicks at the track, I wouldn't even try running EBC yellows with those tires. My point of the comparison was to say the EBC yellows are somewhere between OEM and more dedicated track pads like XP10s as far as braking is concerned. As far as squeal, the XP10s made noise, the EBC yellows have been dead quiet. So as far as a street pad, the EBC is a viable choice over the XP10. Especially considering the cost.
Still no track time yet, if they work well with that they may be a great cross over pad too.
Still no track time yet, if they work well with that they may be a great cross over pad too.
#4
Community Organizer
When I talk about performance at a track, I mean stopping distance and heat management. Having tracked XP10/8 F/R, I find the Carbotechs to be more aggressive in that they will slow the car faster on the same street tires versus the EBC Yellows. The Yellows will perform well on a technical track with lower overall speeds, but anything that requires repeated high speed braking, I would definitely lean towards the Carbotechs.
As for price, it's a non-issue to me as I'm a firm believer in having separate dedicated track pads/rotors. The only squealing from the Carbotechs in my experience came after they were bedded in and cold when street driving (did a road trip out to the track).
When are you slated to take the car to the track next?
As for price, it's a non-issue to me as I'm a firm believer in having separate dedicated track pads/rotors. The only squealing from the Carbotechs in my experience came after they were bedded in and cold when street driving (did a road trip out to the track).
When are you slated to take the car to the track next?
#5
So far I have been very impressed by the yellows. I have an autox tomorrow and hit the track in a couple of weeks. The best thing about these pads is they have been very consistent at all temps so far, which I think will make them a great autox pad. That said I have felt pads go south at extremely temps before, so time will tell.
#6
Had. Chance to use these at SOWS ccw this Saturday and for my first track experience I thought they held up amazingly. Paired with off the shelf valvoline dot4 fluid and oem rotors inexperienced no brake fade whatsoever. My best time of the day was a 1:34. Again I'd like to reiterate this was my first ever track experience so I can't tell you from an experienced track drivers point of view.
#7
Ran these pads at chuckwalla on 2 different days. First day wasnt much of a track day as we only got 6 hot laps all day. Second day was awesome with 40 min sessions, 20 min break and back out for 40 mins all day.
The pads did get a little weak after my first session. They never completely faded out on me. It wasnt till i left the track that i noticed i had glazed the pads/rotors. Brakes had much less initial bite. After driving for a couple days they have gotten some of their bite back, although i dont think it is back to where it was.
I will be getting some dedicated track pads before my next time on a track(probably xp10's). Yellowstuff is a great street pad but i need something more for track.
The pads did get a little weak after my first session. They never completely faded out on me. It wasnt till i left the track that i noticed i had glazed the pads/rotors. Brakes had much less initial bite. After driving for a couple days they have gotten some of their bite back, although i dont think it is back to where it was.
I will be getting some dedicated track pads before my next time on a track(probably xp10's). Yellowstuff is a great street pad but i need something more for track.
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#8
I agree with you...
I ran a 400BHP Rotrex FN2 on stock calippers with EBC yellowstuff pads and they were amazing. Better than ferodo pads and any others that i used previously.
People dont like EBC but i have always rated them personally.
I ran a 400BHP Rotrex FN2 on stock calippers with EBC yellowstuff pads and they were amazing. Better than ferodo pads and any others that i used previously.
People dont like EBC but i have always rated them personally.
#9
Great review PureFunction. Yellowstuff are great for a street car but for track use something like the Hawk HP+ might be better suited. I'd also put the Stoptech Street pad up there with the yellowstuff. A great daily/aggressive street pad, but might want something more dedicated for extensive track use.
Whether you are looking for yellowstuff, Hawks, or Stoptechs, we have great pricing on them all.
Yellowstuff:
http://store.excelerateperformance.c...s/g-63410.aspx
Hawk:
http://store.excelerateperformance.c...s/g-50337.aspx
Street Performance:
http://store.excelerateperformance.c...e/g-61616.aspx
Whether you are looking for yellowstuff, Hawks, or Stoptechs, we have great pricing on them all.
Yellowstuff:
http://store.excelerateperformance.c...s/g-63410.aspx
Hawk:
http://store.excelerateperformance.c...s/g-50337.aspx
Street Performance:
http://store.excelerateperformance.c...e/g-61616.aspx
#10
Former Sponsor
Other great options in this category are Project Mu HC+800 Endless MXRS. The endless is the most capable of all of them and sacrifices less street manners to get the extra performance but are a tough sell on these cars due to the price. The HC+800 is hugely popular because it isn't too far behind the Endless pad but is roughly half the cost. Even though some claim to be track pads, no pad in this aggressive street/light track or "hybrid" category are really suited for track use. Some will hold up to the temps for a beginner to intermediate level driver but you will find that you will eventually outgrow the capabilities of them and also that the wear rates will start getting a little ridiculous which negates the savings you though you had with the lower purchase price. At least that was my experience with pads of this category as I started getting into tracking.
Additional benefits of the PMU and endless is that they make phenomenal track compounds to match their excellent street compounds and the transfer layers will be compatible. This makes swapping back and forth between street and track pads simple and trouble free
-Matt M.
Additional benefits of the PMU and endless is that they make phenomenal track compounds to match their excellent street compounds and the transfer layers will be compatible. This makes swapping back and forth between street and track pads simple and trouble free
-Matt M.