Its time to change the pads on my car all around and I want a firmer bite from the pedal under braking.

So, the question is am I better to get uprated pads or stick with OEM type of pads and fit braided hoses? I don't have the cash to do both at the moment but the 2 options I have put are about the same in terms of cost.

Cheers,

 

Braided lines probably won't help a huge amount. Your best bet would be to get some more aggressive pads, but they will dust more and possibily squeal.

 

Spykee i was looking to upgrade a bit my brakes without going to BBK.
So i installed Goodridge Brakeline kit and Motul RBF 600 brake fluid.
The result....
Just a waste of money.
Our brakes are extremely good so if you want to upgrade them you have to install BBK unless leave them as it is.
Braided hoses will make a difference only in track days where after a long time our brakes get tired and braided hoses keep going on.

As far as the pads i stick to OEM for the reasons Spets said and also for the faster wear of the brake rotors.

 

Thanks for the help guys. In the end I ordered a set of uprated pads all around.

I've ordered Mintex M1144 Fast Road pads for the front and Black Diamond Predator's for the rears.

I'll post my thoughts after they are fitted tomorrow and I've bed them in for a few hundred miles.

 

I was going to throw in some input, but it looks like you went the route I would have suggested anyhow.

The best upgrade to your brakes is to get upgraded pads. It is one of the best and most beneficial upgrades to any car! The only brake modifications I do is upgrade the pads, get new rotors, and fill it with high quality brake fluid. Stainless lines would only be really necessary down the line when you want to have even better brake feel. With upgraded pads and good brake fluid, you will love the feel of your brakes!

-Colin

 

It will be hard to beat OEM unless you are tracking your car.

Remember with upgraded pads they might require you to heat them up before functioning properly. They will dust more and you will squeek like a school bus. I would stick to OEM if I were you.

 

Thanks for your input anyway Colin, its reassuring that you would advise what I've already chosen to do...

When you say to put better brake fluid in, the guy on the phone at motorsport world where I ordered the pads from said that he would recommend DOT 5.1 is this what you would also recommend?

 

Thats why I went for the Mintex front pads as I had them on my old EP3 Civic Type R before and was really impressed with the bite and how well they worked from cold. They didn't need any warming up at all.

 

I use Carbotech 1521's on the street; they're a good set of pads. Pretty much silent, and I don't even use the shims.

Stainless steel lines = pointless.

Any improvement you'd feel on the street when putting brake fluid like ATE or Motul or what have you is most likely due to flushing out air bubbles and moisture with the old fluid.

Pads will be, by far, the biggest difference you'll feel. Just don't do anything stupid and run track pads on the street, it's totally unnecessary.

 

I personally always run Motul RBF 600 for brake fluid which is a DOT 4 fluid. Keep in mind that the DOT number has nothing to do with the quality of the fluid, moreso the characteristics. DOT 5.1 fluid is the newest kind of brake fluid, and it's supposed to be good stuff! I actually found a good site that explains the different DOT ratings quite nicely: http://au.geocities.com/ozbrick850/b...luidtypes.html

-Colin