New brakes needed

Scooby250 · July 6, 2019, 14:27

Hi All,
Thinking of fitting new disks and pads front and back what makes would you advice.
I have only replaced my manifold so far to get rid of the precats no other advancements yet.
I use my MR2 for fast road and cruising mainly and only during the summer months.

Topdownman · July 6, 2019, 15:40

I have plain blueprint discs with EBC yellowstuff pads and I am very happy with the combo.

Ardent · July 6, 2019, 18:37

Stock pagid discs n pads work very well.
Don't waste any big money on "upgrading"
Stock is plenty.
Hel lines maybe and some fresh fluid for the hell of it.

Scooby250 · July 6, 2019, 20:25

Quote from: Topdownman on July 6, 2019, 15:40I have plain blueprint discs with EBC yellowstuff pads and I am very happy with the combo.

I was thinking EBC as I used to use them on my Scoobies when I had them but that was a few years ago and things move on.

Scooby250 · July 6, 2019, 20:28

Quote from: Ardent on July 6, 2019, 18:37Stock pagid discs n pads work very well.
Don't waste any big money on "upgrading"
Stock is plenty.
Hel lines maybe and some fresh fluid for the hell of it.

Ok so standard disks seem to be the way to go. I was thinking of doing a complete overhaul with fluid being done as well as I'm not sure when the last time the fluid was changed as I have only had the car 3 months.

Petrus · July 6, 2019, 20:42

My brake pedal has started to vibrate when the discs heat up so was thinking about

1979scotte · July 7, 2019, 12:57

Don't like grooved or drilled disks they seem to cause excessive pad wear and are noisy

Petrus · July 7, 2019, 16:13

Quote from: 1979scotte on July 7, 2019, 12:57Don't like grooved or drilled disks they seem to cause excessive pad wear and are noisy

They offer nothing really worthwhile over smooth discs; it is just that I am programmed by having them on motorcycles and bicycles. So if the uplift in price is reasonable I prefer the familiar look.

1979scotte · July 7, 2019, 16:48

Quote from: Petrus on July 7, 2019, 16:13
Quote from: 1979scotte on July 7, 2019, 12:57Don't like grooved or drilled disks they seem to cause excessive pad wear and are noisy

They offer nothing really worthwhile over smooth discs; it is just that I am programmed by having them on motorcycles and bicycles. So if the uplift in price is reasonable I prefer the familiar look.

I suppose there is a tiny weight saving that would help you in your quest.

Petrus · July 7, 2019, 17:16

Quote from: 1979scotte on July 7, 2019, 16:48I suppose there is a tiny weight saving that would help you in your quest.

Too tiny to count.
On motorcycle and bicycle discs for one more material is drilled out and secondly those disc are lighter so the % difference significant. On the MR2 discs it is marginal.

I líke it though and on my list of priorities that lists pretty high; if practical/sensible arguments would weigh heavy, I would not have the MR ;-)

Ardent · July 7, 2019, 17:34

Dave Brailsford.

Marginal gains.

Petrus · July 7, 2019, 20:30

Quote from: Ardent on July 7, 2019, 17:34Marginal gains.

It became more widely known through him.
Applied that already in my motorcycle racers since late seventies, racing with underpowered but very well handling italian bikes.
I was hospitalized for several weeks and took a loooonng time recovering so read a lót and then some. Among that a book on Francis Beart. Followed his marginal gains philosophy with my own Guzzi, later Aermacchis, a series of Laverdas and lastly an Aprillia.
My last such project is my MTB; floating discs, suspension, 8.2 kilos...
It is obvious that the technical side of cycling is per definition more marginal as there is less to start with ánd becuse the material scope is so limited, even the extreme is attaineble.
The more complex the vehicle the more complex, read costly the excersize.
Per example nuts, bolts,other fasteners. Going plastic, magnesium, aluminium, titaium from steel can save say 800 gramms at 200€.
On a motorcycle that gets to be 8 kilos at 2000€.
Yes, on a mid sized car that goes ... you get it.
Point is that on the bike there áre no cheaper larger steps. Just about nothing to unbolt is a good example already.
Anyway, marginal gains on a car are basically irrelevant until you have carbon front and rear lids, gutted doors with Lexan windows, no soft top, etcetera.
Yes, I díd look at replacing some bits and bolt as I still have a box with some lightweight stuff left over but .... nah, not worth it.
Mind you, díd replace the OEM wheel nuts with half as heavy ones. That however was because I needed acorn type anyway ánd is unsprung rotation mass. Did not go lighter metal though; not worth the risc.

MisterK · July 7, 2019, 21:09

Quote from: Ardent on July 6, 2019, 18:37Stock pagid discs n pads work very well.
Don't waste any big money on "upgrading"
Stock is plenty.
Hel lines maybe and some fresh fluid for the hell of it.

+1 for Pagid disks & pads. Toyota OEM are rubbish & the disks rust & fail MOT's every 2-3 Years. I've had Pagids for 7 years & still going strong and look like new.

Ardent · July 7, 2019, 21:15

Snap!

Petrus · July 7, 2019, 21:21

For those interested in a bit of historic perspective:
Francis Beart also played a key role in the mid engined revolution, pioneered by John Cooper. Cooper 500s were all mid engined, using a short chain to the gearbox and another short chain to the back axle but John, like all the other constructors, struggled to make a mid engine arrangement work for shaft drive, Francis suggested using the Citroen Traction Avant Transaxle placed behind a Coventry Climax engine for the Cooper Bobtail and a racing revolution was born.
Even Wunibald Kamm pops up in this as the ´bobtail´ nickname was a consequence of the ´chopped of´ Kamm rear end.

Ardent · July 7, 2019, 22:51

Every day is a school day.
More reading to do.

Ardent · July 7, 2019, 22:56

Sorry for drifting Off topic.
But, with ref to the above post by @Petrus
I cannot move forward without sub-referencing to

911 or 2 the message is the same.

Petrus · July 8, 2019, 08:14

Quote from: Ardent on July 7, 2019, 22:56Sorry for drifting Off topic.
But, with ref to the above post by @Petrus
I cannot move forward without sub-referencing to

Spot on.

Hence I think taking out the pas is one of the best, if not the best, things I did with mine; I can actually féél what it´s doing.

Dev · July 26, 2019, 13:41

I use to have drilled and slotted for my car even though I knew it was not optimum because I conducted a large group buy for them where I was given a free set. Im so happy that I went back to blanks as I can feel the difference in smoother braking.

Also the stock pads are some of the best I have used because they are more than adequate for street driving. The reason why they are very good is precisely because they don't have a very high coefficient of friction so you can modulate the brakes. They don't give up when they are hot and have a consistent bite when cold.

Most people jump to so called "better pads" and I did but what happens is they will cause the ABS to kick in early unless you are using very sticky tires. With the right pads you can get the ABS to kick in very late giving you a lot more control with scrubbing off speed especially for low speed tight corners having great pedal feel.
Many of the people that raced to win trophies back in the day did so on stock pads and disks with no issues and only upgraded when they experienced fade. It was usually the boy racers that end up using racing fluid, drilled rotors and exotic material pads that come in last place.

james_ly · July 26, 2019, 13:57

Stock pads are still really good on these cars, when my Yellowstuff wear out I may try cheap pads again on the track (if they only last half as long I'm still saving money)

Beachbum957 · July 27, 2019, 11:52

Stock design rotors (I use Centric) and stock Toyota pads seem to be the best on the street. Many people use aftermarket pads as they are cheaper, but not necessarily better. OEM last a long time, don't fade in normal use, and are very predictable.