Brakes query

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:17

Pics or it didnt happen

I was wrong. They have more than 5mm left. Those pads have 50k miles of use.

Pagid from ECP is completely off the cards forever, whats the odds on their ATE pads being garbage too?

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:20

rossk26 said:
Nothing wrong with Pagid pads, they are decent and more than adequate for the average vehicle. I probably wouldn't fit them to high performance vehicles unless it was their racing range, but then other brands would come before them.

As above check the brake hoses next. What is the condition of the pads? Not the amount of meat they have left, are they shiny/cracked?

You say you've done 50k miles, but the pads have done nowhere near that mileage. It's the age of them that will be affecting them the most.

Ive done 80k in the car, i fitted the pads 50k ago

The other night i genuinely thought there was a chance id be filling in an insurance claim form, i had to think up an escape route (ie change lane to the left, possibly cut someone up but avoid the stationary cars ahead)

The brakes were simply not stopping me. Its not a "high performance" car, it get driven sedately practically all the time and theyre not small brakes, i fitted the larger 312mm discs from the TT

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:22

hoses are all fine, no bulging etc

Muffin` · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:22

those have done 50k on the front? what?

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:22

Muffin` said:
those have done 50k on the front? what?

yup, those are the fronts

acemastr · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:23

They look really shiny, fairly sure you'd find a big difference by changing pads

Muffin` · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:24

Matt82 said:
yup, those are the fronts

What do the backs look like is all the pressure going to the back or something?

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:26

oh, and with regard to deposits, i didnt get any pics, but the near side front pads did appear to have deposits on the leading edge of the pad itself

Clarkey · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:27

Is that rust on the pad surface? Calipers even working?

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:28

Muffin` said:
What do the backs look like is all the pressure going to the back or something?

the backs (pagid again) went on maybe 5-6 months after the front. They genuinely are down to 50% but the shiny coating on the disc is starting to show signs of cracking, theyre more lipped than the fronts

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:28

Clarkey said:
Is that rust on the pad surface? Calipers even working?

Rust would have come from the lip of the disc when the calliper was removed

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:31

And the car did its MOT last week, not a single issue with brake bias side to side, do they test front to rear?

I just think the front pads are useless and have really poor response

acemastr · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:33

I'm sure that there's a thing calling 'glazing' where a pad's surface is literally shiny and doesn't have any bite anymore, there are correct ways of running them in, i.e not being delicate with them to prevent glazing.

Tried simply smashing the brakes on from 60 a few times?

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:43

acemastr said:
Tried simply smashing the brakes on from 60 a few times?

Yes, on wednesday (although it wasnt planned) but i nearly ended up crapping myself

I have deliberately driven quickly since then but now that i know all ill get is that initial poor response, i didnt want to carry on

So, replacement pads.

My initial bet is ATE from euro car parts

http://www.vwspares.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=225

TRW cant be bad

rossk26 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:43

Yep, those pads are shiny as ****. Someone suggested giving them a sand down to remove the glaze, it seems like you have plenty meat left on them, so it's worth a try before buying new pads.

ATE are worse than Pagid, FYI.

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:46

These pagids barely work, there is no possible way ATE can be worse, they are actually OE for VAG

Clarkey · 20 Dec 2013 at 16:58

Just because it's the same manufacturer doesn't make it the same spec as the original pad, just putting it out there.

Matt82 · 20 Dec 2013 at 18:51

So what do we recon then? Just go to the dealer?

Even if i sand down the current Pagids, they juddered from new anyway, so theyre going no matter what way we look at it

Muffin` · 20 Dec 2013 at 19:02

yeah what clarkey says

What is the chepest price you can get for VW pads that actually come in a VW box?

Fuzz · 20 Dec 2013 at 20:56

You drive it sedately all the time but upgraded to larger discs?

I think maybe you are not getting any heat into them at all and they have clearly glazed over. (grooved discs would help)

Sandpaper a bit off the surface (not just the shiny bit but a little deeper into the pad.) Lay the sandpaper on a table or flat surface and rub the pad up and down on it to make sure you keep the pad surface flat.
Copper grease the sliders, pad edges, pad backs and put it all back together.
Drive less sedately..

Oh, juddered... right then, in the bin and get some ferodo pads in there