I recently had my 90 serviced and the pads where replaced with non standard land rover pads. Since then I have had several experiences of brake fade, which has been pretty scary, and the engine has been uprated! Anyway, does anyone know the best pads that I can get for my
Roy, Its probably time to change your brake fluid for starters. If you're getting a burning smell when braking hard then you're overheating the pads - probably want to find some harder compound ones. Most likely cause of the fade though is crap old brake fluid full of moisture, which is boiling. Don't see why vented discs shold cause a problem offroad. As soon as you're back up to speed on a normal road any muck will soon be thrown out from inside. Wouldn't use drilled as the mud could collect and act like a grinding paste.
Andy
normally the 90 brakes are never a problem . brake shoes have gotten to be none too clever these days with the advent of no asbestos in them .
you shouldnt really have any trouble with most brake shoes , ie mintex std or the county brand .
most 90s hardly wear the pads down , they will almost last for years .
you say youre engine is uprated , do you have a v-8 petrol engine or a diesel , if its petrol you need to check the engine vacuum reading as it may have a lot less vacuum now to run the brake servo and you may be suffering in that respect.
this is allways an issue when fitting performance camshafts .
to help aleviate this add a vacuum assist tank in the hose to the servo , you can get these from SUMMIT RACING in the usa , or try something else of a similar nature .
if you have a diesel , is it a vacuum pump used for braking , if so check the pump and hoses connecting between pump and servo .
if you are constantly braking hard , and moreover you keep whacking the brakes on when you think they are fading , then you will heat up the calipers and thus the brake fluid, this will , if you carry on braking hard cause the brake fluid to boil and youll get air bubbles in the brake lines leaving the brakes inoperable .
range rovers are allways hard on front brake pads but i find 90s are completely the opposite .
Sounds like a case of cheap crappy pads that fade as soon as they get vaguely warm - bloody scary when it happens isn't it.
Have a phone round the local motor factors and see if you can find some pads made by "Remsa". The brand is owned by TRW and the factory is the world's largest supplier of OEM brake pads to vehicle manufacturers. There may be several grades of Remsa pad available, even the cheapest will be ok - the minimum they will make for a given model is OE equivalent (within 5% of temp and performance specs). The pads come pre-scorched so they need very little bedding in.
Yes - I'm pushing a product quite hard. I have no affiliation with Remsa, but between my business and the local brake specialist we fit maybe 3000 set of pads a year, and have never had a problem with Remsa product (unlike some other brands).
Sounds like dodgy pads to be fair but it rather depends on how uprated your engine is and how you use your brakes. If it is a genuine heat issue then vented discs will be a great improvement and will be absolutely fine offroad. Crossdrilled will not help with the cooling as such but will keep your pads clean won't present problems offroad - in fact the holes are somewhere for the water / mud to go so you even get to have brakes that work when they are covered in crap!
Have a look at the brakes page of my website
Try changing how you brake rather like when you are driving in mountains. Resist the temptation to control you speed with the brakes, use the engine / gears to control your speed and only use the brakes to slow / stop. Press them hard and then let them off giving them time to cool between applications. To sit with your foot on the brake for long periods rather than a bloody good slowdown and then release will build up the heat as there is no cooling time....
Hope this helps a little.....
David LLAMA 4x4
Pre-scorched??
Is that some sort of heat treatment?
I thought that the bedding in process with brakes was the pad wearing to match the surface of the disc exactly, so maximising contact area between pad and disc.
Is that wrong?
Yep, grilled to medium-rare in a furnace so that the friction material is fully cured.
Bedding in is about getting some heat into the pads and finishing the "curing" process of the friction material. Bed in too aggressively and you'll cook the pads and have poor braking, bed in too little and either the pads will be soft and wear rapdily, or the first time you're hard on the brakes you'll cook them and lose a lot of braking efficiency on a permanent basis. If your discs aren't flat on the braking surface get them skimmed or replace them - you shouldn't need to wear the pads to shape.
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