Hello,
I need to change the rear brake pads on my 60 plate 2 litre diesel Mondeo. I see there are a number of different makes available, so I started googling to find out which, if any, is best but the more I read, the more contradictory and confusing things become.
For example, one web site said Brembo is a good make but another says that just because they make good brakes for racing cars, does not mean that their OEM brakes for family cars are the best.
A post on one of the Ford forums said Mintex were very good but I found another post on another forum saying that Mintex were a budget brand, and that Pagid were made by the same people but to a higher standard, and that textar were the same people and better still. So is Mintex good or not?
Some posts suggest that the same manufacturer will use different type of friction material on different pads to give a difference between their budget and premium pads. But then I found a post from someone who claimed to work at a disc pad factory and he said they made pads for a number of manufacturers and that they were all made in one batch with the same materials and the only difference was when they were sorted at the end to be painted and boxed. So which is right?
One option is to buy parts from the dealer but others say that these are made by Bosch or ATE. I can get these brands cheaper elsewhere. I also found a forum post suggesting that Ford would try and sell Ford motorcraft pads as the commission was greater (it did not say greater than what). When I check with the dealer, it was indeed motorcraft they had quoted for.
Some people might say that the car was designed for the OEM brakes, so they are the best to use. On the other hand, when designing are a car, I imagine Ford (any anyone else) have to compromise and build to a budget.
I have found web sites selling EBC brakes. They claim the police use the "yellow stuff" pads. These are the same price as pads from Ford or Bosch or Brembo, so is it worth trying considering they are the same price?
And then what about the discs? Some people say that having holes or grooves allows the heat to dissipate; others say these are weak points in the disc and make the disc more likely to fail or warp. Which is correct?
This is just used as a normal family car and I do not go racing on race tracks (or roads!) but I would like to be able to stop quickly and over a short distance if a child/animal ran out in front of me. I also realise that stopping distance is more than just about breaks and tyres are important too.
Thanks, Stephen.