brake pads and discs: which make?

My local ford does the ford branded oem stuff and patten part to useally half the price.

Never had pads off them but the anti roll links were a third of the price and a far better product

18 months ago I bought a complete set of front vented discs, rear solid discs and all 8 pads for my 2001 Focus for £59.90 inc free postage on Ebay from here.

Just had a look and they're still the same price. Cheaper than just the pads for one end of the car from some places. Can't fault them to be honest. They fitted perfectly, work perfectly, no brake judder or noise and stop the car just fine. I did try a couple of high speed (70ish mph) balls out stops on a quiet back road with the ABS coming on hard just for peace of mind after I'd bedded them in for a few miles, had no issues and haven't given the car's brakes a second thought since then. Pedal feel is the same as it was on Ford bits, initial bite is instant when you touch the pedal, no spongeyness. If any issues were going to show up they'd have done so by now.

For your car it looks like £102.50 for the same whole package.

[...]

I think the OP is looking for parts today, otherwise I would just point him here:

Chris

Eibachs may be "EU Approved", but they still have a reputation for falling apart.

Any references to failure rates in comparison to any other after market brand

I snipped it because it's over-optimistic, he says charitably.

Unless, of course, you genuinely think that there really isn't anything on the market which is cheap shit made of cheese?

Yes, it is.

But GSF are much more than nation-specific these days.

Yes plenty of crap out there , most cheap knock off imports of named brands or similar sounding names, non that have eu type approval useally sold through the back street independants for £9.00 a set.

As far as i am aware the cheap and cheerfuls sold by ecp are type approved, from a legal perspective they meet all the criteria required to be used within the EU You generally get what you pay for. As i pointed out in the original post they are likely to wear quickly and meet the very basic requirements for vehicle braking. Just like tyres, you get your budgets and your premium brands, the premium brands tend to last longer have better road holding, deliver better fuel economy but you pay a premium, the michellins and firestones i stick on my vans last 32000 plus miles on the front probably double that on the back, when i tried a set of budgets 10000 miles and they were scrap the van handled like a bag of spuds and in the rain i thought i was auditioning for dancing on ice.

Most of my driving though is on motorways and fast urban roads, i expect the budgets would be fine if i was doing low milage pottering around town

Yes they probably are made of cheap shit materials but it really depends what you intend to use the vehicle for.

Its up to the op to decide which catogary he fits in, if he just potters around , never goes on motorways or high speed urban roads then its his choice is it worth saving yourself £20.00 .

I don't think anyone does tests on brake components that are thousands of miles old... but you see talk of problems with Eibach on web forums

- usually because pad material has separated from the backing plate.

I don't get this argument - because it's in urban / town environments where a few extra metres on stopping distances are likely to have the most devastating effects.

So nothing sold through the "big boys" is utter shit, then?

I'm sure they are. Doesn't mean they're any _good_.

I'm sure they do. Doesn't mean they're any _good_...

Bet they were "EU approved", too...

Well, quite.

Performance and longevity don't go hand in hand - how long do tyres on F1 cars last?

So what? That is a totally different specialised field. You may as well bring in aircraft tyres for comparison.

Seen the same happen to other manufacturers kit to, its horses for courses,

Your generally driving slower, the brakes are unlikely to be used at full capacity , even when they are its very short durations.

No it means they meet the minimum legal standard for brake pads in the EU,

Being good is relative, ceramic brakes are good... it doesnt mean other braking systems are bad just not as good

They were, and compared to the firestones they were crap, however that doesnt mean they were bad just not as good, you adjust your driving style accordingly.

Riiiiight.

Your talking apples and oranges

The van tyres are not sports performance tyres.

If your talking sports tyres then yuo need to look at the eniorement your driving on and your style of driving, do yuo want max wear or max grip, do you want all weather performance or superior wet or dry performance makes a difference

For all waether good all rounder contisport contact or the michelin pilot seems to be the way to go

Hankook seem to do well in the wet,as do goodyear not so good in the dry though

If your only running in dry conditions then the Pireli p corsa seems to come out on top

If your looking for a tyre that has good wear characteristics then your probly find the bridgestone is a good runner