Brake Pads for BJ8

[Bob_Spidell]

Hi All,

I bought new rotors for my BJ8 years ago on sale. Now, I've got judder--for lack of a better word--in the pedal on hard braking and figure it's time to install the new rotors with new pads. What's the Forum wisdom say: Green/Yellow 'Stuff,' Moss Classic Gold, ceramic, semi-metallic, organic, etc.? This is a touring car, so don't need track performance, but I do need to brake hard on occasion.

TIA,
Bob

 

[Keoke]

Hi All,

I bought new rotors for my BJ8 years ago on sale. Now, I've got judder--for lack of a better word--in the pedal on hard braking and figure it's time to install the new rotors with new pads. What's the Forum wisdom say: Green/Yellow 'Stuff,' Moss Classic Gold, ceramic, semi-metallic, organic, etc.? This is a touring car, so don't need track performance, but I do need to brake hard on occasion.

TIA,
Bob

GO! Green ,Go Green-Best thing I ever seen for BJ8's---------LOL

 

[steveg]

I've been using ceramics since my 4-wheel disc conversion. After the simple break-in procedure, no squeals ever, little or no visible dust and excellent pedal pressure without power assist.

 

[shortsguy1]

I put Moss Classic Gold ceramic pads on my BJ8 and could never get them to work very well. It was actually scary how much force it took to get the car to stop. I did the bedding in process multiple times, but to no avail. The system was property bled.

So I gave up on those and, based on details on their website, decided to go with EBC pads. Their yellowstuff pads are supposedly the greatest thing since sliced bread with the highest friction pad rating. Their website mocks low quality pads with a friction rating of EE and implies the yellowstuff pads are GG (first letter is low Temp friction coeff, second letter is high temp friction coeff, E is the lowest value and G is the highest value). Anyway, when the pads arrived, you won't believe what they were rated... EE. So basically, I spent $100 on pads which, according to their own website, are the lowest coeff. of friction values sold. I followed up with them, but actually installed the pads before I heard back. They have since acknowledged their website is misleading. Anyone know a good class-action lawyer?

Anywho, the yellowstuff pads are actually better than the Moss Ceramics, but that isn't hard to do. I am disappointed by the whole thing. The amount of time I spent researching pads is absurd, and then to have the company totally misrepresent the actual friction coefficient of the pad was frustrating.

My next pads will be high quality organic. Soft and dusty, but with a decent low temperature friction coefficient. I will happily clean my wire wheels more often if it keeps the car safe. One bonus is that I am now pretty efficient at changing the pads on a Healey.

 

[steveg]

Sorry you had a bad experience with the Moss pads. Did you have new rotors, too?
The EBC pads are organic and come in different grades.
I've had very good experience with the Centric Premium Ceramics with my Toyota 4-pot calipers and brand-new stock BJ8 rotors. There are a lot of Centrics and others listed on Amazon.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Thanks, Shorts. That's the kind of specific info that really helps.

I have my own story, sort of: Went to my favorite local parts houses--Winchester Auto in San Jose--to get pads many years ago. The 'kid' behind the counter--hard to forget because he had a ponytail down to his belt--recommended Ferodo, which I'd never heard of. I thought what the heck, bought them and installed and was amazed at the difference in stopping power from some standard-issue Bendix organics. These are the pads now on the car, and I feel I need to replace them with new rotors. I went back to Winchester a few years ago and 'Mark'--the kid with the pony tail--wasn't there, but a new guy said 'Spectrum' brand were made by Ferodo, so I bought them. I think I got had because there's no reference to Ferodo anywhere on the box, and I think the new kid pulled a fast one on me. I was credulous because I was so pleased with the Ferodos.

Side note: Went into Winchester a couple years ago and asked about Mark, who I hadn't seen behind the counter in a while and was informed Mark was dead, having lost control of his Harley on one of the 'flying' overpasses we have around here. Sad.

 

[bdcvg]

Hawk has street pads that fit Healeys too. They work great on My Subaru.

 

[shortsguy1]

Steve-
When I got the car, it had a grinding wheel noise which I wasn't sure if it was the brakes or a bearing. So I got to do both projects as my firsts on a Healey (it was a stuck caliper grinding away on a disc, by the way). So before I drove the car more than a mile, I replaced the hoses, calipers, rotors, and pads. (I still have to do the same in the back). I made sure everything was clean and oil-free before it was installed. So it was an "all Moss" new system which resulted in the poor braking performance, but I really couldn't compare to anything since I had barely driven the car prior to doing this work. I had good pedal feel (not squishy) but the brakes just didn't bite until you really stomped on it. It was very hard to lock up the wheels and I never was able to lock a front wheel. So that is how I concluded that the gold ceramics from Moss and I weren't a good match.

Since then, I have seen many manufacturers acknowledge that ceramics do tend to have lower coefficients of friction, but people still like them for their low dust. I know you have had good luck with the Centrics, and I probably should have tried those instead of my EBC adventure.

 

[shortsguy1]

Bob-
Denis Welch sells a few Forodo pads for the Healey. But the only one that Ferodo says is acceptable for a street car is the Ferodo DS2500. Maybe that is what you have on your car now.

 

[steveg]

...It was actually scary how much force it took to get the car to stop....

Sounds like your booster might not be working.

 

[Keoke]

Sounds like your booster might not be working.

Naw,it takes a lot of heat to make em work right.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Hawk has street pads that fit Healeys too. They work great on My Subaru.

Ah, thanks for the reminder; I've looked at Hawk before and thought they looked good. This looks like a good source: https://tinyurl.com/zk2a6ut


More options here: https://topbrakes.com/c/car-items/34814/1968+AUSTIN+HEALEY+3000+

 

[Keoke]

Ah, thanks for the reminder; I've looked at Hawk before and thought they looked good. This looks like a good source: https://tinyurl.com/zk2a6ut


More options here: https://topbrakes.com/c/car-items/34814/1968+AUSTIN+HEALEY+3000+

Yeah me too!;

If you want to know technically why certain brake pads are not the best for street use:
Read their FAQ!---

 

[glemon]

Rock Auto has Beck Arnley semi Mettalic pads for under $2 on closeout, they are described as high quality pads. Have not tried them but may be worth a shot.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

My problem is I don't know the technologies: metallic, semi-metallic, ceramic and organic. My (limited) understanding is: 1) metallic has the least fade, but is generally only suitable for racing, 2) semi-metallic may be suitable for street use, but require some 'heating up' for peak performance, c) ceramic is good all-around and produces less dust and decent performance and d) organic is easiest on rotors but doesn't offer the best stopping power.

Am I close?

 

[shortsguy1]

Bob-
For a quick comparison of generalities, I like these "spider-web" graphs that Centric uses on their website. They are a quick way to compare the general characteristics of Centric pads. I don't know how whether the conclusions are unique to Centric or more general.

Check out:
https://www.centricparts.com/products/brake-friction

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Looks like 'semi-metallic' gives best all-around performance and durability for a street car (also implies the Hawk 'High Performance Street' pads may do a number on rotors, which isn't a major concern given the miles that most of our cars are driven; though I put 5K miles/year or so on my BJ8).

 

[HealeyRick]

I have Hawk HPS on my BJ7 and they work quite well. They are not listed in their catalog for the earlier 3000 brakes, but I had a set ground from blanks here: https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/ Don't know how they are on rotors yet. In my past experience, semi-metallics can be a little "squeally".

 

[Keoke]

Rock Auto has Beck Arnley semi Mettalic pads for under $2 on closeout, they are described as high quality pads. Have not tried them but may be worth a shot.

Glemon;

I think you just sold a whole lot of brake pads.----------N I am almost sure at that price, there ain't gonna be no problem with em either.:highly_amused:

SERIOUSLY:
Dust is not a real problem as dust shields are readily available.
Cleaning WW with chrome or SS spokes is simply done with spray on acid cleaners and a brush while post sealing can be accomplished
in a similar manner with sealer.

However, guys with painted wheels are committed to expend a bit more elbow grease.

New rotors or having the proper RMS finish machined on used ones if possible may allow good performance with the higher coefficient brake pads also?

 

[RDKeysor]

I have no opinion on the best brake pads, but I do want to respond to Bob's comments about brake judder that originated this interesting discussion. Some years ago I put new ceramic pads on my wife's Subaru Forester without turning the rotors. I soon found the car had considerable brake judder when slowing from high speed. I considered replacing the rotors until I came across a very informative article by a Michael Grant called "Warped Brake Discs" on the Moss Web site. It remains there today. While this article offers much information on bedding new brake pads, etc., the article's initial point is that many car owners experience the "judder" issue after installing new brake components, and the cause may not be the pads or warped rotors. This phenomenon surely creates a headache for people like Moss that sell these parts and get complaints from customers. Yes, the judder in the Subaru's brakes soon went away, but I think that came after I applied the author's break-in procedure for new pads. Take a look at this article before discarding those pads.