What is the best brake pad?

[scotmont]

I just had my entire brake system done over, minus a brake cylinder.
New rotors, pads, lines. I'm still not stopping great. I'm pretty sure that my mechanic put in regular cheap pads. Is there a pad out there that will grab more?
I need to really push on the peddle to stop from rolling on a hill. It doesn't feel like I have much in the way of "emergency" stopping either.
What should I be thinking about.
A couple of other car guys thought it was the pads.
Any thoughts?
Thanks all.

 

[PAUL161]

I'm thinking you have an MGB, though you didn't say so. What model is your car? What year is your car? Does it have boosted brakes or not? MGB brakes in their standard form are very capable of stopping the car in a safe manner. If it doesn't, then something is wrong in the system and even though I wouldn't rule it out, it's not necessarily the brake pads. If it's a boosted system, I'd look hard at the booster. JMHO. PJ

 

[DrEntropy]

I looked at the profile, '69 B-GT. Something is amiss in the system if it can't lock up the wheels with a hard pedal application.

 

[PAUL161]

I agree Doc! Problem is, without an inspection, it's very hard to tell where it's at. Master cylinder maybe? Does the 69 have the shuttle valve? If so, it might be jammed to one side and only giving pressure to either front or rear brakes but not both. Just a guess.

 

[davester]

It could also be that scotmont is used to modern cars with highly boosted brake systems that don't require much pedal effort and is confusing the high effort with ineffective braking. In a non-boosted system you can't get away from the fact that you have to push HARD on the brakes in an emergency stop. High pedal effort does not necessarily equate to bad brakes. Can you lock up the wheels on gravel?

In the event that the brakes do in fact have a problem, did your mechanic replace the flex lines as well as the hard lines?

 

[Steve_S]

All the bases have been covered, so I'll just answer the original question. My preference is for the plain old Classic Gold pads as sold by Moss and others. I've tried performance pads (Green Stuff, Ceramic, etc) but for a daily driver the softer stock pad is best, requiring the least pedal pressure to stop the car. In high performance situations, such as high speed runs down twisty canyon roads, the Green Stuff pads really shine. But when they aren't hot they require noticeably more pressure to stop the car.

 

[scotmont]

Thanks everybody,
Yes it's a 69 mgb gt. Sorry for that. I was also thinking that I'm too used to my 96 porsche with extra large Brembo Gran turismo brakes. My friend that has had 2 mgb's drove it and said that I should have more power in the brakes. I don't think that I could lock up the tires on normal hard top. I will try today to find a bit of loose surface.
My mechanic just put in "semi-metalic" pads. He didn't say which brand, just that they are already "better" pads than normal stock pads. He did replace the flex hoses. Sadly I'm not aware if my brake system is boosted. I think that it's a stock system. Is the 69 boosted? I don't think so.
Should I go with a "stock" pad as Steve s mentions above is a softer pad?

the parts that went in are as follows..
new front disks
new calipers
pad set costing $43
2 brake hoses $64 total
1 brake hose $19.50


Why only 1 other brake hose at a different price? I'm assuming this is for the rear. I'm seeing my mechanic Monday, I'll find out more.
thanks again.

 

[14dna]

At the back of the master cyl, there will be a large pot with a hose to the intake manifold if it is boosted.
The lone hose is, indeed, for the back.
I wouldn't change the pads until at least a few wear-in miles are put on the car, and then see how it works.

Good Luck

Dave

 

[PAUL161]

All the bases have been covered, so I'll just answer the original question. My preference is for the plain old Classic Gold pads as sold by Moss and others. I've tried performance pads (Green Stuff, Ceramic, etc) but for a daily driver the softer stock pad is best, requiring the least pedal pressure to stop the car. In high performance situations, such as high speed runs down twisty canyon roads, the Green Stuff pads really shine. But when they aren't hot they require noticeably more pressure to stop the car.

X2 on the Moss Classic Gold pads! Especally for a non racing street setup. JMHO. PJ

 

[davester]

A '69 BGT will not have a brake booster. As far as semi-metallic pads are concerned, my recollection is that they are harder than standard "organic" pads and so probably have higher required pedal effort for equivalent braking force. I'm pretty sure semi-metallics were brought out as a result of the shrinking of brake rotors in modern cars, requiring a pad that could resist high temps (not relevant factors in a street MGB).

 

[Steve_S]

Where in CA are you? If you're near me then I'd be happy to have a look at your setup.

 

[scotmont]

I'm in San Francisco. I'll put a bunch of miles on these then maybe try the suggested Moss classic gold.
Thanks for all the input.

 

[Big6Mark]

Might be that the pads are not properly burnished. (What used to be called "bedded.")

New rotors and new pads, new hoses, properly bled fluid, you should be able to just about lock up the brakes any time you want to try it.

Although properly burnished they might stop the car so well you might not notice any lockup.

C Ya,
Mark