[paulmanchester]

Need to replace discs and pads at the rear - unfortunately I have a relatively limited budget - what would people advise?
Does it matter if I put 'performance' pads/discs at rear but left the front stock (they were replaced just before I bought car)
Thanks

 

[JFP]

I think the rear brakes do very little to stop the car. On a limited (my) budget i would leave the rears standard, replacing only when neccessary.

Spend your money on the front brakes.

 

[JFP]

I think the rear brakes do very little to stop the car. On a limited (my) budget i would leave the rears standard, replacing only when neccessary.

Spend your money on the front brakes.

 

[mark e]

Paul,

There's comparatively little work done by the rear brakes on a front heavy car like the 9000. I thnik the split of braking effort is about 80/20 front/rear.

That said, it doesn't mean to say you won't notice the difference from an upgrade. Whether or not you choose to fit an upgrade really depends on whether you're intending to go for an all-round upgrade later(ie front a as well). If you're not, then I wouldn't bother. If you want to upgrade but are on a budget, then definitely save the money for the front.

So assuming you're going for "standard" discs there is still a question of which ones you buy. Generally speaking, the more you pay, the higher grade of iron in the discs and therefore longer life and better performance.

As for pads, you could look at an upgrade over standard that isn't as much as discs. Personally I've tried and would recommend Pagid fast road and Ferodo DS2500. I wouldn't receommend EBC Greenstuff.

Pagid can be bought from Need For Speed (about twice the price of a standard pair):

https://www.needforspeed.co.uk/index.asp

Ferodo from Trent Saab (but they're almost as expensive as upgraded discs!)

http://www.trentsaab.co.uk/brake.html

Mark

 

[cdcarlsson]

I've just fitted Ferodo discs and pads to the rear of my Aero for £47 all in!!!!
These were just the standard stuff, but they seem to work just fine.
Will let you know the braking distance once I've got the Race-Tech performance meter plugged in.
Nick.

 

[drabux]

What is wrong with EBC greenstuff?

I found them to be cheap and work very well on my old 900 T16s. I can't compare them with anything than stock pads and they were much better.

Alanb

 

[sgould]

I got my Pagid pads from Elkparts

 

[billj]

I have GreenStuff on my Aero and I thought they were great at first. Decent initial bite and no brake dust, just like they say. Good stopping power when they get warm.

Then after a few thousand miles they started to get noisy and create brake dust, until soon they were as dusty as the originals. In addition, I feel the initial bite deteriorated and they seemed to need warming up just to get decent performance. I changed the discs to ATE PowerDiscs from Euro Car Parts and what a surprise

when they were even noisier on these grooved discs.

While I was impressed initially, I don't think I'll use these pads again. Perhaps I feel deceived - their initial performance is obviously what has got them rave reviews.

This is only on a 9000, though. I obviously can't comment on how they perform on any other car.

 

[Anthony B]

I agree with BillJ ref the green stuff pads. they were perhaps only 5% better than the old worn out ones I fitted to my CSE. In the end I gave up as the discs wre worn as well and fitted the Textar discs and pads from ECP for about £70 for the discs and pads. They seemed pretty good and gave good initial bite for my day to day driving. I have also fitted the same to the front of my aero and they seem as good although I do drive faster. They are very good from high speed and can get it to dive/"lock up" as much as you want. At low speed they do feel a bit lifeless but that seems to be a 9000 trait unless you spend a lot of money. Fitted Pagid pads to the back and they made little difference to the saab items fitted.

If cash is tight the Textar ones seem good enough to me.
Ant

 

[mark e]

More Greenstuff...

Similar experiences to Bill and Ant. Impressive at first, but cr4p after a while- and I had Group N grooved discs so there's no question of poor discs/pad glazing. I foudn that not only did the performance drop off after a while, but beyond that it even became inconsistent- I simply couldn't predict how they were going to bite.

Whether you can live with this really does depend on how sensitive you are to such variations. I'm not saying they're unsafe, indeed I think they're adequate for most applications, especially with the lower dust. BUT if you are sensitive to such things you'll hate the buggers. I took them off after about 2000 miles and replaced them with Ferodo DS2500. They aren't cheap but they are the puppy's paps.

IMO the good initial performance of Greenstuff explains why they get positive reviews in magazines.

Mark

 

[billj]

I agree about the Textar stuff. I just fitted the Textar pads from ECP front and rear on my '96 CSE, with Textar discs on the front and Guttman on the rear (they were out of stock on the Textar rear discs). They're bedding in well after about 200 miles and I think they're going to be very good. I think the original Saab pads are made by Textar?

The brakes on my '95 CSE are frighteningly sharp. I haven't had time to really look this car over yet (other than a quick look to see that there is plenty of pad material) as I've been busy sorting out the '96 for my Dad, but it has been dealer-serviced for all of its 136K miles so I expect it's all Saab stuff in there. While manoeuvring it in and out of the garage I've been convinced once or twice that I've hit something, as I touch the brakes lightly and the car just stops dead! On the road, they're excellent too. They're a lot better than the Aero with the above-mentioned brake setup. Don't know whether they would fade with hard use, but it's only a 2.0LPT anyway. Although I could do with them being a little less sudden at low speeds, I wish I knew the secret of this impressive braking performance.

 

[john]

I think the original Saab pads are made by Textar?[/b]

Yes, I believe that Textar are one of Saabs OEMs for brake pads.

 

[Toby Mack]

You guys are worrying me! I've alway found my 9000 ('93 lpt) brakes excellent. Good initial bite from cold and at any speed. Reasonable feel to the point of abs coming in and quite capable of triggering the abs at any speed (fastest so far about 65mph- scarey!!) with a good shove.
Only problem I have found is that I once managed to get brake fade. However, at the time I was being navigated by a road rally expert round country roads and the brakes lasted a lot longer than my other cars would with such driving

So, from comments here they are not all like that? The question is, how the hell do I work out what pads I have at the moment so I can be sure to replace them with the same sort?

 

[mark e]

Toby,

I wouldn't worry too much. Those of us enthusing about pad/disc combinations are being pretty performance-oriented. I drove a 9000 on standard discs and pads for 3 years and can't say I really had any problems except for bending the discs once, and that was from not letting them cool properly after some fairly mean driving.

The brakes are more than acceptable for most driving needs- but just like engine performance there will always be those of us who want a little bit more... and once you've had more it's difficult to go back. I find it quite unnerving driving "standard" 9000s at first now but that's only because I'm used to knowing exactly how mine handles right down to the limit. If I disengage "driving machine" mode and go normal, I'm quite happy.

And just for the record, 9000's sold in Europe had better brakes than those intended for the US because there are more hilly roads and bends in Europe compared to the comparatively straight and flat tarmac of the US.

Mark

 

[Toby Mack]

Trouble is Mark, my hobbies include the likes of 12 car road rallies and track days - my record is 160 miles from a set of front pads! Nearly new to metal on metal

(This was a Celica on a trackday but you get the point)
I guess I should take it as a compliment that you think I might be easy on brakes but unfortunately I think my friends might disagree.

My point is, I have yet to drive a car where I could not induce brake fade- the list includes a Lotus Esprit, Lotus Excel, Toyota Celica and at least half a dozen more normal cars including my Saab. In terms of feel and response time (my key concerns- you can get more power by stamping harder!) the Saab is better than any of them.

Still, it could be just me. My front pads need changing in the next few weeks. When I do I'll probably use pagid (as GSF sell them) and report back what I think. (fwiw!)

 

[mark e]

Ah Toby you animal sir...

Well, if you're into brake fade then I seriously recommend the Ferodo DS2500. Here's some useful info on them...

They're one of the DS faimily (obviously!!). DS3000 is a well estanlished circuit pad, but does tend to run things rather hot. Under test conditions, the DS2500 have been found to lower temperatures by a couple of hundred degrees, with little or no reduction in lap times.

DS2500 is now the "first choice" pad for AP aftermarket kits. However, AP have just issued a note saying that they do not recommend using cross drilled discs for track use- the reason?DS2500 has so much bite, even when warm, that people have been cracking their discs.

Trent Saab sell them for about a ton but I suspect that you can get them cheaper elsewhere- try Circuit Supplies on 01525 385888.

Mark

 

[Toby Mack]

Thanks for the tip Mark! I've heard good things about the DS3000 on track but as you say, not really a road pad.
Given my tendancy to use up pads, £100 a pop is a bit steep but I'll investigate the DS2500- they might turn out cheaper in the long run.
My only problem is persuading my wife I really need to drive the family car that hard