Brake pads: Ferodo 2500 anyone have these?

[Lartymarf]

At 20k miles, my front right brake pads were down to about the thickness of the backing plate, so I went ahead and swapped out for the Ferodo 2500s for the front in anticipation of 9 hours of open track day. (Ferodo 2500 as I understand it is a little more aggressive track/street combo pad than the Axxis Ultimates, yet it is still rotor friendly, not too dusty, brake dust will not etch into paint if come in contact with water.)

I have bed them in properly and the installer applied anti-squeal paste on the backplate... that orange paste. The pad bedding in procedure was taken from Zekenhaus (sp?) website. 8 time moderate braking from 60mph to 45mph to heat up the rotor and pads a little. And then hard hard hard braking (short of abs) from ~70mph to 5mph for 8 times.. without ever stopping... and then not touching the brakes AT ALL while driving around to completely cool down the rotor and pads for an entire 10 minutes.

I wanted to see if anyone else experience the same characteristics with these pads......

1. Very linear feel all the way until ABS kicks in.
2. Pedal feel is a little numb, not as crisp as when I was running stock pads.
3. Noticeabley less intial bite when rotors/pads are cold. (Enough stopping power for daily street driving though.)
4. They require some heat into them to truely shine.
5. ABS kicks in sooner and ealier than before.

Just want to compare notes with people who have run these before. Is it about the same?

Moderator: Pls don't move this thread to the "Go Fast" section, more traffic in the car talk area.

Thanks.

[nate]

How much fade did you get with stock pads?

[Lartymarf]

How much fade did you get with stock pads?

Quite a bit, especially during the summer time.

Put it this way, TWS turn 13 right at the beginning of the esses... with a lot of fading... and if using same amount of pedal travel, you feel like you might fly off the track at the end of the braking zone...

BUT... most of the fading was probably from the brake fluid boiling... tons of air pockets in the lines when I had the fluids changed to supah blue.

AND... I never felt like I've lost the brakes completely where I put the pedal to the floor and go "where are my brakes?"

What pads have you ran with before?
Were they pure track pads?
What combo pads have you used before? (Combo = street/track pad.)

[nate]

I have Performance Friction 97s.

They are pretty good, no fade.

I think you saw me changing them last fall. I hate doing that...

[Lartymarf]

I have Performance Friction 97s.

They are pretty good, no fade.

I think you saw me changing them last fall. I hate doing that...

Is that track pad? Or street/track pad?

Also, how is cold/initial bite?
Lots of pedal feedback or numb?
Progressive or linear feel as you step on the brake pedal?

I remember you swapping tires/wheels last year at TWS.

[Doug]

The PF 97 is the pad all others are currently judged by, a good alternative (and a better pad IMHO) are the Carbotech XPs. These are track pads, very dirty and make lots of noise. While you can drive them to the track using them on the street is not advised. They have great bite, modulation, feel, and rotor wear.

[Lartymarf]

The PF 97 is the pad all others are currently judged by, a good alternative (and a better pad IMHO) are the Carbotech XPs. These are track pads, very dirty and make lots of noise. While you can drive them to the track using them on the street is not advised. They have great bite, modulation, feel, and rotor wear.

Doug, Carbotech XPs' brake dust are caustic and can etch into paint if you get brake dust covered areas wet correct?

[ayn]

get some track only pads, and get BMW to get you new OEM pads under warranty for street. :)

[Doug]

Doug, Carbotech XPs' brake dust are caustic and can etch into paint if you get brake dust covered areas wet correct?

I don't know of any track compound pad that will not do this, and most street/track compounds as well.

[Lartymarf]

Doug, Carbotech XPs' brake dust are caustic and can etch into paint if you get brake dust covered areas wet correct?

I don't know of any track compound pad that will not do this, and most street/track compounds as well.

Ah interesting. I've been told that street/track combo pads don't do this. But, I'll keep an eye out for it this weekend, tks.

[Lartymarf]

get some track only pads, and get BMW to get you new OEM pads under warranty for street. :)

I thought about that, but track pads are not exactly rotor friendly, and I'm not doing enough track events to warrant track pads at this moment. But, ya, it's something to keep in mind... like Nate runs track pads.

[ayn]

Not rotor-friendly is a good thing when you have warranty! ;)

[Lartymarf]

Not rotor-friendly is a good thing when you have warranty! ;)

Well, I don't want to push my luck with the dealership and have them replace a 2nd set of rotors before warranty runs out. They'll smell something fishy if I chew up rotors that fast.

It's all a 'mooooooo' point though... until I try out the ferodos at the track this weekend to have real experience driving with them. Then I'll decided if track pads are necessary. Plus, I don't like swapping pads back and forth.

[ayn]

IIRC Nate got second set of rotor and pads under warranty. Swapping pads is piece of cake, like most other jobs getting the wheels off and back on is the PITA part...

--Andrew

[ayn]

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150002

[Lartymarf]

IIRC Nate got second set of rotor and pads under warranty. Swapping pads is piece of cake, like most other jobs getting the wheels off and back on is the PITA part...

--Andrew

I'm referring to the entire process, plus you know how anal I am about jacking up my car home style. You're always like "just jack it up here... I do it all the time." Then I take a look at it and it looks different than your car... HAHA!

I think it's rare someone can push out 2 sets of rotors and pads from dealership, but not impossible that is. I just don't see the point for me to run track pads now until I run some r compounds. Plus, I'll need to borrow your driveway to swap pads if I do it in Austin.

[undefined]

I took my car into Garlyn Shelton and I happened to mention that the brakes were getting kind of loud/squeaking.

They gave me a new set of front pads under warranty.

[ayn]

you will have to get a jack and some basic tools when you get R-Comps and track pads... do it SteveM style!

--Andrew

[Lartymarf]

you will have to get a jack and some basic tools when you get R-Comps and track pads... do it SteveM style!

--Andrew

That's still a long wayz away. But, werd.

[Lartymarf]

I took my car into Garlyn Shelton and I happened to mention that the brakes were getting kind of loud/squeaking.

They gave me a new set of front pads under warranty.

I have heard Garlyn Shelton is pretty good....

So they are good even to owners who did not purchase their cars from Garlyn Shelton dealership?

[ayn]

Oh yeah, GS is awesome, I'm telling you man... Larry and Bart are the shit! (oh yes, it's happy hour time here and I've had quite a few)... LOL!

[ayn]

you will have to get a jack and some basic tools when you get R-Comps and track pads... do it SteveM style!

--Andrew

That's still a long wayz away. But, werd.

long way? na man, r-comp, u know u want those whose'surdaddy's! ;)

oh yeah baby, SMG M3, GC camber plates (and rear control arms of course), whosyourdaddy's, whosyourdaddy??? YOU MAN!

[Lartymarf]

you will have to get a jack and some basic tools when you get R-Comps and track pads... do it SteveM style!

--Andrew

That's still a long wayz away. But, werd.

long way? na man, r-comp, u know u want those whose'surdaddy's! ;)

oh yeah baby, SMG M3, GC camber plates (and rear control arms of course), whosyourdaddy's, whosyourdaddy??? YOU MAN!

Dude, you're drunk. How many beers did you have? Is your face as red as this ---> :oops: ?

[ayn]

LOL, whosyourdaddy?

[Lartymarf]

LOL, whosyourdaddy?

How many beers did you have? If you don't fess up, then I am your freaking daddy....

Okay I'm drunk...

[ayn]

:lol:

[Lartymarf]

:lol:

I'm yo daddie.

[nate]

The PF 97 is the pad all others are currently judged by, a good alternative (and a better pad IMHO) are the Carbotech XPs. These are track pads, very dirty and make lots of noise. While you can drive them to the track using them on the street is not advised. They have great bite, modulation, feel, and rotor wear.

I agree with Doug.

And, I don't think the rotor wear is bad at all.