jump23

iTrader: (2)

I trying to decide between Ferodo DS2500 or OEM Brembo pads.

Stock are much more expensive esepcially for the rear pads but besides price, what are some "important" differences?

I'm doing a 2-day driving school at Road America and an occassional autoX but mostly it's regular street driving that I care about.

thanks for any feedback.

pwirski

i switched to ds2500 last year and here are my comments. my evo is about 75% track car (with slicks) so i only have limited 'street' experience with ferodos but here it is.

overall, ds2500s work very well on the track and quite well on the street. they produce slightly shorter stopping distance than oem, great initial bite and most significantly, can operate at much higher temps for extended track duty (the oem pads lasted only 5-7 mins before losing effectiveness).

the main problem i ran into with ferodos was overheating and warping oem rotors. the oem pads/rotors are engineered to work together so when you change to a high-temp pad, you may need to upgrade rotors as well (which is what i did).

on the street, ferodos work well. they produce a similar pedal 'feel' and performance to oem, generate little extra noise (occasional squeek when cold) and seem rotor-friendly (except as above)

hope this helps in your decision.

mayhem

iTrader: (9)

Any sort of pad upgrade would be necessary to be safe. Rotors are fine.

Eric Lyublinsky

iTrader: (5)

Get the OEM Some dealers charge on 65.00 bucks for the front.

Driving school is not really like a open day or open track and if you drive mostly on the street the OEM pads a very good.

Eric

tsi90awd

jump23: What Road America event are you going to? Bogie and I are going to be at the April 17-18 F-body event.

My experience is that the OEM pads are adequate for a track like RA (big straights that allow brake cooling). Last year I went through 3 sets of pads, mainly at RA. I never had heat-induced fade, and only "warping" once. BUT, that is with the factory brake air cooling guides, the gravel shields partially cut out to allow more air to get to the center part of the rotor, and fresh 550 BP brake fluid. Others have reported poorer performance with the stock pads. I think a key difference are the air guides I use on my car. Typically, I used about half of pad thickness per driving school weekend.

Last year, I could buy the OEM pads for $65 - great deal. I can't find them that cheap this year, so I got a set of the DS2500 pads and will be trying them at RA in April. If I could still get the OEM pads cheap, I'd use still use them.

jump23

iTrader: (2)

$65 for OEM front pads for the Evo? Really?

Do you have a number?

The dealers I called all wanted $250 for front and $230 for rear. That's why I was looking at alternatives.

Eric Lyublinsky

iTrader: (5)

Yes email 4g63>0000 He told me about the dealer selling them for 65 bucks. I'm sure you can do mail order with them. I forgot the name off the top of my head.

jump23

iTrader: (2)

pwirski : hummm, I wasn't planning on getting rotors just yet so now you got me thinking I should stick with OEM pads.

tsi90awd: I'll be doing the RA driving school conducted by the BMW club first weekend in May. Did you get your brake air guides from the dealer? Anywhere on the net I can find them cheaper?

thanks

jump23

tsi90awd

I got the guides from a dealer - about $125. I don't know of a cheaper source. I'd highly recommend getting them, though. They work.

If you ever find a cheap source of the stock pads, please post it here.

ogvw

iTrader: (4)

the factory pads are garbage, barely adequate for the street. Ferodo DS2500 makes a nice street pad that can be run at track events....... its an easy decision

Secret Chimp

iTrader: (2)

Which site vendor has the best deal? After a track event and 27k of driving, it is time to replace my oem's....

SC~

tsi90awd

"the factory pads are garbage, barely adequate for the street. "

This is a great example of why information posted on the internet should be taken well salted. Just think of all the magazine reviews on the excellent braking performance of the stock car.

Secret Chimp

iTrader: (2)

exactly. The Brembo braking system is one of the best systems that money can buy. There is a reason why they are used on virtually every performance car out there....it's because they work well.

But once you get your car onto the track and really start pounding on it, almost any OEM braking system will experience some fade.

When I was at the track last year, I didn't experience any brake fade on my stock set up w/Motul 600 until I did 2 back to back 20 minute runs at the end of the second day.

absinthe

Not to jump on this guy but this statement is crap. I have OEM pads infact my car is bone stock except for a K&N filter. I drive malibu canyon twice a day 5 days a week and have tracked the car at:

Streets of willow 250miles on trak in one day.

Thunder hill twice 130 track miles +/- both times

Sears point 100+/- miles

and button willow 150+/-

On stock pads, now granted i have more experience than some on a track but given this milage and the fact i essentially do a canyon run twice a day five days a week I think this should more than prove the pads are effective enough.

If you dont think they are any good come for a ride april 28th at SOW.

That said they aint worth 250, I would look to a cheaper replacement of equivalent quality like like Project Mu pads that have been discussed on here or the Axxis pads if they are availible both should be under 100$.

IzenGreyEvo7

iTrader: (3)

Amen! I have found the DS2500 to be a great alternative to the OEM pad at a lower price. They are a bit more resistant to fading if you run sessions longer than 25 minutes but can fade if you're out there for 40 minutes. It's not critical fade, but you do notice the pedal travel increase and distances become a bit longer.

They don't suffer from the "material transfer" problem the OEM pads do and they are fairly mild on rotors. I like them as I'm too lazy to change my pads at the track. Great street/track set up.