Well, Andy sent me a replacement set of NDX's after i melted the last set at Brands. Was at the Nurburgring this weekend so a good opportunity to give them a good test. Had new brake fluid last week as i'd boiled this at Brands too.

My findings appear to be similar to Ian Godney's customer also running Subaru 4 pots. I noticed that braking on the new pads was ok at slower speeds, but if i used the brakes at higher speeds (>70mph) i was getting judder. I was initially worried that I may have warped my discs after all. Had little choice though, as I was already in Germany by this point (it was braking on the autobahns which clearly showed the judder).
So out onto the ring.... the first two laps i did were about 8-9am, so relatively cool. The judder was still there, and the brakes faded quite quickly too. I pushed on and also had a blueish band on the discs.

Let things cool down and went back on track later in the afternoon. Temp was much higher (ambient air temp of 26-28c). Brakes were much better It appeared that the mornings heat cycle/abuse had helped. Did two more laps in the evening and had much less fade - and more noticeably - the judder had gone completely. I was pushing the brakes harder in these laps and they seemed to just get better. Was pleased that it prooved my discs are ok.

I only have one issue still - the brakes worked well, but they still appear to be wearing quickly. I haven't had them out the calipers yet to inspect, but there was whiteish flakey bits around the edge of the pad block, similar to what I experienced when they smeared at Brands. Not as bad this time, but I expect thats just because the Ring is less demanding than Brands on brakes, so the temps didn't get as high.

So it seems that after the initial bed in period, the pads work well (in terms of stopping) on WRX 4 pots. But the temperature issue still seems to be a problem. I'll have a better idea once i've got the wheels off and pads removed for inspection.

 

Good to hear guys.
Incidentally, does this only occur on the front WRX calipers, or does it occur on the rear calipers too?

 

From my experiences, the braking force and heat generated isn't sufficient to notice any problems on the rear calipers.

 

That's good to know thanks .

 

Really interesting to read this Ian. Obviously I am now wondering if I had carried on (Although the juddering felt quite dangerous & disconcerting at the time) that my problems would have gone away?

I am still on the same set up that I had on at Snetterton (your discs + Bluestuffs (as they seem to be fine on the road).

I am currently doing a mammoth shift at work at the moment. (Basically I only have a couple of days off this month), so won't get a chance to try anything out until at least July.

Interesting points & experiences have ben raised though. I'll keep an eye on this thread & update with my findings as soon as I'm able.

Thanks to all those who've posted

 

HI All

Thought I'd post my review having switched to Bluestuff approx 10 weeks ago.

Use has included town, motorway, A and B roads and one Bedford autodrome track session.

Car is 05 STI PPP mapped to 330/320 - standard OE discs, gold brembos.

The pads were fitted the day before the trackday so had very little bedding in time (blurb stated they were pre-bedded)

Anyone who knows bedford, knows the long back straight followed by S bend requires you to slow the car from 130 to about 70, braking late.

The pads in my experience were almost faultless. On the road they were quiet, no squeaking, low brake dust, good initial bite from cold and also when at normal operating temps.

On the track, they resisted fade very well. Only towards the end of the evening were they were beginning to show fade, I feel mainly due to me being overly aggressive with the late braking. This issue may be resolved with braided hoses and 5.1

Driving home from the track, the bite was not as good, they felt 'glazed'. However within a couple of days they were back to original bite levels.

At one point on the track I did feel a little judder on braking, and cooled the car down for a couple of laps (thought I had warped the discs). On starting hard driving again they were fine and did not judder again at all.

Perhaps they do need a little bedding in.

For the money, however, these are very hard to beat on the STi Brembo setup. Not sure about the wear yet but happy to use them again as they are so keenly priced. Good work EBC.

 

Lightened classic 450-500hp
Ian Godney 335mm discs.
Ian Godney refurbished subaru 4 pots
Braided hoses
Blue stuff NDX


I had judder with DS2500s.
Totaly a heat issue with me. All fine once cooled down
I had judder but it has become far less with the Blue NDX
I have cooked the fluid twice.
The brakes dont feel great I am certain this is the fluid.
Fresh high temp fluid is going in very soon.
I will then give the brakes death and report back.

(I have a feeling after reading peoples bedding in experiences that my judder may well go - I also have a hunch that the NDXs are cleaning off the deposits that the DS2500s left)

 

Good review.

Glazing may be as a result of the plain OEM discs, dimpled or grooved discs would help avoid that. Pads do need bedding in, despite being pre-scorched.








FREE Delivery on EBC Bluestuff NDX Pads

 

I'm amazed how easy it was to cook the brake fluid. I was using Motul RBF600 for my track day at Brands and when it came out, the stuff that been in the braided hoses (nearest front calipers) had actually started to turn a blackish colour where it had been so hot

But then Andy @ EBC said the copper in the NDXs melts at > 1083c, so they were hot! Changed the fluid before the Nurburgring, and went with the Millers Racing high temp stuff. After a few laps of the Ring, pedal feels different now again, so i might have cooked that too!

The new NDXs i used at the Ring started to smear as well - not as bad as the photos i put up earlier in the thread of my first set, but still noticable. Couple of cracks down the centre of the pad blocks too.

Think i need some APs!

 

race cars wont cook the fluid that quickly..........
it is simply the massive over-heating of the pad material that transfers the temp into the fluid....


alyn

 

Steve, you will need to use castrol srf....it cost £35/40 per litre but once you have used it you will not buy anything else.

 

Paul, try the new Performance Friction RH665 b/fluid............you'll be suprised even after SRF

alyn

 

Thanks Alyn, I may give the PF RH665 a try, although the wet boiling point of SRF still appears to be far higher at 270 degC...

 

if your relying on the wet boiling point you have major problems...........LOL

comments & feedback so far includes - sharper responce, better modulation, and easier release after locking

alyn