Mis-matched brake pads and fitting kit question

[kart]

Hi I plan on having my first crack at changing brake pads and bleeding fluid while I'm there. She currently has bendix ultimates all round and while the rears are doing alright the fronts are worn and need replacing.

Have done research over the forum and decided on QFM A1RM's from brakes direct, my question is should I replace the rears although not necessary for the sake of balance (and because the ultimates are such rotor eaters) or leave them as I wouldn't mind saving the money for other things.

Car doesn't get tracked at the moment but once a few more things are sorted (new clutch for a start) I intend to join the club and get down to some events, but she sees reasonably amount of time in the hills which is why I've opted for the A1RM's

Question 2 - I have a couple pad fitting kits I found in the garage. Quick google search didn't tell me if these part numbers are right, does anyone know? Apart from clips and springs each one also has a packet of white stuff, high temp grease I assume?

BCYF-26-49ZA-MV

NAY-33-29Z-MV

Thanks in advance for your help

[Charlie Brown]

You should be fine leaving the Ultimates on the rear. I have a bigger temperature variation on the NC and it’s tracked.

I guess you’re going for the QFM A1RM's because of price but I’d suggest you don’t skimp on the brake fluid. As the temperature range of the A1RM’s is very high (0 – 780 C) get Motol 600 brake fluid (about $32 a bottle) or something similar.

As for your clips, sorry, I’d just check against the old ones when you pull them out and if they don’t match reuse the old ones.

[hks_kansei]

Just make sure the brake fluid you buy is compatible with a dot3 or dot4 system. (ie: mineral based from memory) edit: glycol.

Some of the high temp racing fluids are silicone based (or something else) and if they mix with any leftover mineral fluid in the system can pretty much stuff the lot of it.

[MattR]

For brake fluid with what you will be doing get the penrite racing fluid used to be called SIN.

Temperature rating good enough for a MX5 and cheap at around $25 a bottle at full RRP.

Get a couple of bottles to flush all the fluid out, should only take one bottle, but with 2 bottles you won't be worried about running out.

And search for Tbro's post on the easiest way to bleed the brakes for replacing the fluid. Gravity bleeding is nice and easy and you can have a couple of beers waiting

[Guran]

A1RM pads will not work very well for you with street driving. They need quite high temps before you get any bite. Once they do get hot (after very hard use on the track), expect them to chew through rotors. Basically a new set of rotors for each set of A1RM pads. Ultimates are nothing compared to these pads when it comes to eating rotors. Ultimates just fall to pieces and flake off around the edges.

My recommendation would be Hawk HP+ pads - pick them up cheap on ebay. I'm on my third set now and they work very nicely on street and track. Nice initial bite and wear on rotors is quite light. You can bank on 3-4 sets of front pads per set of rotors (with a light machine half way through).

Rear pads & rotors? After four and a half years of regular trackdays, I still have the same set of rear rotors and Bendix "General CT" pads on my NA6. They don't do a lot of work, apart from the handbrake.

Changing front brake pads on an NB8A is quick and easy - just follow a workshop guide. Take care to inspect, clean and regrease both slider pins on each caliper (with high temperature brake grease), and use anti-sieze copper grease on the threads. Look after your slider pins and you'll get even pad wear. I don't bother with the backing plates, and just recycle the little clips.

[sailaholic]

With all due respect guran, I know you haven't liked a1rm for the street, but I've dríven them in the mountains around here and found them good. Having said that, they world get worked harder there then in a track.

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[de Bounce]

With all due respect guran, I know you haven't liked a1rm for the street, but I've dríven them in the mountains around here and found them good. Having said that, they world get worked harder there then in a track.

Got to agree.
I have been through 3 sets of A1RM's without a issue on either road, track or motorkhana.
Initial bite is progressive and not as aggressive as the Hawk HP+ pads that I have replaced them with.
They don't generate anywhere near as much dust as the Hawk pads
Rotor wear is minimal with my OEM rotors having 50% life after 160K Km

Good temperature spread, good on the road and even better performance when hot, minimal dust and not aggressive on the rotor.
I wouldn't rate them as a second rate option!

Interesting that the Hawk site has the following Warning

Warning! Due to the dramatic friction levels produced by this product to achieve "race-level" braking, rotor wear, noise, dust, and pad life may be affected.

http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance/hpplus.php

[deviant]

I used to use A1RM on my WRX and liked them a lot, worked perfectly in daily snotter duties and did okay on track. No extra rotor wear, dust, noise etc.

Tried them on my MX5 and binned them after one or two track days, utter crap

Make of that what you will.

[sailaholic]

What set up in the mx5? Why crap? Seems odd to have such different performance opinions.

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[MattR]

Different driving styles will also affect this as different drivers like different pads.

How the pads are bedded in, whether the rotors are replaced at the same time, if the same pad was used before hand if the rotors were not changed, and if the rotors had the old pad material cleaned off them, whether rotors were machined and so on will all affect the performance of the pads.

It all becomes very subjective. If you did an objective test between the pads I bet you will find they both perform very similarly.

I use the Hawk HP+ front and rear on my NA6 for street and track and find them great.

I also prefer Hawk pads over pads I tried in my old race car, they just seemed to suit my driving style.

[Guran]

Yep, what MattR said.

I used the A1RM pads on used rotors after removing a set of Hawk HP+ pads. Aware of the need to remove old pad lining on rotors and gave them a good abrasion with wet & dry before fitting the pads.

I found that the A1RM pads needed a lot more pedal pressure than HP+. Yes the A1RM still work but you need to press a lot harder and get them very hot before they work best. They're more difficult to lock, which might be a good thing. However I prefer the more instant bite from HP+, and lighter pedal pressure which I can modulate easier once they're warm. When cold, I find the HP+ can lock quite easily on my car.

Yes there's a lot of personal preference involved.

[sailaholic]

Funny, I found the a1rm to have lots of initial bite on the street and had to be wary of not locking them up in the car I drove.

[plohl]

Funny, I found the a1rm to have lots of initial bite on the street and had to be wary of not locking them up in the car I drove.

I think that has more to do with the crappy tyres I have on my daily rims...
But yeah, seems weird that there is such a difference in opinion.

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[deviant]

What set up in the mx5? Why crap? Seems odd to have such different performance opinions.

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NB8B, pretty much stock standard at the time.

Like guran I found they lacked any initial bite at all and lacked feel no matter how hot they got. They always felt like they were fading or needed more pedal pressure than was reasonable.

When I used them on my WRX they worked very well, maybe different pedal ratio or servo assistance? They have 4 pot calipers and are much heavier to which probably contributes to the difference.

[Locutus]

A1RMs on my NB8B feel fine on the street - slightly less bite than original Mazda pads but more dust. People that drive my car often comment on how well the brakes work.

They feel even better after I get some heat into them. They were fitted at the same time I had new discs put in.

Perhaps there are good & bad batches?