Typically I am really easy on my Mini and usually just enjoy the right pedal a little and some moderate speed turns everyonce in a while.

Yesterday I was out on some back roads and thought I would try the bakes out from a pretty good speed. I have actually never really just laid into the brakes before. I just have stock rotors with EBC green pads. The feeling of stopping that fast from high speed is just amazing. I can't imagine what a really good breaking system feels like. You can just feel the blood rush to your eye ***** and arms/legs.

I only did it twice and after you could really smell the brakes!

 

Are the EBC green pads the ones recommended to prevent/reduce brake dust?

Was it easy to swap out the OEM pads for those?

I'm REALLY hating the brake dust on Schultze...the DF and PR wheels are the dirtiest when it comes to brake dust...the other two wheels aren't nearly as dirty!

 

and good thing you only did that a couple of times.... It repeated braking that show the capacity limitation of the stock system. (Fade over time). And yes, a BBK will really make it stop that much more aggressively. And yes, it's surprising when you see just how fast you can scrub speed.

Matt

 

I am sooo not mechanically inclined & I have no personal experience with the EBC pads but I did a lot of reading here on NAM & I noticed that the EBC Greens seemed to garner more negative responses from people than any other pad so I went with Hawk HPS pads (not ceramic). The difference in brake dust with the Hawks & OEM is drastic. The Hawks put out less dust in 2 weeks than the OEM pads put out in 2 days. My main concern is initial bite & the Hawks are almost as good as the OEM pads so the trade off is worth it for reduced dust. Fade is unimportant to me as I only use my MINI for street driving

 

i hate the feeling when i hard brake my mini..
the feel of back and the whole car wiggling feel like my mini doesnt know what the hell to do

i think the brake is the only weak link on stock minis. engine is beautiful, suspension is tyte y0.. but brake... Nas y0..

 

EBC was crap a few years back. Tire Rack stopped carrying them shortly after I bought a full set with EBC rotors and they warped within six months (all new calipers installed as well...all done by a TR recommended installer). Seems the compound wasn't too good, thus the negative responses you get here. I would never buy them again after wasting a ton of $$ on it. Supposedly, EBC reformulated the GreenStuff and they are ok now.

 

Hrm... I did not experience that at all. From xxx mph down to 0 while letting the ABC do its job the car was rock steady. There was no wiggling, shimmy, or hint of moving off line what so ever.

Possibly you need get your rear breaks checked out?


As far as the EBC pads go... I have had no problems with them at all and they are working really well for me.

 

+1 I hate braking hard in my Mini especially when ABS kicks in and the brakes start to grind worst feeling.

 

nope. rear breaks are fatttt.
i've seen two owners who got wrecked their mini cause of its break.. (they aren't noobs either..) they learned it hard way and I learned it from their experience

Well its all cool if you enjoy it ya know? Rock em!

 

O btw, I hate hitting my breaks hard for another reason..

break dusts... o god..

 

that wandering under extreme braking is a combo of alignment and the rubber bushings used for both front and rear control arms. If you've seen the Mini on a dyno you might remember watching the front wheels jerk when the power is applied. The motion on the front end can change both camber and toe...

Matt

 

I've never heard of a BMW with good brakes, at least for the road.
I am really surprised someone like the Green pads. They were dangerous before, especially when wet. The HPS are pretty good, but don't quite give the initial bite of stock pads. They do dust a LOT less. Axxis Ultimates are suppose to be pretty good for initial bite and less dust.

 

I've had a few sets, and they did lower dusting considerably. I had fade on the track with them on an otherwise stock brake set up, but going with better fluid and metal caliper bushings eliminated the fade......

I was pretty happy with them until I moved on to bigger binders. Other drivers I know have had experiences similar to mine, but some have come out with horror stories about them as well. No clue really!

But for street drivers, they seemed fine to me.

Matt

 

I'm sure they didn't wreck because of the brakes. They most likely wrecked because of their driving.

 

Stoptechs with Axxis Ultimate pads----will suck your eyeballs out but
will not get any dust on them . Stuff them back in your head
and proceed as nothing happened

 

"i've seen two owners who got wrecked their mini cause of its break.. "

I suspect the two owners tried to turn in while under maximum braking. Turning while under full braking can cause the rear of the car to try to overtake the front of the car, resulting in much drama. Ordinarily maximum brake application should not cause the car to become unstable. I know my '07 MCS stops straight and true without fuss.

cheers,

Joe