Bedded in nicely with new discs and decided to put them through their paces on very demanding twisties ... (very)
Bends, hills, brake, accelerate,do it again etc and on the 15th ish bend ...
Bad brake fade and on stopping, all 4 smoking ....

Whilst they work they are increadably good, but i m a bit dissapointed they faded so rapidly, yet glad i now know there limitations..

I assume this is normal (?)and would dread using the car on a track if it were ...

No that is not normal. Are you sure it is not the fluid which has boiled?

I've not used Yellowstuff pads (I use Pagid Yellows), but it does sound a bit soon to be experiencing brake fade? (I suppose it depends on how hard you were driving though and to get all 4 smoking sounds like you weren't hanging around )

On one of my first track days, I'd to get 10-15mins or so out of standard pads and discs before having fade.

Have you changed/ upgraded your fluid recently?

Fluid is my next job on the list, but in view of the smoke and very demanding road i assume its more likely to be the heat in the pads ...

i believe it's dot 5.1 brake fluid that resists boiling as easily as standard

Unless you were really riding the pads, i think it is a safe bet that it is the fluid.

I have never experienced any fade with these pads, 2 or 3 hard track days later

was testing them

i ll get the fluid changed ASAP ...

( was this road that wore a set of lotus elise ball joints out in under 20,000 miles )

Brake fluid absorbs water. The lower the rating, the less water it absorbs, and longer it lasts, but it has less resistance to heat.
The higher the Dot rating has a good resistance to heat, but absorbs more water, so will need changing more often.

For example*

Dot 3, will last 4 years between changes, but will boil at 100 degrees

Dot 5, will last 1.5 years between changes, but will boil at 300 degrees.

*they are made up figures!

I use a Dot 4 racing fluid - Motul RBF 660, good life and good resistance to heat.

But pretty much any Dot 5.1 fluid will do you.

DON'T get DOT 5, it is not suitable for coops (DOT 5.1 is)

knew i d find it in my history folder,

tested at 182 degees and ok in late 2008...

i know... change it !

might as well put some hell braided hoses on the front while they re at it...

Quite a few on here (particularly the more track focussed) seem to use a DOT 4. I've just changed to the same fluid as Matt (RBF660), and in seven 20min or so sessions around Silverstone GP (which includes a 130+mph to 40/50mph stop on the hangar straight), I didn't get any fade.

And I wasn't exactly hanging around either!

sounds like the road i drive is a bit similar but with bends every 75/150 meters and up and down all over maybe it s tougher than the track on the brakes ?( but you can see for miles :D)

that helped mine brake better, although ALL the other pipes had pretty much corroded and motormech had to make me some up from scratch!! brakes nicely now

Anywhere near me? (I'm in Stone, and I notice that you are in Staffs).

It sounds like a road that I might like to take a drive along

turn left at the winking man out of buxton and just about any direction gives you the drive of your life

they do a lot of new car testing in this area !!

I concur, a crazy sat nav took me round the back roads between leek and hathersage once and the hills and bends just don't stop.

Sadly was in a kia sportage at the time, so didn't enjoy it as much as I should

bosco, if this was your first hard drive since u installed the new yellowstuff pads, early fade and smoke/burning smell is normal. the pads are out-gassing.

assuming u didn't glaze them, let them cool down and they should perform well your subsequent runs.

redd

I was driving my coupe up that way only a couple of weeks ago ... but not down that road. I'll definitely give it a go next time I'm out on a drive that way

watch your brakes !

Am sure you ll see what i mean ...

sounds like a midlands meet venue to me

Had a re run....

it s definatly the pads overheating and fading which becomes evident when you start the steep descent and initially smell them !.... stop and the smoke confirms it..

nice road though..

Have you changed the fluid now?

Slightly off topic! I do like that sig pic!!!! Is there a bigger version on here I can steal, look at?

G

fluid being changed and hell hoses fitted...
will update yellowstuff performance with drilled and grooved group buy discs in 3 weeks when car is back...

i still think its the pads overheating and fading as the road is so demanding.... we ll see..(clouds of smoke off them a giveaway !)

Just had the yellow stuff put on all round and rear disks changed to grooved and drilled, front already were. Undecided on the improvement at the moment. God did they squeal for the first 100 miles, my god it was awfull.

Have settled down a bit so ill report back how they perform. Had the fluid changed as well.

I am running, yellow stuff pads and 3G discs up front with new brake lines but standard flexi hoses and new dot 5.1 fluid, rear brakes are mintex discs and pads.

No issues with fading at all, and our roads are much like yours,
hence why I wanted good brakes.

Have you fully bedded the pads in Ebc yellows have a top layer designed for bedding in.

Don't under-estimate the importance of a good brake fluid.

Brake fluid, by nature, absorbs water over time. The higher the DOT rating, the quicker it absorbs water, so keep on top of the changes!

I have had fade a few times, where there has been smoke pouring off the caliper, but that was because the fluid was boiling, not the pads.

good stuff matt - i had mine changed to 5.1 recently, but i don't drive in the same manner you do so i'll be ok

just to update,

fluid and hell stuff brake lines done and that road is so demanding the yellowstuff pads do overheat smoke and fade to nothing...

To be honest i think a track would be less demanding,but could it be the grooved and slotted discs not disipating the heat very well ???

Wow, it must be a really demanding road, unfortunately i'm not familiar with it.

I'm surprised because i've never managed to cook mine.

Did you use racing brake fluid?

it was 5.1 whatever that is...

As for the road , well they dont test new models of cars around here for nothing

5.1 should have a fairly decent boiling point, so you must have boiled the pads - good work!

Remind me where the road is, i think i need to have a look!?

just remembered mat...

you re car is one of fiatcoupemad s isnt it ?

Had a ride with him once so i m sure you re cars been put through its paces as he scared me to death !!!!

Yeah it is the one from fiatcoupemad, i could tell its been ragged about as soon as i bought it!

only man i know who could ton it in sheffield city centre during rush hour and pass OVER speed camera s

Certainly explains a lot about the issues i have come accross whilst owning the car

whats the quickest way too change the fluid, opening all the bleed niples?

The quickest way is to use some sort of 'one man' bleed system. Either use something like Eezibleed or a vacuum bleeder. Don't open all the bleed nipples at one go. Start with the ones furthest from the master cylinder i.e O/S Rear, N/S Rear, O/S Front, N/S Front.

thank you

Smoking brakes looks like bedding in to me. Anyway, I was a bit dissapointed at Spa as my new yellows were fading quickly, in the wet even. I thought all that hispeed autobahn braking had them bedded in, but I was wrong. They bed in on Spa! After Spa, at Nurburgring, they could take ANY hammering. Very impressive.

That's quite encouraging, because I felt my brand new yellows would be better than they were at Spa, though they did improve - guess they are still bedding in ?

My pagid greys were awesome at spa.Unlike my tyre's

Maybe just bedding in time,yellow get good reviews across most car forums

I have yellowstuff on my 20V NA and they were brilliant at Spa. I had a competitive edge when it came to corners as I was able to brake really late and hard

I have just installed EBC yellow pads and MTEC discs. Can anyone explain the bedding in process? I didn't find any info in the EBC box

Try the top of the handling section... Nigel posted up a belting guide years ago.

edited to add: I just noticed the tongue

Hehe I found it. Temporary blindness I guess

My thoughts on the yellowstuff's:

+ Keeps the wheels clean, and the dust is easy to clean - very nice.
+ Works well cold
- Wear out very quick
- Spongy feel when hot

Fitted in june.
Pic of the fronts after Spa (light use), Nürburgring and Mantorp track day:
http://www.fiatklubben.nu/depa/showfile.php?carpic_no=2437&type=picture

The rears looked similar, ca 4-5mm left. New pads coming up again then! I think back to Carbotech, Pagid or Ferodo.