vs
Brake pads Mintex or WILWOOD
After 70K miles of fun driving, I finally replaced my front brake rotors and pads...3mm left on the pads LOL. I got Zimmermann Rotors($180) and Mintex pads($45) and couldn't be happier. In fact, this set-up feels a lot better than the OEM bite and feel plus the massive reduction in brake dust.
Pros: better than OEM, less dust
Vehicle:
Volkswagen Golf
Mileage: 70000 km
I recently got a pair of pretty rusty 325 calipers for £50 (mine are the smaller ones from a 316) and sandblasted them back to clean metal. Then painted with high temp paint and rebuild kit £30 (pistons, seals, guide pins, bleed valves etc). I was pretty happy with the result which cost me around £100 for the pair. I then went with mintex discs and pads and a full set of braided brake lines my mate had. Full refurb prolly cost me £300 and are significantly better than they were but I don't think they will be as good as a 4 pot setup.
Pros: significantly better brakes
Cons: not as good as 4 pot
Vehicle:
BMW
I’ve always used Zimmerman rotors and Mintex pads, and have yet to find a better combo. I’ve tried Brembo, Stoptech, Bosch, but nothing has pleased me like Mintex [pedal feel, stopping power, no noise, very low dust [especially when used on drilled rotors]].
Pros: pedal feel, stopping power
Cons: nothing has pleased me
I did Redbox pads on my B5.5 Passat with 312 rotors, and I loved them. I skimped out when I first did the upgrade and went with CARQUEST pads and absolutely hated them. Maybe that's why I liked the Redbox so much....
Pros: loved them
Cons: none
Vehicle:
Volkswagen Passat
Mintex Redbox are always on my list for Daily Driver pads on VWs. I just started into my 3rd set on my 180k wagon. In contrast, the Mintex are linear, fairly quiet, wear well, are easy on rotors, low dust and can tolerate a bit of spirited driving.
Pros: linear, fairly quiet, wear well
Cons: none
Vehicle:
Volkswagen
Mileage: 180000 km
I have run Wilwoods on my Corrado for years with the usual rebuilding every two years. Even with ABS under full braking using the BP10 pads it would occasionally lock up fully and blow a cogged belt off the supercharger.
Pros: very powerful braking
Cons: requires frequent rebuilding
Vehicle:
Volkswagen Corrado
I don't know much about Stop-Tech, however, I have heard from a friend that used Wilwood that these perform best in non-Winter driving conditions. He said that over time they will not stand up as well as a Brembo set up. It might be worth noting what climate (Alaska vs California) that you spend most of your driving time in as well when factoring a BBK upgrade. I also noticed that you are quite new to this group so allow me to introduce you to the member who will derail all original posts into something else to the point where your thread may get locked up. See below. GoGo Golf R said: Ok let's try to agree on the following: 1) Upgrading the brakes is mostly justified for track driving purposes No, Personal preference. 2) Changing the brake pads will reduce dust for street driving Depends on your pad choice 3) Changing the brake pads, rotors and brake lines is pricy Subjective 4) The OEM brakes, while not totally ideal for every driving style, will suffice for average street drivers and some track drivers Depends on your driving style 5) Downshifting with correct rev-matching, will extend the duration and reduce wear on the brakes Yes because replacing your clutch is much cheaper than new pads :screwy:
Pros: perform best in non-winter
Cons: don't stand up as well over time
You wanna avoid mintex red box these days. The passat pads have a slight problem with burning up under hard braking.
Cons: burning up under braking
Vehicle:
Volkswagen Passat B5
Not to sound mean, but Mintex redbox are terrible pads.
Cons: terrible pads
Vehicle:
Volkswagen Corrado
Mintex Red Box pads are crap - the company changed hands a few years ago and quality has sucked since with some folks experiencing large chunks of pad material just falling away.
Cons: crap, quality sucked
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