RX8 Brake Pads

[R1DSO]

This is most odd as I have never experienced squeaking with 1144 pads. I suggest you remove the pads and Emery their friction surface and the discs.

Thanks Chris. Will be a little while until I’m back and can take the pads off the try sanding them. Just been invited to a day at Silverstone next week - mostly hot laps, but with a chance to take the RX8 out too. Won’t have time to get an emery on them before then, so it’ll be interesting to see if the stresses of track work make the squeal better or worse .

[warpc0il]

Kill or cure?

[R1DSO]

I used to run M1144 on Mintex discs, and they used to squeak quite a bit at low speed after some track use. Might be something to do with that particular combo.

Have recently moved to EBC plain discs and Bluestuff and no squeak so far after 1,200 miles and a track day.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interesting to hear. I thought Mintex discs were essentially OEM spec iron .

[R1DSO]

Lucky sausage. I have Bluestuff pads on plain discs at the moment and find them occasionally squeaky at low speeds when hot. Still my favourite pad so far though, despite not being great when cold. The R90 approval tolerances must be very generous.

I was considering EBC Blue Stuff, but mixed reviews put me off. May give them a try after the 1144s if they’re thay good .

[R1DSO]

Kill or cure?

Lol. Immersion therapy! tbh, the Silverstone track day is an op through my work and the self drive/own car stuff away from the hot laps says “limited speed” (whatever that means), so the new RX-8 brakes may not get as much of a work out as a regular open pit lane event.

[ChrisHolmes]

I thought Mintex discs were essentially OEM spec iron .

It's a reasonable assumption that Mintex use the same material for all their discs.
We know that some car manufacturers don't all use the same specification of material as other car brands.
Therefore it's likely that the Mintex discs could be "essentially OEM spec iron" as at least one car brand, but it's impossible for it to be the same as every car brand.

I find that Mintex discs wear much quicker than the original Mazda discs on the 8, and are particularly prone to wear with aftermarket aggressive pads. However, that might still be a good combination for braking power, fade resistance and "feel", when driving on-track.

[bc-49]

There are definitely better pads from cold than the Bluestuff, but they’re fine for road use I’d say. After the first decent sized stop on track they kick into a nice operating window, feel good and perform well. A good fit for someone who’s going on track and doesn’t want to be changing pads in between, for a pure road car I’d recommend something else.

The EBC discs seem better made than the Mintex that came off to me, but others’ mileage may vary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[New Duke]

I was considering EBC Blue Stuff, but mixed reviews put me off. May give them a try after the 1144s if they’re thay good .

My track driving style i̶s̶ ̶l̶a̶z̶y̶ works the brakes hard and Bluestuff are the first road legal pad that I haven't been able to overwork and seem to want to do endless laps. More skilled drivers here I'm sure can keep 1144s happy lapping continuously.

Bluestuff just take a couple of mins on the road to have the same instant bite when cold that the 1144 has. So ideally no emergency stops pulling out of your driveway.

[bc-49]

Worth mentioning as well that M1144 and Bluestuff aren’t technically a direct comparison. The equivalents are:

1144/Yellowstuff
1155/Bluestuff

Would 100% recommend the 1144 over the Yellowstuff for road and/or track.

I would have gone with the 1155 if they were more readily available, but happy with the Blue so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wreeve]

I'm a slow road driver so ended up getting the green pads from the dealer. But I am sure I read somewhere that there is a race series that use this pad? or did I dream it?

[bc-49]

Not sure about green pads from the dealer, but think Yellowstuffs might be used in a few series (not RX-8 specific).

Both the Yellow and Blue are new compounds for 2021 and seem to have good feedback so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Conan]

I'm a slow road driver so ended up getting the green pads from the dealer. But I am sure I read somewhere that there is a race series that use this pad? or did I dream it?

The women’s RX-8 series used the standard OEM pads until at least 3/4 of the way through if not until the end.
I had a set of these originals in a car and was surprised how good they were as an all round pad on the road and track and I’m not the slowest track driver.. I seem to remember these pads had a green tinge to them but should not be confused with EBC green stuff which would be an inferior pad
Pete

[wreeve]

Dealer OE pads are marked "NISSHINBO INDUSTRIES. INC", are green and marked SUMITOMO on the pad itself.
I also bought the shim kit and you get two packages of grease and nice new shims to use. Result. £100 + vat not outrageous. On par with BMW OE parts.

2021-09-15 16.34.03.jpg

2021-09-15 16.33.52.jpg

2021-09-15 16.41.34.jpg

[R1DSO]

This is most odd as I have never experienced squeaking with 1144 pads. I suggest you remove the pads and Emery their friction surface and the discs.

Thanks Chris. Will be a little while until I’m back and can take the pads off the try sanding them. Just been invited to a day at Silverstone next week - mostly hot laps, but with a chance to take the RX8 out too. Won’t have time to get an emery on them before then, so it’ll be interesting to see if the stresses of track work make the squeal better or worse .

Apologies for slow follow-up on this one. I returned from being overseas with work to a very hectic week. Unfortunately, the work trip to Silverstone was a limited speed self drive lap, so the RX-8 didn’t get to stretch its legs . I did get a few hot laps as a passenger in a Ginetta G40 though, which was a good reminder of how fast you can carry a low-powered, light car through corners with a decent chassis, good brakes and slicks!

I’ve managed to get the RX-8 out on the road for a couple of spirited drives and, interestingly, the brake squeal is getting better. It’s now only happening under heavy braking and, I think, it’s just coming from the front. I’m tempted to keep driving the car to see if the squeal rectifies itself vs going through the hassle of taking off all the pads again . I’ve got an endless list of project car to dos with my Miata, so I’m not wanting for excuses to get my hands dirty!

Although it’s hard to really put the brakes through their paces safely on the road, I’ve noticed a couple more characteristics of this set-up...

Daily driving braking doesn’t feel as progressive as before – it’s not as sensitive with initial pedal movement, but then the bite is harder than my previous pads/discs. At anything more than very light braking, I found it’s taking a little getting used to to avoid being jerky (in traffic etc.).

Under heavy braking, stopping power seems to be up. I’m no expert at this, but it feels like the brake bias has changed slightly. It’s as if the fronts are now out-braking the rears, with slightly more forward momentum coming from the back of the car under very heavy braking. For instance, the car feels ever so slightly squirmy when doing a 70-20mph emergency brake, when I think it stayed a little flatter and more composed before.

I found the above characteristic particularly interesting considering Pete mentioned running 1155s for even more stopping power up front, which I would have thought would increase this brake bias:

I would also use 55,s fron and 44,s rear at times.

[R1DSO]

Bluestuff just take a couple of mins on the road to have the same instant bite when cold that the 1144 has. So ideally no emergency stops pulling out of your driveway.

A potentially problematic scenario I’ve wondered about with more track-focussed pads... what happens if you’re cruising on the motorway in cold/wet weather, you haven’t used the brakes for a few miles (so they’re completely cold) and you suddenly have to do an emergency stop because of unexpected stationary traffic. Would the stopping power be there when you need it with Bluestuff or 1155 pads?

[New Duke]

what happens if you’re cruising on the motorway in cold/wet weather, you haven’t used the brakes for a few miles (so they’re completely cold) and you suddenly have to do an emergency stop because of unexpected stationary traffic. Would the stopping power be there when you need it with Bluestuff or 1155 pads?

I can't speak to the 55s but in that scenario with the Bluestuffs you'd be fine. They really only need a minute to warm up, and they stay warm enough just by rolling forward.
If you literally lived on the side of a fast dual carriageway then yeah it might be worth a second thought.

[R1DSO]

I can't speak to the 55s but in that scenario with the Bluestuffs you'd be fine. They really only need a minute to warm up, and they stay warm enough just by rolling forward.
If you literally lived on the side of a fast dual carriageway then yeah it might be worth a second thought.

Ah, that’s good to know. Thanks mate . I live in a village, so these could work for me, then .

[ChrisHolmes]

I have never found that 1144s grab as you describe, they should behave like normal pads smooth and progressive, just a little less braking initially if from cold but it’s not really noticeable.
It’s important not to overthink these things.

[R1DSO]

Finally got round to sorting my brake squeal. Been out the country with work a lot recently and fixing a number of bigger jobs on my MX-5 when free.

I worked out the squeal was coming from the driver’s side front brake. It felt like this disc was getting hotter too, although that could have been heat from my RB header !

Anyway, I ordered in a set of new OEM sliders and shims and fitted these to the front brakes, along with a new calliper pin to replace the lower driver’s pin that was missing the little brass ring that holds its ribbed rubber sleeve in place.

Worth mentioning that nothing looked untoward when taking the pads off. Wear was normal, but I gave them a light sand down and spray with brake cleaner all the same.

No more brake squeal now and, although I might be imagining it, the brakes feel more progressive and less grabby than before.

I haven’t got round to replacing the sliders and shims on the rear yet… given that the brakes are now working as they should, that job will probably get bumped to the spring.

[v-rex]

Sorry quick random question on bluestuff pads. They are R90 and road legal front and back right? I was googling them and someone on a Nissan forum said only the rears were. Am sure it's fine but just checking before I pull the trigger on these. Thx

[warpc0il]

https://ebcbrakes.com/products/ebc-blue ... rake-pads/

[v-rex]

https://ebcbrakes.com/products/ebc-blue ... rake-pads/

Thanks! Checked the part numbers

DP51665NDX - front
DP51691NDX - rear

And they are both R90 and road legal for Mazda. Phew.

[New Duke]

Good on you. They're a fab pad! I hope you like them too.

[v-rex]

Good on you. They're a fab pad! I hope you like them too.

30405 also speaks highly of them as well as yourself and others. I have Pagid pads (ECP version) on, which I had at Silverstone and although they never faded, they were smoking at the end of some of the sessions. I am going to TPS at some point soon and I'll get them to have a look at the braking system as I was getting some funniness when the brakes were cold, and I don't see why I shouldn't give these a try !! I have a set of pagid pads ( front and rear ) to change back to if there are any issues over the cold winter months, and then I can save the bluestuff for the summer/track next year, but so many speak highly of these I can't see why I should have an issue. I can use the next few months to get them all bedded in for drive limits next year ( probably my first decent high speed event currently in the calendar ).

[RenesisRaceBuggy]

I liked the Bluestuff NDX - they feel just like 1144's but with more bite - until the first time I overheated them, they lost all bite after that, even after flatting the surfaces off.