SV6 VE Brake Pads

[andyman]

THanks for the response ...Lads.

I rocked up to holden yesterday and asked for exact replacements for the front, $196 Bucks Baby geeez

I rather like the pad, came down the illawarra highway twists and turns..going really hard TC on alot..and the pads didnt fade...got to the bottom and the smoke..the smell was in the car for an hour..then later i turn the air con on and got another blast...don't quite know how that works..

Lenny

i was about to say for an 07 model youd either have big km's on it or you love brakes, ive serviced ve's with 90 odd thousand on them and they have roughly half pad still on them,

they are a hard compound pad and disc,

although i think in the my09's im thinking they might have changed to molycarbied, but unsure if it is or not

 

[NickVR]

you have to upgrade the calipers aswell. they have a longer reach opn them to clear the larger rotors obviously. i also fitted QFM HPX pads when i did the conversion which have about 25% more pad surface area due to using the hole backing plate not 75% of it. why is upgrading rotor size a waste of time? larger rotors equals more torque advantage plus more surface area equals slower heating and faster cooling. if it didn't help think holden would bother doing it?

Didn't think there would be much of an advantage with a bigger rotor size with the same surface area on the pad. But what you have said makes sense so I guess there must be an advantage in doing it.

 

[BOY1236]

well even the SS brakes are not that impressive, they are a bit sluggish

they seem to shake a lot, but good stopping too

been driving 200+ all the time with them, and one HUGE hard brake while 250km ..

good, but they are the first thing to change when I have the money, cange the rotors first, and then full kit later if needed

my car has 36,000 on the clock, brake is done for xD

 

[gslrallysport]

I rocked up to holden yesterday and asked for exact replacements for the front, $196 Bucks Baby geeez

That's a bit excessive! The equivalent aftermarket pads (QFM HPX) are only $79 per axle set, or street/track replacements (QFM A1RM) are $119 per axle set...

Fade on late model cars has more to do with fluid than pads though...

 

[BOY1236]

Fade on late model cars has more to do with fluid than pads though...

care to explain ?

 

[gslrallysport]

I haven't been in too many late model cars where it's been pad fade (rock hard pedal and no brakes), but I've certainly been in plenty that have had fluid fade (soft, spongy pedal and no brakes).

Modern cars have decently sized rotors, and pad compounds have come a fair way, even for OEM. What hasn't come along way, and what manufacturers pay very little attention to (because they care about one-off cold emergency stops, not street racing) is fluid...

 

[VEV8]

Replacing your fluid with DOT 5.1 increases the fluids boiling point and lowers the chance of fluid (fade?). I think the VE's run DOT 4. DOT 5.1 increases the wet boiling point by about 40deg C.

This hasn't got any benefit for a one off hard brake. But coming down a hill with continuous on/off braking will see a difference.

 

[VEV8]

That's a bit excessive! The equivalent aftermarket pads (QFM HPX) are only $79 per axle set, or street/track replacements (QFM A1RM) are $119 per axle set...

Fade on late model cars has more to do with fluid than pads though...

Personally I wouldn't run any other pad than QFM's. I think the price shys a lot of people away. Too cheap? Must not be any good. LTM003's all the way.

 

[gslrallysport]

I think the price shys a lot of people away.

You know I constantly think the same thing... QFM has just had a 12% price rise, but I'll be absorbing that till the end of June, after which prices will probably go up a little. LTM003 we don't really stock as it sort of sits very close to HPX anyway. We find anyone who's chasing a pad better than HPX, will just go for an A1RM type pad, leaving LTM003 pretty superfluous.. But as with all QFM pads, it's still very good! :thumbsup:

 

[gslrallysport]

Replacing your fluid with DOT 5.1 increases the fluids boiling point and lowers the chance of fluid (fade?). I think the VE's run DOT 4. DOT 5.1 increases the wet boiling point by about 40deg C.

Yep, DOT 5.1 is just an upgraded street version of DOT4, and as you say, generally increases wet by about 40deg:

Fluid..........Dry boiling point...Wet boiling point
DOT 3........205°C (401°F)........140°C (284°F)
DOT 4........230°C (446°F)........155°C (311°F)
DOT 5........260°C (500°F)........180°C (356°F)
DOT 5.1......270°C (518°F)........191°C ( 376°F)

After that you jump up to some of your dedicated Racing Brake Fluid, or 600 fluid as some of them are known. The stuff we use in the rally car, and also recommend for heavy street use (because it's still DOT 4 compatible) is the TRW GP600, and it's specs are 310°C and 204°C wet and dry respectively, so a fair jump up from even DOT 5.1. Also remember never to never use DOT 5 in a road car as it generally isn't compatible with the hardware you've got.

This hasn't got any benefit for a one off hard brake. But coming down a hill with continuous on/off braking will see a difference.

Yep, and the same goes for pads also. In one off cold stops, tyres, not pads or fluid will determine your braking distance (contrary to some BS stats I've seen out of Bendix's marketing department :whistling).

Also for those interested, the definition of 'wet' is 2-3% moisture absorption, which for most fluid will only take 6-12 months to happen.

But definitely in the modern car, with OEM pad material alot better than they were in the past, fluid will be the weak link in any extended heavy braking. Remember if you've got a rock hard brake pedal (and no brakes) it's pad fade, if you've got a soft spongy pedal (and no brakes) it's fluid boiling...