It's front brake pad time.
Has anyone experience with EBC pads in the van?
I'm torn between the 6000 and 7000 series Green Stuff and the Yellow Stuff ones.

 

EBC makes good stuff
I'd go yellow if you have full loads and/or a lot of hills.

 

The van is mostly empty, but we have a lot of hills and I have a somewhat heavy right foot

 

I had EBC pads on Ford Contour about 10 years ago and they were great.

Nowadays I have Powerstop Truck and Tow pads with Powerstop slotted drilled rotors. Absolutely excellent. Highly recommend by me

Heavy right foot appreciates great brakes. (I actually use left foot for brakes- but same difference).

 

I inquired at the EBC importers here in Germany over the weekend and got a response back by monday 9 AM Talk about fast service!
They recommend the Yellow Stuff, although a bit more aggressive and in need to a bit more finesse in how you apply the brake (they're supposed to work more digital), over the Green Stuff in terms of stopping power and lifetime.
My stock rotors are at ~25k mls, I have to see how long they survive the EBC pads. I'll eventually opt for drilled and slotted HD rotors for the next set anyway in combination with braided steel brake lines all around. With 10-15k mls per year I could care less about wear.

 

holes and slots are not needed
they just wear pads faster and propagate cracks

 

KarstenP,
Vettex2 is one of my absolute favorite guys on this forum, but we always disagree on the brakes…

I have Powerstop brake pads and rotors on the front of my van. The rotors have dimples and slots. I have matching pads on the rear, but the rotors are some offbrand type with U-shaped slots.

22months & 92,000 miles later there are no cracks or any other detriment. (see post 20 below for full disclosure) Not bad for upgraded brake pads that will pull the blood forward in your face when you mash the left pedal.

Expensive? Yes. But completely worth it. If upgraded brakes help you avoid one single solitary car accident, they just paid for themselves.

Vettex2,
I'm about to pull over my van and get some pictures to send you, showing you there's no cracks after 92,000 miles.

 

We agree to disagree and I love debating this.
I'm glad your haven't cracked. All that means is that they just haven't gotten that hot.
Typically the cheese grater rotors are made from the same casting for street vehicles. Holes cause cracks much faster than slots. Cast holes are better than drilled.
If you do buy them CHECK THE CASTING NUMBERS and make sure they are different.
That said, they just are not needed for street use
Originally there were made to prevent gas build up between the pad and rotor.
New pad compounds just don't do that any more.
Please tell me what tangible purpose they serve on a street vehicle?
Not one person on any forum or pad/rotor manufacturer has ever been able to answer that.
The best answer was that it increased profits and to look "racey".

For racing they reduce reciprocating and unsprung weight.
The "wave" rotors take it to the extreme. This just isn't an issue on street vehicles.

Use some temperature paint and let me know just how hot your rotors get.
Typically is comes in 750, 1000 and 1250 degrees. Typically this costs around 75 bucks a kit. I know some paints go to 1800 degrees but I've never needed that. You can get paint in 50 degree increments but at 25 bucks a bottle it's not worth it unless you are a Cup or IndyCar team.
I've played with it in the past on street vehicles. I doubt you will ever go above 750 and I'm 99.99% sure you will never see 1000 degrees.
Now on race cars I've seen 1250+ numerous times in front.

Pads make the most difference, not rotors.

 

I'm not in any manner trying to discuss the specifics or the science. My personal claims to performance brake rotor science is just high enough to impress chicks.

And I agree with you that the pads are THE difference. As far as rotors being drilled, dimpled, slotted , etc - I just buy what they tell me. Powerstop is certainly no Brembo/Wilwood, but I assume Powerstop does some technical/science research stuff. (Maybe I'm incorrect; )

And a step further is my personal experiences:

1. I've had two vehicles with performance rotors (2000 Contour and this 07 E350) and both have actively impressed me. The sheer power of the high performance brakes is great (admittedly could be just the pads), and the lack of any (any=zero) cracking/stress fractures in the rotors

2. On multiple vehicles in my history I've repeatedly replaced stock type rotors that have hundreds of radial cracks/stress fractures. I'll post a pic below (if I can find one)

3. I've repeatedly been unimpressed and/or downright scared with stock brakes on a few vehicles I've owned.

Yes I do drive vehicles hard. Lots of miles, lots of idling, lots of cruising, sometimes lots of weight, and definitely lots of pressure applied to both the Go and the Whoa pedals. I once had a friend who hilariously mentioned that "they aren't buttons: you don't have to apply 100% or 0%"..... He was definitely exaggerating , but the point remains.

Ok let's find the pic of brake rotor radial cracks that's I've seen on all (?) of my stock brake vehicles:
Ok ok ok! In my search I had to wade through lots of pics of cracks on slotted/drilled rotors

But here's a great example- and my history of vehicles I've seen lots of A1 and A2 (below)

Ok here goes:

 

I don't have any specifics on powerstop rotors
They could be a different , better casting
That said, the slots are for looks, not function and don't aid braking .
As long as they impress chicks , you might as well run 'em !

 

Man, I love good and positive discussions
You both got a point. In my experience, coming from nearly 30 yrs of motorsports (Rallyecross, WRC style rallye and offroad racing) drilled and slotted rotors make a difference. The crossdrilled ones tend to run cooler in my experience (IR heat test gun) and the slotted ones help to reduce lag time when there's water film on the rotors during driving in the rain.
Having driven AMG SLS 63's equipped with ceramic performance brakes on the track, it feels like hitting a wall at 150mph stepping into a hot brake

 

I must admit: while I buy the cool rotors for the (perceived) performance improvements; the visual coolness factor is pretty high


Just knowing that any mechanical type guy may look under the van and see the slots/dimples- that guy thinks I'm pretty cool and that I mean business. Especially when he also learns I have a 415cu inch V10 under the hood.

Sinful pride- on a smaller level.

 

In trying to get educated on a subject with which I have little interest, I found this:
Blank rotors are better than cross drilled and/or slotted - Honda-Tech

The parts I understood was gas is no longer generated, and anything that reduces the contact area with the pad is a bad thing. Interesting thing about added corrosion in the voids. jim

 

comparing racing and ceramics to regular steel is like comparing apples and walnuts

 

Good article
it backs up my observations