EBC Yellow pads 1st impressions

[EG30]

Not quite a review, just some 1st impressions after the installation of these pads and rotors on my car today.

Ordered these made to order EBC yellow thru my fren's brake shop for my EG; took 6 weeks to arrive from the UK.

My setup being dc2 calipers with 262mm RDA slotted rotors, with dc2r MC and booster.

Done about 40km on them so far incl normal driving and about ten 80-10km/h max braking events to bed them in; and reach temp of about 350C on the rotors.

on light brake applications they are nowhere near as sensitive and aggressive as the Bendix Ultimate which we've got on our dc2r ( decided against them due to the lack of ABS on the EG ). Once medium pedal pressure is applied the retardation is nothing short of savage. I've never seen my car nosedive that much before in my car and that's not quite threshold braking yet. The retardation vs pedal pressure is more linear than the Ultimates.

As my fren who sold me these pads said they are hard as f**k, he wasn't kidding. They make quite a loud howling/grumbling noise on anything more than light pedal pressure on the slotted rotors, as well as squealing just before a complete stop on light pedal pressure ( could be embrassing at the traffic lights coming to a stop ). The Ultimates on the slotted rotors on our dc2r are virtually silent. They are marketed as full race pads that can be used on the highway with good from cold performance and a fric co-efficient of 0.46. While for a fun car like a EG it's acceptable, I won't put these on say an Accord Euro for everyday usage.

On the up side, the hard pad material gave me a firmer pedal compared to the standard duty generic pads I had in there which were a lot more compressible. To complete the upgrade I'll be installing a set of Goodridge hoses, Cusco brake stopper and a set of EBC black cheapies for the rear.

These EBC Yellows cost me just under $230, some $70 more than the EBC red and $120 more than the Ultimates in the same size. And only $30 cheaper than the legendary Ferodo DS2500 which I intend to try on one of my cars next.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/3213/img4877sd6.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img4877sd6.jpg)

[Limbo]

just wondering on the dc2r the bendix ultimates were ok? How would you rate them?
I'm needing some pads soon and just wanted an opinion. Do you know if they eat away at the rotors?

[dudeling7]

i have bendix ultimates and dba slotted and i would have to say the braking is awesome. very happy with how hard it pulls up when warm. i have been to a trackday with them and they were great to use.

but as EG30 said, when cold they dont loose much performance either. They are silent as well.

Only downside i would say is the dust, very dusty especially on my white rims lol.

are the ebc yellow a higher class than green?
The only downside is

[EG30]

just wondering on the dc2r the bendix ultimates were ok? How would you rate them?
I'm needing some pads soon and just wanted an opinion. Do you know if they eat away at the rotors?

The Ultimates dont eat away your rotors, they MUNCH them!

After only 2000kms on Ultimates on normal street driving plus the intial torture bed in process; there is already a tiny lip forming. They don't deposit the pad friction material on the rotors like the EBC yellow so it's pretty much metal particles on rotors at all times; I like the look of the fresh machined bare metal look on the rotors though instead of dull lustre you'll get from a depositer pad.

So 1 set rotors lifespan per set of pads. This won't stop me getting them though especially the price of RDA rotors are so cheap thesedays. Having owned a few European cars in the past 20 years where rotors last 2 pad changes at best; I dont have the expectations of rotors lasting forever and I deem them as consumables. On E46 3 series onwards, rotors are changed at every pad change. BMW specified even softer rotors material for better braking perfomance and more importantly less prone to squealing.

[Limbo]

yeah i'll stay away cos my ITR rotors need to be redrilled to 4x100 everytime i need a new set

[panda[cRx]]

bendix ultimate are a rubbish cheap pad. you would be better off with oem pads

eg30 hondas generally dont have issues with premature disc wear (with street cars at least) usually they will last a fair while and u can get away with a machine to get rid of lips/scoring/etc

[EG30]

Finally hit the track yesterday with these EBC yellows yesterday.

Done about 1500km on the street now, the roaring noises had much reduced now that they are bedded in and no squealing in normal driving. I have also fitted a set of EBC Blacks for the rear which are simliar in hardness as the yellows to give me the consistency in pedal feel.

It was a tuning afternoon at the AHG track, lots of tight corners and one heavy braking zone per lap.

They felt really good, so long as there is some heat on the rotors ie above 60-80C they felt consistent all the way up to the higher temps. From ambient on say a 1st lap it takes 1-2 braking apps to get them up to temp. The rear brakes held up surprising well despite being the cheap black variety rated only to 380-400C. Was expecting the fade a little bit after a few laps with a longer pedal as a result but that didnt happen.

As they get up to optimal working temp, they really squeal/scream at parking lot speeds like a full race pad. I noticed this as i come off the track. They werent kidding when the market the Yellows as race pads you can drive on the street.


At the end of the session the supervisor of the day agreed to take my car out for a few laps with me in the car. He was very impressed with the brake pedal feel and consistency; and was amazed with the handling balance of the car too! The steering was too slow for his liking, as his daily is a Clio sport with much faster steering. He used to race an A1 GP car for Australia, did british F3 in the same year as Lewis Hamilton and currently a Fuijitsu V8 driver; so he certainly knows a thing or two about race car driving and setup.

[dynosaur]

excuse me , may I know how much for the EBC yellow ?

thanks

[b20b]

I have used the yellow stuff as well ,,,top pad ,,,

have also used the hawk race pad bad rotor wear and wrecked my wheels by depositing moltin metal on the rim

yellow stuff the best at the track:thumbsup:

[beeza]

How about the green stuff? hehehe but I'm serious :)

[EG30]

I have used the yellow stuff as well ,,,top pad ,,,

have also used the hawk race pad bad rotor wear and wrecked my wheels by depositing moltin metal on the rim

yellow stuff the best at the track:thumbsup:

Yeah they are very clean pads surprisingly and dont deposit hot resin residue or metal bits that bite into your paint. I've a set of fat fives so it wont matter anyway but some pads can wreck a set of otherwise nice white wheels for sure.

stay away from the EBC greens Beeza, they are truely troublesome pads. if you dont drive hard on them they are ok, but after hard use they deposit its material unevenly on the rotors causing a thickness variation on the rotor and also different friction levels on diff parts of the rotor.

[aaronng]

have also used the hawk race pad bad rotor wear and wrecked my wheels by depositing moltin metal on the rim

Yup, if you want to use Hawk race pads, you need to use hardened steel rotors! (something like Racingbrake UR rotors)

[beeza]

Thanks EG30.

[dynosaur]

anybody know how much for EBC yellow stuff ? roughly ?

thanks

[EKVTIR-T]

These EBC Yellows cost me just under $230, some $70 more than the EBC red and $120 more than the Ultimates in the same size.


He already said the price....

[kongfu]

He already said the price....

:thumbsup:

[dynosaur]

thanks

[dudeling7]

are these pads dusty?

[EG30]

no they are not very dusty at all, cleaner than the EBC Red, green and black.

and I find the dust non aggressive and v easy to clean off with soapy water alone.

[ctn]

I've used these pads before.

Very good value.

They are terrible when cold, you have to step on the brakes with more pressure to get them to stop. When warmed up, they have excellent initial bite and is very consistent.

They are easy on rotors, compared to ds2500 and less dust but still dusty.

They don't last very long :)

[EG30]

I've used these pads before.

Very good value.

They are terrible when cold, you have to step on the brakes with more pressure to get them to stop. When warmed up, they have excellent initial bite and is very consistent.

They are easy on rotors, compared to ds2500 and less dust but still dusty.

They don't last very long :)

The EBC yellows were designed for heavy cars that needs a high temp pad, thus highly unsuitable for light cars like a 1050kg civic. Been advised by the local EBC distributor over a year ago so I stayed away from these pads.

They had since came out with a new formulation last year that made the pads suitable for small cars ( read this on the ek9.org forum actally ), and I've been told EBC revise their formulation quite often as well.

My EK4 sized pads weren't avail off the shelf and had to be ordered from the UK as special order hence the latest formulation; on my car they work from stone cold ambient and rotor temp of 8-10C.

So it's a good idea to ensure any EBC yellow purchase isnt old stock from mid 2007 and earlier batch.

Btw how do you find the DS2500 ctn compared to the EBC yellows in terms intial bite, consistency and release? I intend to give them a try next, esp they are meant to be the standard bearer of this category of pads and cost not much more than the EBC yellows.

[ctn]

I find that the DS2500 has alot better cold bite but the Yellowstuff had much better bite when warmed up. I tried them in 06.

When warmed up, initial bite on YellowStuff is very good then stays consistent, release is the same, it's consistent until a point where you get no braking.

The DS2500 on the other hand, has very poor initial bite, is quite consistent, and the release is smooth. You do need more pedal pressure though.

On my car the Yellowstuff didn't need to be cut, where as the DS2500 needed to be cut from an Evo pad.

The DS2500 also chews DBA4000's quick are dust like hell.
YellowStuffs are very easy on the rotors but squeal when cold.
DS2500 dont squeal at all, unless you put the slightest amount of pressure on the brake pedal.

The DS2500 has a firmer pedal feel than the YellowStuff.

The YellowStuff didn't last very long.

Hope this helps :)

[EG30]

thanks for the informative feedback ctn, I'll be contend with the yellows for now then.

Not keen on poor initial bite on the DS2500, sounds like they are geared towards the heavy cars.

[EG30]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4UtX3GdPGA

just came across this footage when searching for targa footage, worked brillantly on a heavy and very very fast Porsche.

[ctn]

nice video.

[EG30]

went to the barbagallo raceway's ( hosts v8 supercar round) tuning day today, did 52 laps total, about 45 hard laps in my 1024kg car weight EG with B16A w/ 107kw atw and dc2 262mm brakes config.

got the rotors over 500C, my Fluke infra red thermometer only goes up to 500C so prob in the 520-550C region cos it took some 4-5 mins b4 they cooled down to 480C. Calipers got up to 250C and the one day old brake fluid got nicely cooked as well.

the pads held up expectionally well with no fade at all stopping down the hill from 170km/h to 85km/h. Very consistent after the warm up lap.

they rate them up to 700C and I cant see them fade till closer to 700C, unlike some pads that could be rated up to say 500C but start fading as early as 380-400C eg the TRW Lucas.

wear rate on the pads were moderate, I would say 4-5 full track tuning days like these from new is achievable. No excessive wear on the rotors either as per image attached, still no visible lip on rotors.

Fair bit of shit came off the pads though and got collected in the grooves, as just well my rotors are slotted.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/5475/img4986ts7.th.jpg (http://img376.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img4986ts7.jpg)http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/3716/img4987sp1.th.jpg (http://img376.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img4987sp1.jpg)

being a light car with not a lot of power I didnt expect them to get this hot on street tyres, cooling ducts and backing plates removal will be next.

and btw they were dead quiet too with no signs of squeal no matter what temp or duress they are under

[vteccoupe]

very useful feedback. Thanks for sharing.

Would u explain y u chose a setup of yellow Front and Black Rear?

[EG30]

very useful feedback. Thanks for sharing.

Would u explain y u chose a setup of yellow Front and Black Rear?

ebc blacks about 1/4 price of yellow, if budget not a prob yellows all round is fine too.

[vteccoupe]

ebc blacks about 1/4 price of yellow, if budget not a prob yellows all round is fine too.

i see...

would the rear yellow pads be warmed up in time for let's say the nolimits events of just 1 warm up - 3 full on - 1 cool dwn laps?

[nd55]

Hey EG30,

good info, thanks for sharing.

> but start fading as early as 380-400C eg the TRW Lucas.


How do the TRW's rate? comapred with the Ultimates?

Nick.

[EG30]

TRW much cheaper ie $50 vs $100-150 for say an ek4 pad set.

TRW is much softer pad than ultimate, very dirty ie lots of dark grey/brownish dust on wheels similar to the ultimate, but ulitmate emits more resin and metal particles on wheels and bites into the wheel finish a lot more.

both eats rotors which doesnt bother me so long as they dont eat the rotors below the min thickness within the pad's lifecyle but really bothers many on this forum to the point of sleep loss.

I've TRWs on my ED9 CRX and Ultimates on my dc2r so horses for courses. Utimates good value for high perfomance 500-550C pads when they are on sale once or twice a year, as with most Bendix products they dont cost much to make and margins are good for the merchants. The SRT series Bendix is meant to be superb for hard usage but the applications range is still limited for now ie popular cars like Commodores and WRXs etc for now.

[EG30]

After 40+ hard laps at the track last week, the pads had worn down from 80-90% down to just below 50%.

The inside pads fared worse with signs of crystallisation due to lack of cooling on the inside with the backing plate in place.

I snipped the backplates off and that made a huge difference at the regularity event at the track with 5 lots of 5 hard laps. The brakes coped exceptionally well and the pads were more consistent than ever before with the pads worn down below 50%.

And almost no dust built up on my wheels after the hot laps! Sure there were dust residue but they dont stick to the wheel and spun off after a bit of driving.

Instead of wearing them down to the backplate at the next track outing, I've decided to use the rotors and pads on my ED9 crx when I u/grade the knuckles and hub from a DA9. Meanwhile I am u/grading my EG brakes to the 282mm rotors with prelude/dc2r calipers with DB1206 big pads. I am leaning towards the EBC yellows again, but I wont mind trying the well regarded DS2500, Endless CCX, Bendix SRT ( when they make the 1206 pattern )at some stage so I know how they really feel on my car at competition events.