New Brake Pads, EBC Green or Red?

[don kalmar union]

With either the 280mm or 302mm standard brakes you will invariable warp either genuine Volvo or aftermarket plain drilled and/or grooved discs if you drive these heavy and sometimes powerfull cars hard and use the brakes more than sparingly.

The original front brakes on these cars are underspecified in either 280 or 302mm form and they are unable to cope with heavy continuous use as they overheat causing warping.

With regard to aftermarket pads the EBC Redstuff Ceramic is a fair choise, certainly not their Greenstuff for the front. At the rear you will not really improve on standard Volvo pads at the prices that you get currently from dealers, bearing in mind that the rear brakes do not do much of the work.

On the subject of rear brakes, with age, they tend to have deteriorated with use and generally with a lack of attention. With these aging cars it is well worth dismantling the rear set-up and cleaning and overhauling them....it is most likely that they are not able to cope with even the little demand made on them.

On the subject of DS2500 in standard sizes they are very expensive compared to Redstuff and with the limiting factors with standard sized discs not really worth the 50% extra.

Finally, if you have not got the budget for a big brake kit which is the only remedy to warping and overheating then have a look at getting some flexible hose to direct cold air from the spot light holes in the bumper into the middle of the back of the discs. That is the most effective and relatively cheap way of keeping those piddly little discs cooler.

Regards, Don.