Brake advice please

[AndyV7o]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

It seems logical but it is not the case. The disc material is just as pivotal as the friction material on the pads. If you speak to anyone who has worked in smelting, especially steel, there are huge variations in properties and qualities depending on whether it is virgin, pure iron or melted down washing machines and Mondeo's.

My take home point it it is easy to tell when changing end of life brakes if the parts you are removing are genuine Volvo or not - genuine Volvo parts always have a smooth mirror like finish to the discs. Mintex, National, etc. and other pattern parts usually have a rough finish like the pads were made of concrete with old nails in them.

There's just as much benefit and reason to fit quality discs as there are pads, their not simply a lump of iron.

This is what I used to find using brembo discs and ferodo pads, the discs had a burnished, even surface. Not anymore though, unfortunately, the last couple of sets of brembo discs started out ok as above, but then suddenly wore horrendously and rusted like the titanic. Its as though they have started case hardening some crap. Another thing is the finish, brembo used to be well machined all over with a skimmed braking surface. The last ones I've had were much rougher, with some casting marks etc unfinished.

[FIBAMAN]

Spot on.
So many grades of cast iron available you could be getting cheap cr-p.
I used Pagid discs and pads on my heavy old 5 series tourer. Changed pads after 3k, so must dust and vague feel. Installed EBC on Pagid discs, no probs.
Have just bought Volvo pads at good price from main dealer for my V70.

[laurence]

volvo genuine all the way

[FIBAMAN]

Isnt it just typical.
I bought my V70 from main dealer 18 months ago.
It had new discs and pads to the rear, and new pads to the front.
Literally 2 days ago there was awful grinding sound from the rear, sounds like a pad has broken allowing metal - metal contact. I am surprised as I dont brake heavily, and the car has only done 26k since new brakes fitted.
Bought new kit from Volvo dealer and have just noticed Volvo pads are made in Brazil, I wonder if that has any bearing on quality?

[Tannaton]

The P3 V70 and XC60's are known to wear the rear brakes more heavily under sedate driving conditions. The rear pads are quite small as well.

Volvo have parts made for them to their own specs from all over the globe - like most car manufacturers they will use 2 or 3 companies to make the parts to reduce the risk of short supplies impacting their production. So no I don't think being made in Brazil is a worry....

[green van man]

I run mintex disks because they are half the price of volvo. Front has mintex pads, again the price difference is substantial and volvo pads on the back because the price difference is minimal.

I tow regularly and live in an area of A and B roads not even a dual carriageways and have never had a problem with the brakes.

Have used mintex for many years with no problems even on 5 ton vans.

These days you need to recon new disks every second set of pads, I have found this even with volvo disks and get similar milage from both volvo and mintex, so why spend money needlessly. The only thing not in the mintex box is new caliper mounting bolts, £2.20 each from Volvo. These bolts are recommended as single use. The minimum thickness of disk on an xc70 vented disk is 23mm, this is why I recon new every second set of pads as the disks would be below minimum thickness before the 3rd set of pads were worn out even if above when the second set needed changing.

Brake fluid I change every 2 years and also have a moisture content tester, £20 from halfords which I use regularly to keep an eye on things in between changes.

Paul.

[green van man]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

It seems logical but it is not the case. The disc material is just as pivotal as the friction material on the pads. If you speak to anyone who has worked in smelting, especially steel, there are huge variations in properties and qualities depending on whether it is virgin, pure iron or melted down washing machines and Mondeo's.

My take home point it it is easy to tell when changing end of life brakes if the parts you are removing are genuine Volvo or not - genuine Volvo parts always have a smooth mirror like finish to the discs. Mintex, National, etc. and other pattern parts usually have a rough finish like the pads were made of concrete with old nails in them.

There's just as much benefit and reason to fit quality discs as there are pads, their not simply a lump of iron.

This was why I stopped useing volvo disks, when they needed changing they were in no better state than mintex disks and had lasted no longer, they were volvo disks and pads as I baught and fitted them. 50% saving on cost for same performance and life, no brainer for me.

To each their own and peace of mind is worth many pounds. If buying volvo bits gives that peace of mind far be it for me to dissuade anyone.

Paul.

[Peter86]

I fitted brembo pads and disks all round last year on my V70 D5. Work absolutely fine for me and I do some towing also. My thought is if you buying anything make sure you buy a reputable brand and from a reputable seller, scary how much fake stuff is out there, I think that's where a lot of bad reports come from.
Don't forget if you want good braking you need good tyres also.

[tonys1966]

i have used many types of/makes brake components-most are up to the job of uk road use on a private car,fitting[clean hub surface] cleaning of calipers,pad mounting surfaces and making sure slide pins,calipers themselves are free is incredibly important when fitting new hardware

[barrybritcher]

Originally Posted by FIBAMAN

Isnt it just typical.
I bought my V70 from main dealer 18 months ago.
It had new discs and pads to the rear, and new pads to the front.
Literally 2 days ago there was awful grinding sound from the rear, sounds like a pad has broken allowing metal - metal contact. I am surprised as I dont brake heavily, and the car has only done 26k since new brakes fitted.
Bought new kit from Volvo dealer and have just noticed Volvo pads are made in Brazil, I wonder if that has any bearing on quality?

all the p2 alarms were made in Austrailia, they break all the time. 1st world country. I wouldnt worry about the country of origin on OE parts