New brakes

[GrahamHR]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

Yes, I believe that Volvo changed the braking bias on newer cars.
Older models like mine go through front pads faster.
ATE make your brakes so ATE own brand will give you excellent results.

That's very odd considering the dynamics of what happened when brakes are applied on a car. To change the brake bias to the rear is a very major undertaking and also quite dangerous ( think of "handbrake turns")..

Due to weight transfer on braking, aren't all front brakes still doing the major part of the work in slowing a car down?

Only if the rear brakes are tiny would I expect them to wear out first ( unless the handbrake/ electronic handbrake is keeping them slightly on all the time)

Dealers and their expert mechanics can come out with all sorts of unlikely.....................****************

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by GrahamHR

That's very odd considering the dynamics of what happened when brakes are applied on a car. To change the brake bias to the rear is a very major undertaking and also quite dangerous ( think of "handbrake turns")..

Due to weight transfer on braking, aren't all front brakes still doing the major part of the work in slowing a car down?

Only if the rear brakes are tiny would I expect them to wear out first ( unless the handbrake/ electronic handbrake is keeping them slightly on all the time)

Dealers and their expert mechanics can come out with all sorts of unlikely.....................****************

Perhaps the rear bias isn't in all circumstances, more at low (normal braking) speeds, I don't know.
With electronically controlled braking and traction control systems, you can have many characteristics available across a wide range of parameters.

[SuperV8]

There is a lot of misinformation about brakes on the internet.
OEM brakes are Volvo Original Equipment Manufacturer - I.E the brakes Volvos left the production line with.
OES are Original Equipment Service the part you are refering to which are cheaper often white box.
OES usually have an R90 number on them and OEM usually don't as OES pads are usually homologated at a later date.

All brakes are a compromise, (Performance/wear/NVH/dust etc..) and Volvo OEM brakes are also a compromise usually focusing on comfort/NVH, they do however have much more development time and usually specific friction material for different applications, whereas aftermarket pads have a limited list of friction materials to choose from, some only using 1! which I would avoid (not naming names)

Just because a certain company produces the brake system does not mean the aftermarket parts they sell are the same, ATE/Bosch/TRW for example may make the brake system for lots of OEMs but usually the friction material is developed by a friction specialist and their aftermarket offering is not the same.
Best parts should be Volvo OEM parts. Reputable big brand name brake components should be safe but may be noisy/wear out fast/dusty?

If the difference in price is small I would go with the OEM Volvo, if the difference in price is large, might be worthwhile taking a punt?
I would stay well away from cheap crap.

No matter which brand of parts you choose the most important aspect is to fit them and bed them in correctly. Wheel hub should be very clean/shiny, need to use a powered rotary wire brush/scourer, should really measure installed disc run to ensure they are running true, pads should not be a tight fit - caliper carrier should be taken off and cleaned, pistons and guide pins should all return freely, and don't use them heavily or from high speed in the first few hundred miles.

Tom.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by SuperV8

There is a lot of misinformation about brakes on the internet.
OEM brakes are Volvo Original Equipment Manufacturer - I.E the brakes Volvos left the production line with.
OES are Original Equipment Service the part you are refering to which are cheaper often white box.
OES usually have an R90 number on them and OEM usually don't as OES pads are usually homologated at a later date.

All brakes are a compromise, (Performance/wear/NVH/dust etc..) and Volvo OEM brakes are also a compromise usually focusing on comfort/NVH, they do however have much more development time and usually specific friction material for different applications, whereas aftermarket pads have a limited list of friction materials to choose from, some only using 1! which I would avoid (not naming names)

Just because a certain company produces the brake system does not mean the aftermarket parts they sell are the same, ATE/Bosch/TRW for example may make the brake system for lots of OEMs but usually the friction material is developed by a friction specialist and their aftermarket offering is not the same.
Best parts should be Volvo OEM parts. Reputable big brand name brake components should be safe but may be noisy/wear out fast/dusty?

If the difference in price is small I would go with the OEM Volvo, if the difference in price is large, might be worthwhile taking a punt?
I would stay well away from cheap crap.

No matter which brand of parts you choose the most important aspect is to fit them and bed them in correctly. Wheel hub should be very clean/shiny, need to use a powered rotary wire brush/scourer, should really measure installed disc run to ensure they are running true, pads should not be a tight fit - caliper carrier should be taken off and cleaned, pistons and guide pins should all return freely, and don't use them heavily or from high speed in the first few hundred miles.

Tom.

I would agree with most of what you are saying and I've said some of it before - but would clarify:

OEM is generally accepted to mean Original Equipment Manufacturer - on e-bay this often means because the manufacturer supplied a part that was once used on a new car, all of what they make I am going to call OEM. In reality it means nothing.

I think what you clearly meant was Genuine Volvo Parts - i.e. parts bought from a dealer through the Volvo supply chain, whether whitebox or branded packaging.

The other point you were making which I support is that some components on a car (i.e. brake pads) will be made to a specification which is the vehicle manufacturers intellectual property and therefore the company that has been commissioned to make it is legally prevented from selling it as it's own brand.

We all know that Volvo do not make some of the more consumable items (batteries, bulbs, brake parts, bushes) but just because you buy a pattern part from the same manufacturer does not always mean it is the same. In some cases maybe they will be - but in others the will not.