XC70: Wheels/Brakes Poor braking, new pads and discs needed.

[Cubbington]

Hi All,

More expense I’ve been trying to avoid, but it’s time to replace the discs and pads, after only 10k miles...

It was fitted with new discs and pads when I bought it, however I’ve never been overly impressed with the performance; they are just OK in normal conditions, however with a full tank of fuel & loaded up they fade pretty quickly, and need a noticeable amount of extra distance to bring the car to a halt.

I think the admittedly lighter, and brand new V40 the main dealer loaned me a few weeks ago really showed this is up, as it stopped beautifully, progressively and with hardly any pedal travel compared to mine.

The discs all round look like they’ve overheated (unevenly) and the fronts particularly are covered in pad marks. I’m not a particularly ‘sporty’ driver (the car doesn’t really allow this!), and I generally remember to let my foot off the brake pedal for a moment when I stop at junctions from motorways & national speed limit roads to prevent hotspots on the discs.

Taking a closer look revealed that the pads are made by Apec (I’m guessing the discs too), a brand I’ve never heard of, but research has led me to believe they’re a basic motor factor brand, and there’s not much positive feedback online from users of them!

I think our trusted local garage’s reaction of disgust compounded the fact that they’re no good when they asked what’s currently fitted...

I wanted to get original fitted, however the garage have recommended Pagid as being an excellent choice at a much lower cost than original.

I can’t find any real bad feedback, they’re a known brand and OEM to VW, so guessing they’ll be fine, and hopefully perform a lot better than the currently Apec.

Has anybody else used them, and got any thoughts?

Thanks,

Nick