Brake pad dust

[Glaf]

I recently needed to replace my front brake pads and decided to look at alternative manufacturers, mainly due to high cost of the OEM (TRW) pads at £275 and to see if I could minimise the amount of brake dust generated by them. I looked at numerous manufacturers including EBC, Brembo, Mintex, Pagid and was recommended a company called APEC by a local specialist so I decided to investigate.

https://www.apecbraking.co.uk/Products/Pads.aspx

I emailed their office which is based in Bristol and to my surprise received a prompt reply from Graeme Ryder who is their Technical Development Manager. He confirmed theIr compatibility and so I thought I’d give them a try.

The pads were very competitively priced and have now been on the car for just over 3 weeks. They are performing ok, however one thing I have noticed is the minimal amount of brake dust they produce, something which I notice also irritates a number of other forum members.

I would consider myself a ‘spirited’ driver who enjoys the performance of the car with the emphasis on its handling and cornering ability and not just straight line speed. I don’t do track days so I cannot comment on brake fade under track or race conditions.

Hope this post is of interest.

 

[Tel]

Interesting post.

I followed the Aymerican route and fitted Porterfiled RS-4S pads all round.

They are not cheap (Carbon/kevlar composite), I will not skrimp on brakes.

They only have 250 miles on them and are not bedded in fully yet, so I won't pass comment other than to say, it's going to be so nice turning up to shows and NOT getting covered in black dust...me and the car when I'm detailing it!

 

[RPSN]

I haven’t yet priced the TRW front pads but the TRW rear pads which I bought from my local motor factor were very reasonable and I get minimal brake dust from them. I may fit TRW on the fronts next time they’re needed?

A Jaguar specialist that I have been to in my area uses APEC discs and pads which come with the APEC 2 year/24,000 mile guarantee. I've previously spoken to the owner about them and he said they're good quality.

Definitely worth keeping APEC in mind

 

[Glaf]

I haven’t yet priced the TRW front pads but the TRW rear pads which I bought from my local motor factor were very reasonable and I get minimal brake dust from them. I may fit TRW on the fronts next time they’re needed?

A Jaguar specialist that I have been to in my area uses APEC discs and pads which come with the APEC 2 year/24,000 mile guarantee. I've previously spoken to the owner about them and he said they're good quality.

Definitely worth keeping APEC in mind

I was under the impression the OEM pads are supplied by TRW so I’m surprised there is minimal dust, it might be different when you replace the front ones, please keep us posted.

 

[fogle]

ebc red stuff low dust ceramic pads fitted .

 

[RPSN]

I was under the impression the OEM pads are supplied by TRW so I’m surprised there is minimal dust, it might be different when you replace the front ones, please keep us posted.

Yes that's correct, the OEM pads are supplied by TRW.

With the TRW pads I bought for the rears, there is definitely a minimal amount of dust produced from them which is also helped by the fact that they’re smaller than the front 380 mm brakes. I’m unsure which pads are currently on the fronts (difficult to see) as I’m the second owner of the vehicle which had just over 30,000 miles on the clock when I bought it, but they are producing a lot of brake dust!

As you've quoted the TRW front pads for your car at £275, then I would have thought they may be more expensive for the 380 mm front brakes on the V6 S (I assume you have the non S version from your forum signature?). In this case, if I wanted high quality pads, I would probably go for the Porterfield R4-S pads instead, which cost approx £235. They have good reviews which include producing very little brake dust etc.

The results from your APEC front pads are very encouraging but I’ve checked on the APEC website and they’re not listed for the V6 S? Can I ask how much you paid for them?

If I wanted a cheaper (good quality) set of front pads, then something like Juratek or Mintex etc could also be an option. They can be bought for under £100 but you may see the brake dust issue with them? Saying this, it only takes me around 20 mins to clean my wheels but it would be nice to do it less often........especially the fronts!

Something worth knowing is that all modern Jags have "anti-dive" built into the brake system, which, under moderate to heavy braking, engages the rear brakes sooner and harder than the front brakes. This causes the rear pads and discs to wear faster than the fronts which is the opposite of most people's experience on other cars.

My front pads still have plenty of meat on them but once I change them I'll post the results with regards to manufacturer and brake dust issues etc

 

[Glaf]

I was under the impression the OEM pads are supplied by TRW so I’m surprised there is minimal dust, it might be different when you replace the front ones, please keep us posted.

Yes that's correct, the OEM pads are supplied by TRW.

With the TRW pads I bought for the rears, there is definitely a minimal amount of dust produced from them which is also helped by the fact that they’re smaller than the front 380 mm brakes. I’m unsure which pads are currently on the fronts (difficult to see) as I’m the second owner of the vehicle which had just over 30,000 miles on the clock when I bought it, but they are producing a lot of brake dust!

As you've quoted the TRW front pads for your car at £275, then I would have thought they may be more expensive for the 380 mm front brakes on the V6 S (I assume you have the non S version from your forum signature?). In this case, if I wanted high quality pads, I would probably go for the Porterfield R4-S pads instead, which cost approx £235. They have good reviews which include producing very little brake dust etc.

The results from your APEC front pads are very encouraging but I’ve checked on the APEC website and they’re not listed for the V6 S? Can I ask how much you paid for them?

If I wanted a cheaper (good quality) set of front pads, then something like Juratek or Mintex etc could also be an option. They can be bought for under £100 but you may see the brake dust issue with them? Saying this, it only takes me around 20 mins to clean my wheels but it would be nice to do it less often........especially the fronts!

Something worth knowing is that all modern Jags have "anti-dive" built into the brake system, which, under moderate to heavy braking, engages the rear brakes sooner and harder than the front brakes. This causes the rear pads and discs to wear faster than the fronts which is the opposite of most people's experience on other cars.

My front pads still have plenty of meat on them but once I change them I'll post the results with regards to manufacturer and brake dust issues etc

My car is the 340 model and was purchased 2 years ago from a local franchised dealer. They have serviced it since then at a competitive price. The last service Included an MOT which had an advisory noting that the front pads were at 2-3mm, so I decided to replace them.

They quoted me £427 inc VAT fitted, which I queried. I was told that price included £275 for the pads and £38 for a new sensor wire and it was then that I decided to get another quote.

I was recommended a local specialist who quoted me £104 fitted recommending the APEC pads whom I’d never heard of. After doing some research I discovered they are a reputable manufacturer so I decided to give them a try.

https://youtu.be/BhAjJB1l8JI

All I can say is that they are now bedded in and I’ve had no issues to date.

And the minimal dust produced is a bonus...

 

[Glaf]

Here are the relevant APEC part numbers for the ‘S‘ model etc.

 

[RPSN]

I can see why you queried the £427 inc VAT to have your front pads and new sensor wire fitted!.......Saved yourself a wedge there with the APECs fitted for £104!

As I mentioned earlier, a Jaguar specialist local to me uses APEC discs and pads and they recommend them.

Thanks for the screenshot showing the pads and discs for the various F-Type models. I've been on the APEC website again and I can see they are listed for my car.......I should have scrolled further down the page!

When my front pads need replacing I’ll definitely be considering the APECs based on what you’ve said about less brake dust etc with them

The APEC part numbers for the V6 S brake pads are:

Front: PAD1757 / Rear: PAD1967

 

[Glaf]

A quick update re the APEC pads.

They are now nicely bedded in, no brake squeal, no brake fade and virtually NO brake dust!

Very please with them overall...

 

[RPSN]

A quick update re the APEC pads.

They are now nicely bedded in, no brake squeal, no brake fade and virtually NO brake dust!

Very please with them overall...

Good to hear this.

Looking at the photo of your car it has black rims........they hide a lot of brake dust.

The true test would be on silver coloured wheels like my Propellers?

 

[Glaf]

A quick update re the APEC pads.

They are now nicely bedded in, no brake squeal, no brake fade and virtually NO brake dust!

Very please with them overall...

Good to hear this.

Looking at the photo of your car it has black rims........they hide a lot of brake dust.

The true test would be on silver coloured wheels like my Propellers?

Sadly that’s not true on the Cyclone gloss black rims. The dust is, or was, very visible, mainly on the front rims.

I haven’t got any old photos but I’m sure others would verify that. It used to be very irritating after spending time cleaning them!

 

[RPSN]

It’s great that you’ve seen a big improvement with the APECs.

I know exactly what you mean about it being very irritating as I do spend time cleaning the wheels and calipers! (I never use a pressure washer). Thankfully the Propellers are very easy to clean due to their design.

So that you can compare, this is the front brake dust issue on my car after a few hours of driving........I doubt very much that any black rims would show the dust as much as this in such a relatively short time?

I'll more than likely be trying the front APEC brake pads next time they need changing

 

[Mikeyf]

So - after 12 month; how are the APEC pads?

 

[Glaf]

So - after 12 month; how are the APEC pads?

I’ve had no issues to date and hardly any brake dust!

Check out the info on my previous posts, it’s quite informative.

 

[Jimmyrn85]

Gents, are you using the black series of APEC pads or the standard series?

I phoned my local distributor and he thinks they don’t make the black edition for our car?

Any input greatly appreciated!

 

[NavigatorNI]

AFAIK, the Apec Black appears to be a new range. They weren't listed last time I looked. Anyway according to their catalogue, https://apecautomotive.co.uk/catalogue/ the Black pads aren't available for the F-Type anyway. So it must be the standard Apec pads I have.

 

[Jimmyrn85]

Thanks for that!

 

[JamesOC]

My rear pads are at 4mm. Premature to replace right now, but I’m tempted to get the APECs all round and fit myself in the next couple of months. Local jag dealer quoted £699 for just the rears, which is daylight robbery.

What are the longer term experiences of using the APECs? Or should I stick I just stick with TRW/jag standard ones as I’m happy enough with the way they work for me.

 

[scm]

Interestingly(?), someone on the Us forum has commented on how little brake dust their 2022 RWD base F-type sheds compared to their previous 2018 model so the pad formulation may have had a change in recent years.