Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Simon72 on 01 October 2011, 21:59:43

Title: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: Simon72 on 01 October 2011, 21:59:43
Thinking of up-grading brakes on the Omega..

What do people think of these products and prices.. Or are there any suggestions from the members on here.

Front Pads
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Vauxhall_Omega_2.2_2003/p/performance-and-styling/performance-brakes/brakes2/performance-brake-pads/?1&pl5_115

Rear pads
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Vauxhall_Omega_2.2_2003/p/performance-and-styling/performance-brakes/brakes2/performance-brake-pads/?1&pl5_116

Front Disks
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Vauxhall_Omega_2.2_2003/p/performance-and-styling/performance-brakes/brakes2/performance-brake-discs/?1&pl5_117

Advice welcome..

Simon
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: Darth Loo-knee on 01 October 2011, 22:04:08
Just wondering what you think is wrong with Vauxhall's brakes? :)
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 01 October 2011, 22:07:48
you'd be going some to overcook standard gm brakes on a 2.2 :o

even in my 3.0l across Milton Keynes, I have to really try to get serious fade
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: Simon72 on 01 October 2011, 22:20:52
I am updating it for next years Rally for Heroes 3000 mile trip in 5 day.

I will be going around Top Gear test track, Le Mans, Monaco, Hockenhiem, nurburgring.
Also up and over the Alps on the Stevlio Pass

So brakes will be used very hard and get quite hot.
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 01 October 2011, 22:23:56
for track use, I would beef mine up :y
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 01 October 2011, 22:24:12
although not sure about their ceramic percentage , ceramic brakes need to be very hot to work efficiently.. for normal driving (ie pads cold) in case of urgency, it wont brake the car like the standard pads..
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 01 October 2011, 22:25:07
 ::)  must type faster.. :P
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 01 October 2011, 22:25:45
yeah, even things like ebc redstuff catch me out - they cool on motorways, then don't work ;D
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: Simon72 on 01 October 2011, 22:41:35
yeah, even things like ebc redstuff catch me out - they cool on motorways, then don't work ;D

So would you go for Green stuff then over Red?
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: Seth on 01 October 2011, 22:55:16
yeah, even things like ebc redstuff catch me out - they cool on motorways, then don't work ;D

So would you go for Green stuff then over Red?

My own preference is for EBC 'Green Stuff' pads with Vx discs all-round  :y

Generally, there's a good 'feel' to the pedal, and much less dust - and look at the terrain of The Valleys! ;)
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 02 October 2011, 09:05:31
Or potentially consider OE pads (different from the aftermarket £15 ones you get from dealer). Not sure if man enough for track still....
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: aaronjb on 02 October 2011, 13:16:14
I'm having some kind of DejaVu here (must have said this to someone before) but .. do you have to use the Omega for some reason? Given the distances involved and amount of fuel you'll use dragging a weighty (underpowered if we're talking a 4cyl) between and around those places .. you might as well spend a grand on a cheap MX5; you'll have an awful lot more fun on track, won't need to bother upgrading the brakes and probably save money on the fuel...

JMHO, but the Omega would be far from my first choice of car to take on track :)
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: Simon72 on 02 October 2011, 14:26:14
I'm having some kind of DejaVu here (must have said this to someone before) but .. do you have to use the Omega for some reason? Given the distances involved and amount of fuel you'll use dragging a weighty (underpowered if we're talking a 4cyl) between and around those places .. you might as well spend a grand on a cheap MX5; you'll have an awful lot more fun on track, won't need to bother upgrading the brakes and probably save money on the fuel...

JMHO, but the Omega would be far from my first choice of car to take on track :)

Why would I want to
A) spend good money on another car when I already have a very good one that does 50 mpg
B) not be able to get 4 people and luggage in the car with ease

I will surely have some fun even in a car of it's size and show some of the sceptics that Omegas can do the same things that smaller faster motors can do ;-)
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: Kevin Wood on 02 October 2011, 16:50:48
EBC pads are a "marmite" choice. Some love them, some hate them.

Despite their claim that they bite well from cold, I'd expect that they probably don't work as well as standard pads from cold. Not an issue for the track, or the alps, but might catch you out, as mentioned.

I would have thought green stuff would get cooked on that sort of a trip. I have heard claims that they won't stand up to much hard driving in a Westfield / Caterham let alone an Omega with 4 people plus luggage. ;)

For the price of those red stuff you could have 4 sets of standard pads. That's probably the way I'd go.

As for the cross drilled, grooved disks, I wouldn't bother. It's cosmetic.
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: feeutfo on 02 October 2011, 21:46:19
If your getting 50mpg your stock brakes will be fine.

But haven't ebc added another grade between green and red? Fast road use?  I wouldn't fit red pads for road use personally.
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: aaronjb on 02 October 2011, 21:53:39
But haven't ebc added another grade between green and red? Fast road use?  I wouldn't fit red pads for road use personally.

They had Black->Green->Red->Yellow, now they've got Blue and Orange coming this month.. Orange is track only, Blue is 'track for road' apparently, tested to some EU regulation for brakes..

Personally I've tried green (alright, better than it used to be but really no better than stock on the MR2) and yellow (prior to Orange & Blue, their 'track' pad) which has great bite from cold and no fade at all (though the MR2 is ~700Kg lighter than the Omega, that's a lot less inertia to stop).. Having tried green & yellow, I wouldn't even bother considering green or red anymore..
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 02 October 2011, 22:07:28
I dont know anything better than good tires for braking.. a chain is as strong as its weakest part ..
 
so I would invest good quality tires first :y
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: r1 on 02 October 2011, 22:23:21


Why would I want to
A) spend good money on another car when I already have a very good one that does 50 mpg
B) not be able to get 4 people and luggage in the car with ease

so what model of omega gets 50 mpg?
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: VXL V6 on 02 October 2011, 22:24:06


Why would I want to
A) spend good money on another car when I already have a very good one that does 50 mpg
B) not be able to get 4 people and luggage in the car with ease

so what model of omega gets 50 mpg?

DTi  :y
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: MV6Matt on 03 October 2011, 06:23:53
If your getting 50mpg your stock brakes will be fine.

But haven't ebc added another grade between green and red? Fast road use?  I wouldn't fit red pads for road use personally.

Yes they have (see posts above). Pagid (if you can find any for Omegas) or Ferodo I would recommend for the sort of driving you'll be doing. 8)

Don't go anywhere near Green/Red stuff for an Omega. :'(

Matthew
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: Simon72 on 03 October 2011, 07:33:55


Why would I want to
A) spend good money on another car when I already have a very good one that does 50 mpg
B) not be able to get 4 people and luggage in the car with ease

so what model of omega gets 50 mpg?

Mine ;-) Omega 2.2dti 16v
Mine at present doing town runs averages 41.6mpg and on a good motorway run gets average 49.6 - 51.7 mpg
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 03 October 2011, 08:48:29
If your getting 50mpg your stock brakes will be fine.

But haven't ebc added another grade between green and red? Fast road use?  I wouldn't fit red pads for road use personally.

Yes they have (see posts above). Pagid (if you can find any for Omegas) or Ferodo I would recommend for the sort of driving you'll be doing. 8)

Don't go anywhere near Green/Red stuff for an Omega. :'(

Matthew
Whilst I'm sure Ferodo make some decent pads, the ones Hellfrauds sell are hopeless on an Omega (and far more expensive than the better TC pad)
Title: Re: Brake Upgrade Advice
Post by: 2woody on 03 October 2011, 13:14:15
I've got plenty of experience on Omega brakes - and I used to be a brake designer, too......

it's a "swings and roundabouts" thing really. There are pad meterials which are good at working from cold and those which are good at working from hot - there are no pads good at both.

You need to have a think about what you really want as a priority.....

something like yellowstuff will work on the track admirably, but they don't heat up well from cold - a factor which you need to bear in mind on motorways.

a standard pad will work well from cold, but probably won't last a half lap of the 'ring.

I personally don't rate Omega brakes at all - their heat-handling capability is very poor. Even in the 2.6 I can fade the pads every night on the way home from work. And don't even start me on vibrations. I guess it's the price to be paid for a design originating on 14" wheels.

For your venture, I'd recommend yellowstuff, but bear this in mind on motorways.

For my track-day cars that I MUST retain Omega brakes, I use yellowstuff and change them every day ( including discs )

For the track car that I DRIVE,  I have a 350mm disc/caliper set that I swap round. Again with yellowstuff.

on a slightly different front, brake pads are all very similar to one another. They all must pass the EU directive to be allowed on sale, so their quality is all the same. There is no such thing as a "bad" make of pads. The only thing that manufacturers are really able to do different in the heat range that they're effective in.