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[russ b]

looking to upgrade the brakes on a 99 v plate 4pot i think they are the same as v6 brakes??
i am looking next month (money allowing) to replace discs pads and fluid.
would i benefit fitting grooved and driled discs on a 4ot or not. and any tips or advice from the experienced. 

[Andy B]

looking to upgrade the brakes on a 99 v plate 4pot i think they are the same as v6 brakes??
i am looking next month (money allowing) to replace discs pads and fluid.
would i benefit fitting grooved and driled discs on a 4ot or not. and any tips or advice from the experienced. 

The brakes fitted to your car will haul a V6 to rest from silly mph so they are more than capable of stopping your car! If they need replacing, just replace with OE, and if from Vauxhall use a Trade Club card if you have one or access to one.     

[russ b]

gonna replace the fluid and pads the discs at the back have some sirface rust on the and its the rear thats making most the noise when pedal applied does this mean replacing or just cleaning :-?

[Broomies Mate]

If you have rust on the contact surface of your rear discs after driving more than a few miles, then your rear brakes are not working correctly, which is probably why you aren't satisfied with the efficiency of your brakes.

All four discs should be equally clean and shiny.

Check the condition of the pads first, if they have a few miles left on them, check the movement of the caliper.  The rears may have seized.

Not sure if the Omega has a load sensing bias for the braking system (someone with more knowledge than me will tell you), but if it has, make sure that hasn't seized.

My Omega has the slightly larger front discs than yours (not sure if the rears are the same) but I have never managed to get them to glow, like I frequently do with my Cavalier (256mm Discs).

[Andy B]

.....and its the rear thats making most the noise when pedal applied does this mean replacing or just cleaning :-?

I'm good, but not that good!  You'd have to check you've not run out of rear brake pads. Rear brakes don't have such a hard time as the fronts, so it could just be that new pads would be all you need. Surface rust is no problem, discs soon rust up when not used, but should clear very quickly when the car is next used. 



and what Brummies Mate said about siezed calipers, although the twin piston set-up doesn't tend to seize like the cheapo sliding calipers at the front do. 

[2woody]

let's get something straight right from the start.... drilled / grooved discs are a fashion statement only - unless you have an endurance racing car.

best advice would be to change all of the discs for new ATE-branded ones - these were the original manufacture fitted to the vehicle when new. Failing that, then go for genuine GM ones.

Make sure the pistons aren't seized and re-grease the front caliper sliders while they're out.

these days it doesn't matter which pads you fit, 'cos they're all e-marked, meaning they've all met the same standard.

while you're carrying out the work, adjust the brake lamp switch and the brake pedal height to tke out the slack in the system - you'd be amazed what a difference that makes.

[feeutfo]

i found the omega brakes poor tbh, but this seems to be due to cost verses quality, ie
 trade club pads at 14 odd quid a frontaxle set, bite point and lock up point ok but very little feel in between, feel like they are made of wood.
 oe pads, as fitted from the factory, give far better feel and control at the pedal but come in at a hefty £70 a front axle set on trade club.

 Personally i wont go back to trade club pads, but if ypur rugularly getting fade at the pedal 1due to "progressive" driving you may as well stick with trade club pads as oe probably cook at the same rate.

[2woody]

agreed.

even good Omega brakes are still bad when judged against other vehicles. Mostly down to servo design and the choice of Girling front calipers.

neither are easy to replace with something more effective. I have managed to fit better brakes to an Omega, but don't really want to publicise what they are for fear of someone else copying the installation and landing me with a bunch of liability issues should they get it wrong.

having said that, there's a great difference between an old Omega and a properly-adjusted car with new components.

[russ b]

checked the rear pads as advised.. on driverside disc the outer pad was metal to metal and the inner pad was still as new. have brought new rear pads and fitted, for know! the inner piston is still a bit slower than the other after being lubricated. i am going to take the caliper off next week, haven't got day off till then and need car for work.. i will attempt to basically refurb it. the rubber seal around the piston fell off!! so will i need a new one it looks ok tbh,
any tips or common issues!

[russ b]

surprised about grooved/ drilled but glad they are not worth the money!!!

[feeutfo]

the bit that fell off is the dust seal, the actual seal that stops the fluid leaking past the piston is within the piston chamber, it will be that seal thats got corrossion in the groove making the piston stick, caused by the failed dust/weather seal, remove inspect and replace all seals on that caliper. Suspect the seals may come in a set per caliper maybe?

[feeutfo]

surprised about grooved/ drilled but glad they are not worth the money!!!

concidered ebc drilled and grooved because there seem to rust less, not sure if this is correct though as sore a pair today that where rusty, although not as bad as gm trade club discs of similar age.

Had ebc bike discs that didnt rust at all, but then they where'nt steal. Anyone with thoughts on this?

[TECHNOPUG]

Never heard anything good about EBC on cars; bikes yes, cars no.

   My car originally came with plod-spec Pagid pads and these have been excellent. No fade whatsoever, including an emergency stop from 140+ on the autobahn and several laps of the 'ring. They take a while to come up to temperature so aren't the best for day to day driving.

  I'm changing my front brakes at the weekend as I think the pads are shot - lots of brake travel and squealing. I've a set of genuine OE discs and pads that I picked up very cheap from a dealer that was changing to Peugeot and wanted rid of stock. I've also got a set of Black Diamond Predator pads.

  Reckon I'll go with the OE ones first and see how I get on with them. Haven't heard anyones experience of the Black Diamonds so may wait until (if) I decide to keep the car and track it.