Doing a front brake job on this car has got to be one of the easiest jobs, easily done by a DIYer. I would rate this as a 3 out of 10 in terms of difficulty.

I had the classic pulsation when hitting the brakes on this car (indicating warped discs) I have never done a brake job on this vehicle since I purchased it in 2013. I decided to replace discs and pads on both front and rear.

The car had drilled discs - I decided to go with solid discs (Wagner - Federal Mogul). Cheaper and can be cut at least once if needed in the future. I am not racing this car so I figured I should be ok. For pads, I used Akebono which consistently gets high marks.

First, take off the cap to the brake fluid reservoir





Starting point



Two bolts in the back of the caliper removes it from the knuckle



New rotor on the left, old to the right



Old pads are about done



Spreader to push all 4 pistons back to allow for new pad clearance



Pad spreader<br/>



Pins that hold the pads and anti rattle spring together



Anti-rattle spring



New vs. old pads





Done - fresh front brakes

 

Your brake calipers are seriously better and prettier than my stock 2004 XJ8 came with. You are right though about how easy it is. Nice job. I love pictures.

 

It is normally a quite easy job. Unfortunately for me, one of the pins holding the brake pads in was seized up and I had to drill it out. It's always something... I called Jaguar and they told me it was $116 for a set of front brake hardware! I laughed and the sales guy agreed it was ridiculous. I decided I could wait a couple days while I drive my other car and found a set made by Centric online for $16.

I also bought a set of those Akebono ceramic brake pads. While they produce much less brake dust than the stock pads, I'm not thrilled with the brake pedal feel. They have no bite and I don't feel like they stop as well as the factory metallic pads, but I have no data to back that up. Anyways, it's nice not have to wash my wheels every three days lol.

 

The cause of your mushey pedal feel could be aged rubber brake hose lines. Check to see if there is visual expansion of these hoses when brakes are applied.

 

I don't think it's the brake lines. The pedal isn't mushy, it just doesn't feel like it has the bite it did before. The brakes had much better feel with the old pads and as soon as I changed them, the brake feel changed. This is also the second time I've changed to Akebono ceramic pads and the brake pedal feel has changed. Akebono's generally have great reviews; I think it's just the nature of ceramic pads.

 

I just did my brakes (XJ8) with a premium, black zinc set from Performance Brakes and selected their ceramic pads. The stopping ability is quite as good as before with my stock Jaguar replacement pads. I replaced them because I kept hearing a slight dragging noise at slow speeds but they were not badly worn. I did upgrade to their slotted/drilled rotors as well. Not that the factory were less than acceptable. The price was good and I plan on resurfacing the rotors when and if I need to replace them again.

Now I just need better tires. My Pirelli PZeros are shot.

 

If you have it please post the Centric details as others may need it too.

 

I always use genuine jag pads I know there dear but this is a 155 mph car

 

Very generous of you! They don't make pads (or discs) so you're paying top $$$ (well, £££) for someone else's.

 

CENTRIC 11720003 Front Brake Hardware
These fit 2004-2005 XJR Brembo front brakes. The brakes on 2006+ are different.

$16.24 at this time at RockAuto.
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....430959&jsn=446

 

I know jag V8 I'm a mechanic by trade and I know that they don't make there own pads and discs but the parts that come from dealers will be of higher quality, had a six series BMW in put aftermarket textar pads on which is the same supplier as main dealer and the customer come back and complained that the brakes did not feel good so checked everything all ok fitted genuine BMW pads that had the textar name on it same as the aftermarket ones no more problems phoned the original supplier and was told that genuine BMW pads have a different pad material to aftermarket pads ,but if anyone knows any different then please let us know

 

Put it this way: you can get discs & pads as good or better than OE for a LOT less.

 

phoned the original supplier and was told that genuine BMW pads have a different pad material to aftermarket pads ,but if anyone knows any different then please let us know[/QUOTE]


While this may not always be the case it is true more often than most might think, as many OEM suppliers manufacture a product specifically to the requirements of the buyer and also make what are essentially aftermarket pieces that are a different composition or different spec that will fit but may not perform as well. Very common and as long as they don't advertise that they are identical they're not lying to you.

I can, for example, get almost any motorcycle tire that will fit a Harley but only a select few that are built to Harley specs. That doesn't mean their better, only that this is the specification that Harley engineers thought worked best in the model they were designed for.

In a car equipped with Brembo brakes the friction material, calipers, and rotors are part of an engineered system and while there may be more efficient pads out there you may also end up getting less efficient ones as well, and changing out the rotors for a different type is bound to change the system dynamics in ways we can not quantify by the seat of our pants or at the edges of the cars performance envelope where we seldom if ever go.

These cars, especially the performance models, are not Chevy Cobalts or Ford Escorts and are engineered and built to a higher standard of performance that in reality few of us will ever ask of them. However, when asked of them or needed in an emergency I'd want everything the designers had tried to provide available to me. Saving a few bucks on essential gear isn't always the smart choice.