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It's hard for me to not go for these, that's the same price delivered for a set of front, rear and handbrake pads, as just the fronts in Yellowstuff...
But if they are gonna be dusty as hell, then i'll probably go the Yellowstuff again...
You are welcome to my previous front Yellowstuff pads, I can measure them but they have plenty of wear left, they'll just need a bit of resurfacing.
Several sites has the centric handbrake pads for under $10 but postage was more than the cost of the pads! I lucked out and found TRW pads on Amazon for $24 shipped. I also saw the centric front and rear pads but have no experience with them. If performance was not a priority, I would then be concerned about noise, for me squealing brakes are worse than dust.
Found more front and rears...
Good point, but i'd be surprised if an OEM type pad squealed, usually it's the hard pads that squeal.
Originally Posted by SimonXJ
Are you going down the Alcon route too?
Not exactly, I bought an XKR Portfolio...
Originally Posted by SimonXJ
I've gone for yellow stuff on the front and I'm pretty impressed. To echo the other sentiments the oem pads. Which I had on for 7k road miles had about 1.5 - 2mm left and were the dustiest things in the world, the yellow stuffs produce what I would call a normal amount of dust that you'd expect from a normal car. I haven't really had a chance to test them fully but in combination with the Pirelli corsas the braking is very good indeed.
Hmmm, I don't like the sound of that, OEM pads consumed in 7k miles?
Originally Posted by SimonXJ
as an aside the discs. ( oem) were a little over halfway between new and min thickness when I was replacing the pads so replaced the discs also.
Wait, so the OEM rotors were half-way gone in 7k miles as well???
Originally Posted by Stuart S
Don't forget my post #12, above, for the link to bargain-priced Alcon rotors while they last!
I know, I bought a set of them
Originally Posted by jahummer
You are welcome to my previous front Yellowstuff pads, I can measure them but they have plenty of wear left, they'll just need a bit of resurfacing.
I am sooo sick of the brake dust from the OEM pads, and presume that the Centric OE Formula pads would produce the same amount of dust. I know that back in 2014 you said the EBC Yellowstuff pads on your XKR produced virtually no dust. Is that still the case? How have the rotors held up?_
Stuart,
Did you try the Yellow Stuff? I bought the rotors last year when you found them on sale and now am ready to put them on with new pads. I found Yellow Stuff for about $450.00 front and back, its higher than others but if I get less brake dust it would be worth it. Did you or anyone else try them? PS just normal driving, no tracking.
Thanks
Jim
Hey Stuart, sorry for the delay. I don't check in here as much these days. (maybe that's a good sign, everything sorted)
The timing of your question is interesting because I just finally ordered a set a couple weeks ago. I don't put a lot of miles on the car and had decided to keep the factory pads until they were due for replacement rather than switching early. During the last service, they advised me that with the fronts at 4mm, it was time. (just under 50K miles)
Did some shopping online and ordered the front/back Porterfield pads from Topbrakes for $279 shipped. Haven't installed them yet but when I get some miles on them, I'll make a point to revisit this thread and report what I find.
Hi AirCav,
Are you happy with the Porterfield? How about the dust?
Thanks
Jim
Hi AirCav,
Are you happy with the Porterfield? How about the dust?
Thanks
Jim
Yes, I am happy with the Porterfields. I'd choose them again.
Compared to the OEMs, there's little noticeable brake dust. Certainly an improvement. No squeal.
My car doesn't get driven very hard, but I would say that braking is at least as good as OEM and maybe better. Would have to find a track to know that for sure.
Mandrake recommended Porterfield brake pads for my non-Alcons, so I installed some a couple days ago. Due to not driving much, I don't have any information yet. They DID get rid of some vibration though, but that was probably due to the rotors which were also changed.
I'm watching this thread.
Stuart,
Did you try the Yellow Stuff? I bought the rotors last year when you found them on sale and now am ready to put them on with new pads. I found Yellow Stuff for about $450.00 front and back, its higher than others but if I get less brake dust it would be worth it. Did you or anyone else try them? PS just normal driving, no tracking.
Thanks
Jim
Jim,
My OEM Alcon pads and rotors are still in good shape, so I'll put up with the dust until it's time for a brake job. I'm watching this thread for experiences with the Yellow Stuff and Porterfield pads. Initial bite and quietness are my primary considerations, then dust.
Thanks AirCav, Stuart and others. I went with the Porterfield pads, they are $200 cheaper than the Yellow Stuff and worked for AirCav. Less dust, good stopping, quiet and I will be happy. Because of everyone's input I am sure it saved me about $1,000.00 off the Dealer price for rotors and pads and I am getting a better product.
Jim
I'll probably get my brother to bring some Porterfields over from the states when he's over in December
AirCav I've checked topbrakes/Porterfield sites and they are not showing compatibility for anything but the fronts? My understanding is that my car has Alcon's all around(same as XK-RS) so are your part numbers AP1356 & AP1355 good for my application?
Cambo, apologies I was led to believe that all XK Dynamic R's had Alcon brakes straight from the XKRS-GT?
I don't pick my new (to me)car up until 1st October, my signature still shows my old XK and I'll update with the XK dynamic R when I have take delivery.
I did ~17'000kms / ~10'500miles on the OEM/Centric rotors and Yellowstuff pads, street driving, with one track day last weekend.
Prior to the trackday the front rotors were ~50% worn with a big noticeable lip on the edge. The front pads looked to be ~50% worn.
And there was quite a bit of dust with the Yellowstuff too, the wheels were needing a clean weekly, if not more often.
Seems to me that the OEM/Centric rotors are too soft for the Yellowstuff pads, rotors wearing just as fast as the pads, if not faster than what I would normally expect.
In the good old days people would expect to go through two sets of pads over the life of a brake rotor, no?
I haven't pulled the wheels off yet to get measurements after the trackday, but you can tell by eye that the brakes took a beating, and replacements for the fronts are on the cards.
So three issues for me;
- Pad options, what have we got?
- Rotor options, what have we got?
- Can we get a "matched" set? i.e. high performance pads & rotors together, because it seems high performance pads are eating through the OEM rotors too quickly.
PADS:
Lot's of low-cost, low-spec cheap options, like from eBay, the Mintex, Ferodo, TRW, etc
The EBC Yellowstuff which are specifically marketed for the Jaguar Alcons
There are a half-dozen Hawk options specifically for the Jaguar Alcons; DTC-60, DTC-70, HPS, HP-Plus, HPS 5.0, Perf. Ceramic, etc
I pulled out my old front pads that came on the car when I bought it (they will be OEM supplied from Jaguar)
The part number on the front pads is PNF4497X831S, and when I search that number with Alcon (it's an Alcon p/n) it lists them being used in the 6-piston Big Brake Kits for Mercedes W204, Ford Focus RS & Mitsubishi Evo 10
The PNF4497X831S pad shape is also referred to as the Ferodo FRP3134 shape.
Once you start searching for PNF4497X831S, FRP3134, or MONO6, CAR97, then a lot more options pop up that aren't specifically for Jaguar, but for the Alcon 6-pot themselves.
At the other end of the scale there are aftermarket rotors quite cheap, like £50 GBP each plus shipping out of the UK.
Could pretty much buy eight or nine pairs of the cheap ones for the same cost as a pair from Spires.
So treating them as consumables, even if I need new rotors after a couple of trackdays, who cares at that price...
And then the Centric ones I got last time, while being far cheaper than genuine Jaguar, to look at they don't seem to be any better quality.
A friend of mine here in Sydney just got a pair of those cheap front rotors for his 09 Portfolio, hopefully i'll get a chance to have a look at them before they are fitted to the car.
If they are "not bad" then I'll probably buy a pair...
What I am really curious to know is if we can somehow buy the 2-piece rotors from Alcon that were on the Palmersport cars...
I might try to get in touch with Swallows in the UK, they have one of the Palmersport cars, perhaps they can arrange something...
Cambo, in my quest for other pad and rotor options I did find other sources for rotors. I currently have the Spires 2-piece in the front and OEM on the back with Pagid RSL29 yellow pads on the front and OEM Ferodo on the rears. The Pagids have great bite for the track without wearing too quickly.
Interesting find, Stuart. The shapes are correct in the first pic but not the second. There’s another list on there for more money without the parking pads.
Will have to look into this further.