My Bendix Ultimate experience

[Yuan]

Hi all, need some advice and help.

 

Recently I had an encounter at Harbour Front with my ride. I was ferrying 3 fellas in my ride. 2 of them quite big size and then the last one quite medium built. The one sitting next to me was very big size. My car was one car length away from another vehicle in front when it e brake. I jam brake and discovered to my horror that my brakes took a longer time to stop.....In fact, only approximately a palm separate me and the vehicle in front. Still managed to stop in time but my heart almost flunked out.. ..This was shared in one of the threads in this forum.

 

Realised from this incident that there is not much bite on my brake, I decided to go for aftermarket brake pads. I went and got myself Bendix Ultimate. It is good. Excellent stoppage distance. But notice some lines on my rotors.

 

Here comes the query. Every time I started my ride and move it from stationary position, ie out of parking lot, the initial bite of Bendix Ultimate was v soft. I need to depress my brake pedal a few times as I was moving out to get the bite. Been using it for about 1 week plus about some 200 Km liao. Still like this. Went to my regular mechanic to service my brakes and change brake fluid. Improved a bit but still need to pump the pedal to get the bite. Is this normal?

 

I heard that such performance brakes are for high speed braking and may not be effective for bumper to bumper braking. Is this true? I realised the braking feel is different and very grippy. The ABS not so easily activated.

 

Thank You for your advice and help.

[Galantspeedz]

if i not wrong, i think for performance brake pads, they have to be heated up to certain temp before being effective.

[Mzrmazda3]

I have heard similar opinions too

[Sony]

Look at the temp of the brake pad..

 

I think you got the performance brake pad, thus it doesn't perform that well under normal driving condition.

 

I might be wrong, so talk to your experience and trusted workshop to find out more.

 

Frankly, go back to OEM might be better for you.

[Galantspeedz]

i should think so but i not very sure cause i dun use brake

[Galantspeedz]

Above all else, there are two main factors to consider when choosing high performance brake pads for your car - their coefficient of friction and operating temperature range. Put simply, the coefficient of friction is the frictional resistance (drag) of the pad against the rotor - which is very important when you want to rapidly slow the rotor (and therefore the car). The higher this number is, the greater the pads' ability to grip against the rotor. As a guide, a good pad usually has a co-efficient of friction of around 0.45-0.5 when it's working at the temperature where it's most suited.

 

Brake Pad Bedding In

Brake pads and rotors should always be initially bedded to condition the pads and rotor surfaces for racing use. This "bedding in" procedure will result in greater performance, longer wear, and less likelihood of rotors cracking due to thermal shock. To bed in brake pads, start by pumping your brakes at a very low speed to assure proper brake system operation. In a safe location, make a series of progressively harder stops from moderate speeds until some brake fade is experienced. Allow brakes to cool while driving at moderate speeds, avoiding use of the brakes. The brake pads should now be properly bedded in.

 

Pre-Bedded Pads

 

Some manufacturers (such as Wilwood) have a bedding in service that is performed on a computerized dynamometer to ensure a consistent bed across each pad set. This is generally only available on extra-high performance brake pads, where "ready-to-race" pads are valuable during an event.

 

 

Having a set of pads with the correct temperature range is also critical. But it's very important to select a pad that has both the right minimum and maximum temperature ratings. For example, there's no point in fitting pads on a street car that will only really start working at over 100 degrees C - 'cos what happens when you pull out from your house and need to stand on the (cold) brakes? They don't work very well. Further to this, it's a good idea to use fairly low temperature pads on a road car or else excessive pad wear, noise and abnormal rotor wear may result. On the racetrack, however, brake temps of around 600 degrees C (often more) are generated at the rotor - and it's imperative that the pad can maintain effectiveness under such demanding conditions.Otherwise, a major loss of braking power will result as the pad "glazes" and simply slides over the disc rather than biting against it (which isn't what you want at high speeds!).

 

But which braking temperatures are particular to your car? There are three ways to find out.

 

You can measure braking temps with a brake temperature pyrometer, stick-on caliper temperature strips, or (most simply and cheaply) some temperature sensitive paint. There are three different paint colours available:

 

Green - Turns to White at 430°C.

 

Orange - Turns to Yellow at 560°C.

 

Red - Turns to White at 610°C.

 

Watching to see if any of these paints discolour on the edge of your brake rotor will give you an indication of your braking temps.

 

But now that we know the fundamentals of choosing pads, it's important to bear in mind that "experimentation is often necessary to determine the optimal brake pads for an application". Variables such as caliper size, rotor type, rotor operating temperature, operating duration, and driving habits all affect brake pad performance. So, unfortunately, it's often going to be a case of "suck it and see.. ".

 

taken from http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_351/article.html

[Sony]

Bendix Ultimate is a high performance brake pad that offers the highest level of braking performance in terms of reduced stopping distances, excellent pedal feel and resistance to high temperature fade. Developed originally for use as Original Equipment (O.E) on high performance vehicles, Ulitmate is ideal for driving at freeway speeds and hard braking. Pre-conditioned during manufacture so there is no bedding-in required, Ultimate is unmatched for sheer stopping power. Ultimate should be fitted front and rear to maintain balanced driving between all four wheels.

 

 

Google have brought out the above information.

 

 

If you want normal braking to be effective such as bumper to bumper, save your money and go for normal ones like Bendix General CT

[Yuan]

  Quote

if i not wrong, i think for performance brake pads, they have to be heated up to certain temp before being effective.

 

That is why I suspect. The temp range is from 0 to 500 degrees.

[Yuan]

Honestly I find that using back original pads more effective. And more confident in my bumper to bumper situation.

[Yuan]

  Quote

I have heard similar opinions too

 

That is what I suspect.

 

But there are others who use bendix ultimate on stock rotors for street driving and I have not heard of such experiences before.....

[Mzrmazda3]

  Quote

i should think so but i not very sure cause i dun use brake

 

[Sony]

There's good reason why it's OEM.. people chose to pay more for so-called performance product but can they perform up to the same standard?

 

I think you are better off putting your money to other usage..

 

BTW, check on your rotor when you change your pad

[Yuan]

Good thing is that I got these pads which is relatively cheaper. That makes the price between these Bendix and my genuine pads not much difference.

 

My rotors were checked by my regular mechanic and he said they were okay. Not very badly affected.

[Sony]

then most likely it's your original that is expensive..

 

btw.. care to share the price?

[Yuan]

Actually it is the other way round.

 

I will pm you the price.

[Elfenstar]

Still worried ah??? what weird is that its only when you start-up that you have that issue.. hmmz.. actually is it all the time when you start up or only when you leave the car overnight or something similar

[Fitvip]

I also switched to Bendix Ultimate Gold when my stock brake (lousy) pads worn out! Already 27K kms, I don't encounter any problem. Bendix is really effective and not expensive . Only more pad dust!

[Yuan]

It is all the time. The moment the car is stationary and moved from stationary, I need to depress a few times to get the bite and then the car then can brake effectively.....