Brakes and Rotors

My 45K 98' LSC finally needs some new front brake pads. I don't think the rotors have been cut, but I am considering replacing them as well. I was looking at EBC "Greenstuff" pads and Powerstop zinc -plated cross - drilled rotors. These two items are both available from Summit and are surprisingly inexpensive. My questions are these: Do I even need to replace the stock rotors? They do not seem to be pitted, grooved, tramlined, or otherwise damaged. However, they are over 10 years old and I figured that I should replace / repack the front wheel bearings, so if I have the hubs off anyway, why not upgrade the rotors? I thought new rotors would complement the bedding of the new pads anyway. Anyone have any thoughts on any of these products, or have a recommendation for something better? I assume that our wheel bearings are the same as the other Ford products I have worked on, but since I've never had them off (and this is a Mark VIII where everything is more complicated than necessary!) is there anything of which I need to be made aware in this area? Any feedback at all would be most appreciated as they are starting to squeal, and on top of severely disliking the noise, I want to get it done before the rotors DO get damaged as I plan to keep them for possible future use (or keep them on if everyone thinks I should / tells me I don't need new rotors with my new pads / dont need to pull them off to replace or repack my wheel bearings. Surprisingly, the rear brakes still look brand new, I don't think I'll have to do pads there for another 45K miles! Should I replace / repack the rear wheel bearings while I'm doing the fronts? Thanks in advance for the always sage advice I know is forthcoming!
 
People don't usually repack the front bearings, they are sealed in the hub. At 45K miles, I wouldn't change the hubs unless there was something wrong with them.

It's probably best to replace the rotors and pads but, if the rotors are still good, I'd try just the pads first. I've done that many times.:)
 
What do you mean by "sealed in the hub"? Are the bearings not just inside the front and back of the brake rotor itself behind a little tap in dust shield ring thingy a la 5.0 Mustang? Are you telling me that the rotors come off of the hub as a seperate piece altogether than the hub assembly itself? Like I said, I've never had it apart before, so I dont know these basic things, and as it's cold as eff here in Jersey right now, so I don't wanna do an "exploratory" like I might do in the summer. Also, I forgot to ask earlier, are there any caliper upgrades available that work with the stock asembly?
 
What do you mean by "sealed in the hub"? Are the bearings not just inside the front and back of the brake rotor itself behind a little tap in dust shield ring thingy a la 5.0 Mustang? Are you telling me that the rotors come off of the hub as a seperate piece altogether than the hub assembly itself? Like I said, I've never had it apart before, so I dont know these basic things, and as it's cold as eff here in Jersey right now, so I don't wanna do an "exploratory" like I might do in the summer. Also, I forgot to ask earlier, are there any caliper upgrades available that work with the stock asembly?

No they are not just behind the rotors. The hub is a separate entity and you buy it as a hub/bearing you can't just replace one or the other.

FYI EBC pads can make a bit of brake dust. I would stick to OEM quality replacement parts if you were satisfied with the performance.

45k is also a little early for brake pads. Mine usually last 70-90k.
 
Max is right...EBS is dusty, but the braking is night-and-day. If you want awesome braking at the expense of more dust, Greenstuff is great. However...you'll need to replace your rotors if you use Greenstuff. The stock rotors will warp within weeks due to the increased heat that those pads make. The rotors you suggested in your OP should be fine, though I would opt for slotted rotors rather than drilled.
 
I do not agree with the EBC comments. I have them on The Mark, and they work great, with very little dust - unless you guys are talking about another versions of EBC pads out there that are dusty. This is what I have:


DSCN1577.JPG




If the rivets have not dug into the rotors yet, and you have no shimmy or shake when stopping, I would consider just replacing pads this time around. I did that on the mini van for the first pad change a couple years ago - went with low dust NAPA ceramic pads, and I have had zero problems doing that with over 70k miles on the van now.
 
I do not agree with the EBC comments. I have them on The Mark, and they work great, with very little dust - unless you guys are talking about another versions of EBC pads out there that are dusty. This is what I have:


DSCN1577.JPG




If the rivets have not dug into the rotors yet, and you have no shimmy or shake when stopping, I would consider just replacing pads this time around. I did that on the mini van for the first pad change a couple years ago - went with low dust NAPA ceramic pads, and I have had zero problems doing that with over 70k miles on the van now.

That pic is ambiguous...could be Redstuff or Greenstuff. Which one do you have?
 
I dunno mike how much have you actually driven your mark recently?

Slotted rotors are notorious for high dust also since they "clean" the brake pad surface.
Usually the higher performance pads create more dust and often times add noise.

A regular ceramic pad is generally regarded as the lowest dust solution.
 
Max, I have put some miles on The Mark since the brakes were done. Maybe a couple thousand? These pads are great. Best ones I have ever had. :) Here is what EBC says about them:



http://www.ebcbrakes.com/redstuffinfo.html


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Redstuff Ceramic - 3000 Series - For Highly Tuned Cars and Fast Street[/FONT]

redstuffpad.jpg
(Read Race Warranty Below)​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]High Performance LOWEST DUST rating pads for Prestige imports and faster street driving.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There are TWO reasons our customers love Redstuff, First because they are the lowest dust pad we have encountered by reducing dust by 60-90%. Plus the minimal dust you see is very easily removed with a simple sponge wash as it contains no steel fibre particles as in ALL OTHER pads[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]. Second they brake like an alligator right from cold (as good as Original pads or better) and just get better as they heat up.

This material is a Kevlar® fibre based brake compound enhanced with ceramic particles. If you have previously tried EBC redstuff (pre-ceramic compound) this material is light years ahead. It lasts longer, it brakes better and is quieter. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Being a hard wearing pad, bed-in times can be as long as 1000 miles and drivers must be patient until the pad takes up the shape of their disc (brake rotor). This is a truly impressive fast road pad for repeated heavy braking.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It emits far less dust than semi-metallic pads and has been proven to stop a passenger car/sedan/sport compact/hot hatch 13 metres quicker than OEM pads from 100mph/160kph. Features EBC Brake-In surface coating which conditions rotor surface and accelerates pad bed-in. Nominal friction coefficient 0.5 with approx. 50% dust reduction.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Most EBC Red Ceramic pads are approved to ECE R90 brake safety regulation. For more information about ECE R90 click here.[/FONT]
 
According to the very same EBC site you just linked to, RedStuff are not available for the Mark, only Greenstuff. What gives? Redstuff is what I originally wanted, but i thought they were unavailable.
 
Also, i see Brembo brakes there....You might be able to get RedStuff for those, but for stock applications I think only GreenStuff is available, That or Hawk HPS.
 
Well Mike has Mustang Cobra Brakes on his mark so they are not "stock" hence the availability of red stuff.
 
Get the red EBC pads. :)

Aren't those for autocross? Do they work well cold?

I know for ordinary driving that the Greenstuff is usually preferred because of it's higher friction coefficient. (Read: less pedal force needed to stop the car)
 
Wayne, I have no idea if they are for autocross or not. I went on a recommendation from Aric. I told him I wanted very low dust pads, and this is what he came up with. IMHO, they dust much less than the NAPA ceramic pads, and I thought the NAPA pads were great low dust pads on stock rotors.

They work fine cold, stopping from the posted speeds, but I have not tried a panic stop with cold pads. They did exceptionally well when I brake hard at the drag strip from around 135 mph last November.
 
Isn't it Co-efficient of Friction. ;)

Looks like Smile is a noobie to the Cobra hub swap. :eek:
 
Wayne, I have no idea if they are for autocross or not. I went on a recommendation from Aric. I told him I wanted very low dust pads, and this is what he came up with. IMHO, they dust much less than the NAPA ceramic pads, and I thought the NAPA pads were great low dust pads on stock rotors.

They work fine cold, stopping from the posted speeds, but I have not tried a panic stop with cold pads. They did exceptionally well when I brake hard at the drag strip from around 135 mph last November.

Yes, Green is a very dusty pad, but is the only one available for unmodified Marks.
 
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