Organic Brake Pad Opinions

[Cru Jones]

I know opinions are like a$$holes, but in this case the more the merrier. :) I run EBC Pro-Lites (iron rotors) and am not all the impressed with my pads (Ferodo Platinums). I wanted to see what others run (for the street). I've heard the Galfer 1300 or maybe the G1375 would work as well as the Ferodo CP1/CP211 (those aren't all that common in US), but wanted to get anyone's suggestion.

[magg]

What is the problem?

[Neosophist]

nc35?

i run organic pads on the street all the while, their all round performance, kindness to the disc and ability in cold weather is good for my riding.

importnat part is to get the pads bedded in properly for maximum effectiveness. somebody posted up a link recently to an ebc article on bedding in pads

[Cru Jones]

What is the problem?

Inconsistent lever feel. My setup is SP1 calipers, SS lines, Brembo radial m/c and the rotors have been converted to full-floating. Brakes have been bled recently, but even on my commute the lever feel is sometimes inconsistent. Nothing crazy, i.e. not lever to bar, but enough to annoy me that it's not as consistent as I think it should be. Maybe I'm just sensitive or maybe it's something else. Just trying to see what pads people use and what their experiences are.

[lukemillar]

Doesn't sound like the pads are the issue. "sometimes inconsistent" suggest something else. The pad is the pad - it's not going to change from one minute to the next. I use Ferodo Platinums on my 916 and they are great.

The symptoms you describe are more akin to air in the system which could come from a few places. If your bleeding technique is sound then I'd be looking at the m/c seals. How old is the m/c?

[newtothis]

If you mean inconsistent in terms of lever movement before anything happens it could be pad knock-off. Something - usually a non-true disc or a bearing with a bit of play - is causing the pads to get pushed away from the disc surface, so the next time you reach for the brakes there's some slack to take up.

Or it could be the master cylinder seals as luke says.

Air in the system tends to be spngy all the time, not coming and going.

[Cru Jones]

Doesn't sound like the pads are the issue. "sometimes inconsistent" suggest something else. The pad is the pad - it's not going to change from one minute to the next. I use Ferodo Platinums on my 916 and they are great.

The symptoms you describe are more akin to air in the system which could come from a few places. If your bleeding technique is sound then I'd be looking at the m/c seals. How old is the m/c?

The m/c seals are not something you can easily change on a Brembo radial (or at all currently in the US). It's seen its fair share of use, but never been crashed on, so possibly m/c seals. Unfortunately, not an easy thing to verify really.

And the feel isn't a dramatic difference, but more of a subtle difference in terms mainly of initial bite.

[magg]

Run Platinums myself. Initial bite varies depending on temperature, best after warm-up and regular hard use, not as good on first application from cold or after a period of light running. Seems to be nature of beast, my solution will be to ride accordingly until pads are used up and then change to Honda HH rated pads.

[Neosophist]

Doesn't sound like the pads are the issue. "sometimes inconsistent" suggest something else. The pad is the pad - it's not going to change from one minute to the next. I use Ferodo Platinums on my 916 and they are great.

The symptoms you describe are more akin to air in the system which could come from a few places. If your bleeding technique is sound then I'd be looking at the m/c seals. How old is the m/c?

The m/c seals are not something you can easily change on a Brembo radial (or at all currently in the US). It's seen its fair share of use, but never been crashed on, so possibly m/c seals. Unfortunately, not an easy thing to verify really.

And the feel isn't a dramatic difference, but more of a subtle difference in terms mainly of initial bite.

is this is a real brembo master cylinder or one of the ever increasing chinese copies?

With the amount of fake brembo stuff out there now I wouldnt trust anything unless it came from an authorised supplier.. even a shop knocking out calipers and discs that are almost impossible to tell from the real thing.

agree with the comments that inconsisten lever feel isnt a good sign.

when did it start?

[lukemillar]

Run Platinums myself. Initial bite varies depending on temperature, best after warm-up and regular hard use, not as good on first application from cold or after a period of light running. Seems to be nature of beast, my solution will be to ride accordingly until pads are used up and then change to Honda HH rated pads.

OP is running iron discs though so won't the HH's be a bad idea?