tr7triumph.com

I've seen may posts regarding brakes over the last few years. I know a lot of you, especially with V8's changed to Capri or Princess systems, some with larger servo's and wheels. My TR7 is standard, I've been rebuilding it over the last 3 years to the point that it drives really well, decent GAZ shocks with standard springs, polybushed etc; but, as is well known the standard brakes just don't give confidence, especially when tested. Last year I drove around a bend at 50mph to find roadworks and a queue of cars directly as I turned the bend. Well I stopped OK but only after going the wrong side of the road (luckily it was clear!) just in case.
I would rather keep the car as standard as possible and so using standard size "direct replacement" parts seemed easiest to me, but what to choose? I Just need an improvement of 15% say, just to give a better bite.
There is a lot of discussion about Green stuff pads, some say good some not so, but a lot of posts are quite old now and could there be new or better materials used today? So with birthday and Christmas approaching at the end of last year I took advice from EBC and asked my kids to buy me EBC GD Discs with Yellow stuff pads. Interestingly when I spoke to them they advised yellow over green for standard road driving.
Well as usual it's taken a while to get around to fitting them, (winter job was new heater Matrix) but now it's done I have to say initial feeling is very good. I've only done about 30 miles and not used them hard so far and probably need a few hundred miles to fully bed in but they seem to do the job well, much more bite and stopping when foot hits the pedal.

In will post an update in a few weeks but it occurs to me that others too may be in a similar position considering which options to take so I thought to put this one out there so to speak.

Hi Tim,

my wedge was my daily driver back in the mid 80's. I hated the brakes, they inspired no confidence. Under heavy braking in the dry they would fade away badly, in the wet the front would lock up too easily. Emergency braking scared the pants off me. Uprated pad compounds available at the time made little difference. The 1275 GT Mini shared the same small brake pads....... I changed the front brakes to vented 2.8i Ford Capri spec + adapters from S&S. it completely transformed the braking albeit with longer pedal travel.

Into present day and with a V8 I've run the same green stuff 2.8i pads for several years. Yellow stuff was advertised closer to a race / track day car than a fast road one. The Green stuff made strange noises bedding in but suit me as they're fade free, work from cold and progressive. I may give yellow stuff a go when they need replacing.

Adam

Just bear in mind that you can't over brake a car

Biggest problem with the original set up is that it is rather under engineered to say the least
The disc are to thin and the pads to small. Which means small contact area, thus high temperature build up.
And with the little mass of the discs themselves heat transfer is hampered.
So from that point of view using yellow stuff pads with the original brake set up, might be a good choice.

I have used green stuff pads in combination with the Ford based vented front brakes from S&S. Worked fine.
The only time they faded was after two laps of the (in)famous Nordschleife
But currently running old school Mintex M171 in them (they are the predecessor of the current Mintex M1144 pads).

As a little aside to show the meaning of half decent brakes.
This is how Mintex M1144 pads looked after two trip into the Alps with the DHC.



They indeed got very hot despite the fact the car is fitted with vented discs. But their performance remained brilliant.
With the original set up I think I would have crashed half way down the first mountain pass

I have yellow stuff in my V8 with Capri brakes and they we a major step up from the standard Ferrodo that were in. Initial bite is more inspiring and the stopping power gives way more confidnce.

Ferodo DS2500 just cant be beaten in my opinion..they just don't fade
Mind you they do come at a price

I fitted new discs, [rotors to some], & greenstuff pads to a fully rebuilt brake system on the 7, 14 or 15 years & 70000 some kilometres ago. They are still there. The car was daily driven for over 10 years, & now is a club car.

I don't use brakes hard in road driving, preferring to slow down gently, then corner & accelerate hard, well hard for a 7. Of course it doesn't stop as well as the 8 with it's 4 pot front & disc rear, & neither stop as well as the Honda S2000, its big brakes.

However in the only 2 emergency stops in this time, one dry, one quite wet, the car was stopping as well as it's rather mundane 13" rubber would allow, just nipping a wheel a couple of times. I would fit better tyres, if they were available in 13" before changing the brakes. I have had the fronts gently smoking, with no apparent loss of stopping power, after some spirited driving on a couple of times on club runs.

Both the 8, & the Honda, with much more, & better rubber will stop somewhat better than the 7, & I personally doubt any equipment change would make much difference to the 7, unless the wheels were seriously upgraded to allow better rubber to be fitted. As I like the way my 7 handles on our less than great country roads on it's 13s, I see no point in changing the brakes.

If you drive fast, & brake hard, you will need to upgrade your brakes, & that means at least 15" wheels to fit over them, & 16" at least, if you want access to the better rubber compounds.

Just be careful of polished alloy wheels, if you have them. Green stuff dust eats into alloy if wet, & allowed to stay on the wheel.

Hasbeen