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Reporting back on the Mintex 1155/1144 (fr/rr) combo.
Installation:
Rear backing plates are slightly the wrong shape. They needed the bottom corners ground off in order to fit them without rubbing against the hub. The front backing plates were also too big - slightly too wide to fit in the caliper. Having lent my Dremel, I had to file by hand for about 10 minutes per pad. They were still a tight fit so I will remove, inspect and Dremel shortly. The front pads also have less pad material than a Pagid Blue - maybe as much as 10-15% less pad area. Not good given how tiny the pads are anyway. No wear sensor provision front or back, if that kind of thing interests you.
Road Use:
Felt very sharp on the road. No problems with the 1155 disclaimer that said for race use only, do not use on the road! Firm pedal, very sharp, instant response and very good retardation. Excellent. The coefficients of friction for 1155/1144 are virtually identical, so no balance problem, and the 1155s didn' t seem to need any warm up (unlike say Porterfields), so no balance problem even when stone cold.
Bedding in:
Both pads said no special bedding in procedure. I felt uncomfortable with this so tries to at least do a few left foot brakes and firm stops on the motorway on the way to Castle Combe (I only installed them two nights before the track day).
Race track:
I kind of forgot I had new pads, but I did take it fairly easy for my first session (first time at Combe). Given I was using PZeroCs, I always did a 5/10ths first lap, then 8/10ths second lap before really trying - just to make sure the tyres were nice and warm. I have previously found that cold tyres half way round Goodwood in November is a recipe for unexpected oversteer - even on road tyres! To continue, after about 5 laps I started to get a very strong burnt brake smell and a slightly squishy pedal. Apart from the smell, this is however normal for me. The pedal remained slightly squishy for the rest of the day, sometimes a little more, sometimes less, depending on the part of the track. Interestingly, it was firmest immediately after a big brake corner ie., the next corner following a big brake. Pedal was never overly soft in the paddock - which is normally a sign of lots of air in the fluid.
Brake feel was good (apart from the squish). I was able to brake hard with no fear of lock-up. Actually, once the weight transfered, I doubt I could have locked the fronts. The sticky tyres were very grippy under brakes, and when I went for that extra push, the pedal would squish.
Disclaimer:
I found out part way thru the day that I had virtually destroyed one brake duct - I kind of taped it up and kept going. This may have contributed to what I think was a slight overheating problem.
Conclusion:
Hard to say really. No hesitation about using them on the road. I think the jury is still out on track performance. Certainly not much worse at all than my previous Pagids and Porterfields. This is the first time I have used PZeroCs which makes comparison difficult - you can certainly brake harder with them, so your brakes do get a harder work out. They certainly get a pass but not an A+. I will check pad wear before the next report. Next track day is Silverstone on 25th July - and it is no where near as heavy on brakes as Combe. I still need to fit the front block off plates (which I have previously described/recommended) which will increase airflow and cooling thru the front rotors. The brakes will also be bleed and the ducting fixed. Unfortunately due to lack of stock at Recaro, the weight reduction programme has stalled, so the car will continue to be a heavyweight for Silverstone.
Richard
BTW Combe is not the easiest track around. It is very bumpy in the fastest place, just where you want to brake from, in my car, revlimiter in 4th. So take care - I nearly missed the pedal a couple of times as the car was bucking around so much.
Installation:
Rear backing plates are slightly the wrong shape. They needed the bottom corners ground off in order to fit them without rubbing against the hub. The front backing plates were also too big - slightly too wide to fit in the caliper. Having lent my Dremel, I had to file by hand for about 10 minutes per pad. They were still a tight fit so I will remove, inspect and Dremel shortly. The front pads also have less pad material than a Pagid Blue - maybe as much as 10-15% less pad area. Not good given how tiny the pads are anyway. No wear sensor provision front or back, if that kind of thing interests you.
Road Use:
Felt very sharp on the road. No problems with the 1155 disclaimer that said for race use only, do not use on the road! Firm pedal, very sharp, instant response and very good retardation. Excellent. The coefficients of friction for 1155/1144 are virtually identical, so no balance problem, and the 1155s didn' t seem to need any warm up (unlike say Porterfields), so no balance problem even when stone cold.
Bedding in:
Both pads said no special bedding in procedure. I felt uncomfortable with this so tries to at least do a few left foot brakes and firm stops on the motorway on the way to Castle Combe (I only installed them two nights before the track day).
Race track:
I kind of forgot I had new pads, but I did take it fairly easy for my first session (first time at Combe). Given I was using PZeroCs, I always did a 5/10ths first lap, then 8/10ths second lap before really trying - just to make sure the tyres were nice and warm. I have previously found that cold tyres half way round Goodwood in November is a recipe for unexpected oversteer - even on road tyres! To continue, after about 5 laps I started to get a very strong burnt brake smell and a slightly squishy pedal. Apart from the smell, this is however normal for me. The pedal remained slightly squishy for the rest of the day, sometimes a little more, sometimes less, depending on the part of the track. Interestingly, it was firmest immediately after a big brake corner ie., the next corner following a big brake. Pedal was never overly soft in the paddock - which is normally a sign of lots of air in the fluid.
Brake feel was good (apart from the squish). I was able to brake hard with no fear of lock-up. Actually, once the weight transfered, I doubt I could have locked the fronts. The sticky tyres were very grippy under brakes, and when I went for that extra push, the pedal would squish.
Disclaimer:
I found out part way thru the day that I had virtually destroyed one brake duct - I kind of taped it up and kept going. This may have contributed to what I think was a slight overheating problem.
Conclusion:
Hard to say really. No hesitation about using them on the road. I think the jury is still out on track performance. Certainly not much worse at all than my previous Pagids and Porterfields. This is the first time I have used PZeroCs which makes comparison difficult - you can certainly brake harder with them, so your brakes do get a harder work out. They certainly get a pass but not an A+. I will check pad wear before the next report. Next track day is Silverstone on 25th July - and it is no where near as heavy on brakes as Combe. I still need to fit the front block off plates (which I have previously described/recommended) which will increase airflow and cooling thru the front rotors. The brakes will also be bleed and the ducting fixed. Unfortunately due to lack of stock at Recaro, the weight reduction programme has stalled, so the car will continue to be a heavyweight for Silverstone.
Richard
BTW Combe is not the easiest track around. It is very bumpy in the fastest place, just where you want to brake from, in my car, revlimiter in 4th. So take care - I nearly missed the pedal a couple of times as the car was bucking around so much.
