EBC Discs and Red Stuff

[RGS3]

Hello all, anyone out there replaced their stock discs for the EBC turbo groove ones ? I replaced mine (all round) a couple of weeks back along with Red Stuff pads. Since then I've done about 250 miles. When braking I'm hearing quite a bit of noise from the pads (whoosh type noise, more of a hum on hard braking which actually sounds quite good) - I was assuming that this was because of the dimples and grooves - am I right ? Should I expect them to quieten down as they bed in or is this what you'd expect ?

I also hear a slight rubbing sound when travelling (without braking) - I'm guessing thats just the pad rubbing till its worn a bit - or do you think its been fitted badly ? Fraid I'm not one to mess with brakes myself so had someone else do it

I'm not normally too heavy on the brake pedal and have been wearing them in gently with the odd hard brake recently so maybe they're not bedded in yet. Many thanks for any advice.

 

[Khufu]

I had the green stuff on my old BMW years ago and they sounded like the engine of a plane when it was landing LOL I quite liked it. I dont remember them rubbing when not being applied.

 

[FactionOne]

Hiya,

I've got Turbo Grooves and Green Stuffs fitted to mine; and yes I get some interesting noises depending on how I'm braking... Under normal braking I get what I suppose you could describe as a whoosh (but in reverse and with perhaps a slightly rythmic sound in there too) - I'd say yes, if it's this noise you're hearing it's caused by the spots and grooves on the discs. Also, under harder-braking I get the low-hum noise too (and as khufu, I quite like it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif).

A friend of mine has some Turbo Grooves too and his car sounds almost identical.

I've also had some rubbing noises from my brakes too - once casued by the pads on one side ever-so-slightly rubbing the disc because the piston in the caliper wasn't retracting its full-travel. The second time was caused by a combination of circumstances your S3 can't share (because of technical differences) aggrevated by the fact that the clowns who replaced the expired caliper cross-threaded one of the guide pins on the opposite side caliper carrier (which is integrated into the wheel-bearing housing on my crappy FS3 brake setup) when fitting the new discs - leading to the caliper moving around! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Like I say, the latter can't really affect your S3, so it's not really worth going into too much detail; and the former is quite rare, especially on a car as young as yours. It might be worth having a look to see how clean the caliper looks in general though; and if the pads are seated properly on their clips and clear of the disc. The easiest way is probably to get a strip of 80g/sm paper (copier paper) and try to slide it between the two (as you can normally do it quite easily this way without having to jack her up and take the wheel off).

Anyway, don't worry about the 'under-braking' noises; and I hope you get to the bottom of the rubbing without too much heartache!

Regards,

Rob.

 

i get the hum under braking too....

I work shifts, used to come home at 4am after a night shift on a private road on the way home from work and emergency stop from 140 just to hear the noise /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif

sounds great IMO

 

[Grant]

Nothing to do with your problem, but are you using Red Stuff at the back as well? I was told that you should only use Green stuff on the rear.

 

[imported_MancheS3er]

Has anyone got a photo of the EBC turbo groove discs fitted ?

 

[JamS3]

RGS3 Iv'e got exactly the same set up as you on my S3.

The noise is quite normal due to the upgraded discs and pads.

Imola S3 I thought red stuff were recommended all round due to the weight/power of the S3??? Was told green stuff couldn't cope??

 

[Grant]

The majority of the braking occurs at the front - over 200bhp requires Redstuffs.

However, the rear do not generate the same heat as the front, therefore only Greenstuff are need to get a good enough bite for the handbrake.

So I was told anyway!

 

[RGS3]

All - thanks for your comments so far.

Imola S3 - yes I've got the Red Stuff's on the back. I thought they may as well be matching colours

I'll try and add a couple of pics of the discs/pads - they're quite subtle (which is the way I like it) but do look a bit more special than the stock ones.

 

[RGS3]

Here's the pics (needs a wash)

 

[C_Audiboy]

Do the pad wear indicators still work on the EBC front pads too?

 

[Leon]

I've got the same setup as you RGS3. Re the rubbing noise when driving I had a similar issue, although I had new tyres fitted at the same time and I wasn't sure if it was these. It was more of a metallic ticking noise if that makes sense, not a constant one which made me think it was the tyres.

However, I noticed that when dabbing the brakes the noise sounded the same as when driving? Either way, I only noticed last weekend, after doing around 1200 miles on the new brakes that the noise has now gone.

Be interesting to hear what you think of the setup anyway. I've not been overly impressed with the performance, although I do think they look great!