Brake Pads

[Grey One]

Hi Guys

Looks like I will need to get my front pads changed soon (now on 43k has them new at 25k) the dealer wants around 550 for just the fronts installed and around 350 for the rears. So two questions:

- are there 'less dusty' non OEM pads anyone has tried/recommends for the ISF and what are the costs (e.g. Green Stuff pads etc)

- has anyone a good experience of any indie/specialist in London/SE to supply and fit these or other types of pad!

Thanks

[stevet]

£900 is about right from a Lexus dealer but double check as that is usually including the disks as well. I know some on here have used ceramic pads from the States that are supposed to be low dust.

[Peter P18]

Hi James.

I am running Hawk ceramic pads on the front, Porterfield road pads on the rear.

Hawks are a lot less dusty than the OEM pads I had on the car before.

You can have them done for a lot less over at Whifbitz in Enfield. Paul Whiffin can handle the purchase through the shop website, Darren will be the mechanic that will do the installation for you.

He is a darn sight more reasonable than Lexus in terms of his hourly rate, and the work will be done to a better standard (Darren treats everyone's cars like their his own).

Here is the link to the shop: http://www.garagewhifbitz.co.uk/lexus/is-f.html

I'd be tempted to go for a full set of the Porterfields. These are very good pads. I had them on my Supra for a while. Really pleased with the bite, longevity, low brake dust etc.

I'm sure Paul could offer you a deal for the discs, pads, fitting?

Just drop him an email. :)

Hope this helps.

[Grey One]

Guys - thanks very much, may give me some good options here.

Cheers

James

[Sully-K]

Hi James,

How did you get on?

I am currently looking for some pads for front and rear. I have ordered discs all round (brembo) I ended up paying £318.00 for all four.

I am still deciding between Hawk, EBC (yellow stuff) and Porterfield.

Any recommendations would be welcome from people that may have any of the above. I know Peter is a big fan of Porterfield and I have read some very good reviews of them on the forums. However, equally I have read good reviews of Hawk and EBC.

I am currently on the second pair of EBC (redstuff) on my Golf R32 and I have been very pleased with them.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

Sully

[Grey One]

Hi Sully

I've deferred doing this until the New Year, but am 99% will go for the Porterfield pads by Whifbitz. I did think about Mintex pads, as I had them on my VX220 Turbo and was very impressed, but owner feedback on them for the ISF online seems quite damning.

Cheers

James

[Damo n]

Hay James, I got Pagid pads for the F in April and they are very good. They were a steal at £36! As far as I remember there was a sale on at the time so I bought 2sets of fronts and a set of front discs for €205 (euros) all in, delivered to Ireland.

I didn't get rear pads as I previously had yellow stuff on all corners and the rear were fine when the front were shot. The Pagid have been on two trip to the ring and always had plenty of feel even after 3straight laps, around 80k of extreme hard braking, if you search through the forum for other brake topics I'm sure the link is there as lots of guys here bought them because the prices were very very good. Hope this helps, Damien.

[Peter P18]

Good to know Damien. :)

That was a bloody good price for two sets of pads and a set of rotors! ;)

Nice to know they hold up well to track conditions as well.

I'm looking at going with the two-piece offerings the US guys are using next. ;)

Lighter than the OEM setup by a fair bit, and last a lot longer.

Only slight concern is they don't recommend using ceramic pads. Hopefully won't generate too much more brake dust!

The Porterfield pads I have at the rear are really nice. Not a lot of dust which is good news.

The Hawk ceramics at the front have really good bite whether cold or warmed up, and are wearing very well (hardly gone down at all despite a few emergency style stops due to idiots pulling out in front of me without indicating! Lol).

I'd not expect anyone to pay the ridiculous stealer prices for brakes, but I think you need to use some common sense when buying alternatives. Generally the old saying 'you get what you pay for' applies, but that deal you got on the Pagids was very good. :)

I can testify the installation/removal is very straightforward (pads or rotors). No need for an overpriced Lexus tech to do them (most good tuners should be able to change them without a problem).

[SiM22]

I asked Lexus Croydon about a month ago how much it would cost to change discs and pads for the front. They quoted £961 (Front Discs/Pads and including Labor).

The price to change back Disc/Pads was £798 (again including Labor). In my opinion a bit too much, prefer to spend a bit more on aftermarket parts and go to a known mechanic who i have been to before.

I ended up buying OEM front discs and Hawk Cermamic Pads for the Front. Back brakes look fine at the moment

[Sully-K]

With the dealers pricing varying so much; does anyone know what the cost is to change discs and pads all round, labour only at lexus?