Best brakes for the Ring or any race track are EBC according to Northloop driver Gary Kinghorn

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October 13, 2011

I run a track prepared E30 325i which has recently been repaired after quite a large crash at Castle Combe. When the rebuild was near completion I needed to furnish the car with new brakes. Having previously run EBC yellowstuff on EBC discs I was more than happy when EBC kindly asked me to test both the EBC Blue and new EBC orange pads.

The ideal opportunity came through a track day at Spa shortly after the car rebuild was complete. However the rebuild went right to the wire with the car having only covered 5 miles prior to it going on the trailer ready for Spa. Conscious that the newly fitted Blue pads hadn’t been properly bedded in I ran the car for 30 mins on circuit the night before the main event the next day. During this period I took it steady on the car getting some heat cycles through the brakes and give them a chance to bed in as well as I could.

The following day the brakes gave me confidence as had the Yellowstuff variants I ran previously. I use std calipers, with braided lines, upgraded fluid and a bias valve. The car weighs 1,000kgs and I had not experienced brake fade in the past and was keen for this to continue. I need not have worried because the new Blue pads not only gave great confidence that the pedal would always be there, but I consider they gave greater brake performance over the yellowstuff meaning I could hold on for an extra second before jumping on the middle pedal. This continued through the course of the day. Another surprising fact was how well these pads performed from cold. I was very impressed.

A good brake set up for me consists of one which stops/slows the wheels as quickly as possible, without causing locked wheels, doing this consistently for a number of events, while preventing excessive wear to brake discs and without substantial, aggressive, paint eating brake dust. I’m pleased to say the EBC Blue pads achieved all of this, very much to my satisfaction.

Back home the brakes were checked for wear and after 200 track miles I was very happy to hear they had only worn by approx 25%.

The next time I use the car on track I will again use the Blue pads. This will be on a tighter, shorter UK circuit and I’m looking forward to seeing how they hold up during this different test.

And when the Bluestuff finally expire I’m forward to seeing how the Orangestuff fair. A hard act to follow I think.

Gary Kinghorn

Owner to Northloop.co.uk