Hi Guys,

I've just received the EBC red stuff brake pads and will be installing them on the XF tomorrow. Will update you how it feels and how much dust it outputs.

I did not buy the brake discs so wonder whether it could warp my current discs? Will try and let you know. Any advice on the discs? Should I have changed the discs as well?

 

I have those pads for 9 months already at the front. My opinion : less dust to 60%; stoping did not improve; I do not like how they stop. I have Acebono on the rear: they are great : no dust ; great stoping performance , I wish they were making pads for the front

 

Ordered them from EBCBrakesDirect and got them in 2 days from the UK.
Pretty fast shipping to Hong Kong. Damn should have tried Acebono then. Anyway I will test these and try another brand next.

 

Discs rarely warp. The symptom is usually caused by uneven deposition of pad material caused by incorrect pad bedding in or by sitting with the brakes on after a very hard drive such as on a track or after a fast bendy road or steep downhill. Actual warping is usually from a brake disc machined or worn too thin and then rapidly cooled by water while hot.

Machining the disc removes the uneven pad material and contributes to the warping myth. machining a warped disc is actually a waste of time and money.

Factory discs will be robust enough for your application. Remember, performance pads don't generate more heat than stock, aggressive driving does that. Heat generated is proportional to rate of speed reduction minus rate of heat dissipation. Higher performance pads are designed to become optimal at higher operating temperatures. Often they do not work as well as stock pads until they get hot enough to reach optimal performance.

There is really no such thing as a brake upgrade, only a move to a brake that can handle more heat. Unless your stock brakes were fading you won't notice any improvement in stopping power with red stuff. Green stuff is more comparable to stock pads I understand.

 

I use the Red Stuff pads and have been happy with them thus far (11 months)

 

Thanks for this explanation. I am happy if it does reduce the dust output considerably. This is the main reason for me getting these Ceramic pads TBH.

Cheers.

 

I have the ebc red stuff pads and rotors all the way around my car, pretty much no dust to speak of. In fact with 8k miles on them the red color of the pad backing plates is still visible in the caliper. No complaints about the stopping power.

 

I don't need stopping power upgrade, but I really need something to reduce the brake dust. The day after washing my wheels they get dirty real quick!

Cheers,

- Will

 

Jagular is right on, although very technical as usual regarding pulsating pedals.

I have used ceramic pads with excellent results. They reduce dust significantly and am sure EBC Red stuff pads are of the highest quality. If your rotors look smooth with out ridges or pitting, a light surfacing to clean them up would be recommended. If they show signs of heavy wear, then replace instead of resurfacing. If replacing rotors solid disc's are perfect unless you are racing or subjecting them to hard braking where significant heats builds up then use drilled disc's. Some people think drilled rotors look cool.

Please review the instructions for the 2004 XJ X358 for suggestions. https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...service-61323/ I am not sure if the parking brake is integrated into the rear caliper like it is on the XJ which adds a little complexity and requires a special retraction tool. Also replacing the the brake fluid and a 4 wheel bleed of the calipers would be a good idea.

If I do this upgrade, I'll write up an instruction guide. After considerable research the EBC RED STUFF #DP32076C FRONT PADS, #DP32059C REAR, appears to be the only 4 wheel ceramic pads available for my 2011 XF-SC 5.0. Shopping Cart all four wheels $231.37 shipped.
I hate that chronic dust on my wheels

 

OK, today I had them put on and I was told you require the tools to remove the pads from the rear calipers. Now I am bedding them in. Initially there is a squeaky sound but the XF is well insulated and you will not be able to hear it unless the Stereo is off and the Window is down. I have not noticed any improvement in the braking but I will be taking it for a long drive tomorrow.
I am going to wash the car and see how well the dust is behaving and let you know. Previously after 1 drive the wheels look very dusty. Hopefully, it can last at least 3 drive

 

An article on the warped rotor myth.

-Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

 

FWIW:
I've been using EBC Red-Stuff on my cars (street and track applications) for many years. While you may not notice a difference in "stopping power" for every-day driving, they are fantastic when you step-up the level of ... er... um.. 'aggression'. :-)

the more heat applied, and the more pedal-pressure, the harder they bite. It is very progressive, and extremely confidence-inspiring when you're at the point where you need it.

I'm describing this poorly. They don't just brake harder 'cuz you push harder: they actually work better under the extreme.

But proper bed-in is very important.

 

This is a brilliant article. Thanks!

 

This is what a nice clean rotor, ready for new pads looks like. Great pic. If they all look like this. The rotor can stay on. Just remove the caliper, retract the piston with the proper tool and slide in the new pads= chronic dust is history.

 

I have it in my rear - If you can get over the initial squeaky noise, its all good...

 

I have a squeaky noise in my rear too! :-)

 

I tried EBC red stuff on my G35 Sedan that attended a few track events. Everything you say about street performace was spot on however,...

At the track these pads did not cut it after three 15 min races spaced through out the day the pads had cooked and deposited pad material all over the rotors. They are a good street pad but not up to track duty.

Below are some pictures the red paint cooked off almost completely. The pad material had air filled hardened bubbles on the edges.

What I found would hold up to a track day and was cheaper then any of the other 'performance' pads were Posi Quiet Ceramic pads they also produced zero dust. They did sqeak really bad when they were cold but for the performace I didn't care. I just checked the website and they do not offer ceramic's for the XF :-( I emailed them and asked if they will start.

 

I think EBC recommends Yellow Stuff for track racing. Red Stuff basically sits in the middle of the range and more suitable for street driving rather than track. Nevertheless thanks for the info, I shall stay off the tracks on these knowing the limits.

 

Definitely a lot less dust after about a week of driving. And it is not the soot black you get from OEM pads. Glad I got the Red stuff. My wheels look cleaner even with heavy breaking.
But it is still bedding in so still squeaky sounds when braking at the moment.

 

I have two sets af Akebonos that are used only alittle. Both came from XK owners that tried them and thought they sucked,(1 from here) And switch to red stuff. I switched myself to redstuff yrs ago after runnning no dusting ceramics and getting tired of the NOTICABLE brake fade and less performance. I have a Gtech meter and its measured better braking with EBC over stock and someother pads the guy didnt remember where he got them. I used lots of pads over the years and have gotten the best braking from OEM pads till I switched to EBC. NO dust and shorter stopping distances(measured) My wheels stay clean for weeks, to bad the car doesnt. yeah track days I would have used the yellow stuff since theyre a TRACK pad(except for trucks) I use yellow stuff on the Nissan truck which is a truck suv pad for heavy weight and towing. I works fantastic except for when I go off road rock crawling as I learned this summer out in Moab Utah. I couldnt get any heat in them driving at 3-5mph and on several very techinal(decending rock walls) I basically didnt have brakes...pucker. Next time Ill switch to a cheap organic(if they still make them for my ap) So Ill have brakes offroad crawling and take them out and throw them away for the ride home, or next time if anything left since they wear very fast