Brake Pads & Rotor Replacement Project
#1
08-11-2007, 05:14 PM
Brake Pads & Rotor Replacement Project
I thought i would drop by and give my impressions on the results of my most recent project on the ol XK8 - brakes. The OEM brake pads were generating a TON of brake dust, and I was wiping the rims on a daily basis after just a 20 mile drive to and from work. too messy, so i had to do something for it, and of course, if I can do it myself, I will.
(1) Replace front rotors
Front rotors were pretty worn, so this was a gimme when going with new brake pads. I thought about going slotted or drilled, but then I thought about my'00 Jeep Gr Cherokee, which I upgraded once to both slotted and drilled rotors, and when you rolled the window down, you could hear the very cool sound of the pads against the slots....although I enjoyed that sound, on a vert...well, it just didn't seem appropriate. So, went with the simple solid rotor from EBC <- (edited from Brembo)
(2) Replace front brake pads
I ordered Akebono EUR394A pads to go up front. The swap was effortless.
(3) Replace rear brake pads
The rear rotors were just peachy, plenty of thickness left on 'em. My first attempt at the replacement brake pads were Akebono EUR592s, however, these were definately the WRONG type. (I gotta give a shout out to the online web advisor at www.autopartswharehouse.com for selecting the wrong ones for me). After that, I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone on the proper Akebono part number for the rear. Instead, I went with the EBC red stuff pads, at least that was a correct fit for this end of the car. The rotors were not turned in the back as their condition was very good, and the EBC's pride themselves on setting the pads with little effort from the owner.
The Results
The look of the front remain unchanged. However, the rear has a new 'flair' to it. The red pad looks good on this wheel. (keep scrolling down for the performance part of the project)
Performance
The front brake performance seems unafected by the new pad installation. At this point, new Akebonos up front with the new Brembo rotors and the existing OEM pads still on the rear.
A week later, when the EBC reds were installed, there was a dramatic increase in braking performance. I have no idea how or why, but she stops VERY fast and very smooth. EBC definately an upgrade for braking.
Brake Dust (the reason why I started this venture in the first place)
Akebonos are the best replacement pad I have ever had!! in spades! It cut the brake dust by over 75% ... EASY!
BUT, once the rear pads were replaced with the EBCs, I noticed increased brake dust on the rear wheels. HUH?? They are advertised to produce about 1/2 of the OEMs, but on this particular application, I saw a slight increase. This is odd, knowing that the front takes 60% of the braking burden.
In the end, the performance improved with a higher dusting in the rear. Now I only wipe the rear wheels every day, and the front wheels about once every 3-4 days. Lesson learned.
Update -- The brake dust on the rears were killing me, and to be honest, it wasn't any quieter than the original pads either. So, I emailed Akebono to find out what the correct replacment pads would be. Less than 24hrs later, I got a response back from the Catalogue Manager.
Great customer service. I ordered the pads, and I should have the new ones on in a couple weeks.
** 10/25/07 Update **
Akebono EUR688 pads did not initially fit my rear rotors. [sm=chairshot.gif]
The 3-pronged clip that inserts into the caliper is too wide. The single prong is fine, but the side clips are separated too much, even if 'pinched' to their closes spacing. New plan...going to cut these off at the base and have them re-welded on a little closer.
Pics to follow when I get my new camera next week. Stay tuned.
I did turn the rear rotors on this round of work, which were not done when I first started this project with new pads. They felt fine to the touch, but I wanted to make sure that wasn't contributing to the noise being generated with these Red Stuff pads. It helped a ton! The LR must have been just a bit uneven across the pad area. Now it rarely makes noise, but the dust is still excessive.
** 11/12/07 Update **
Just to show the difference in the brake dust generated by the Akebono's and the EBC RED Stuff pads, here are a couple shots taken after 7 days of typical daily driving to and from work.
FRONT (Akebono) REAR (EBC Red Stuff)
[size="2"][font="arial"][color="#cc0000"]
You can clearly see the difference in brake dust generated. So, off the EBC's came...as I had modified my EUR688 pads to fit.
So, wha'ts the problem with the EUR688's that come straight from the factory, supposedly fitting my rear calipers? The side 'clips' that fit into the caliper were too far apart, so I used a simple dremmel tool with a cutting wheel, and continued the cut to the center further, about 6-7cm. At first I feared I would have to cut off the clips and re-weld them to the baseplate, but once I had cut into the center, the clips were able to be bent closer to the center. Perfect!
As you can see, the modified clips can then be bent further towards the center.
[color="#000000"]The newly modified clip now barely fits into the caliper without any other
(1) Replace front rotors
Front rotors were pretty worn, so this was a gimme when going with new brake pads. I thought about going slotted or drilled, but then I thought about my'00 Jeep Gr Cherokee, which I upgraded once to both slotted and drilled rotors, and when you rolled the window down, you could hear the very cool sound of the pads against the slots....although I enjoyed that sound, on a vert...well, it just didn't seem appropriate. So, went with the simple solid rotor from EBC <- (edited from Brembo)
(2) Replace front brake pads
I ordered Akebono EUR394A pads to go up front. The swap was effortless.
(3) Replace rear brake pads
The rear rotors were just peachy, plenty of thickness left on 'em. My first attempt at the replacement brake pads were Akebono EUR592s, however, these were definately the WRONG type. (I gotta give a shout out to the online web advisor at www.autopartswharehouse.com for selecting the wrong ones for me). After that, I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone on the proper Akebono part number for the rear. Instead, I went with the EBC red stuff pads, at least that was a correct fit for this end of the car. The rotors were not turned in the back as their condition was very good, and the EBC's pride themselves on setting the pads with little effort from the owner.
The Results
The look of the front remain unchanged. However, the rear has a new 'flair' to it. The red pad looks good on this wheel. (keep scrolling down for the performance part of the project)
Performance
The front brake performance seems unafected by the new pad installation. At this point, new Akebonos up front with the new Brembo rotors and the existing OEM pads still on the rear.
A week later, when the EBC reds were installed, there was a dramatic increase in braking performance. I have no idea how or why, but she stops VERY fast and very smooth. EBC definately an upgrade for braking.
Brake Dust (the reason why I started this venture in the first place)
Akebonos are the best replacement pad I have ever had!! in spades! It cut the brake dust by over 75% ... EASY!
BUT, once the rear pads were replaced with the EBCs, I noticed increased brake dust on the rear wheels. HUH?? They are advertised to produce about 1/2 of the OEMs, but on this particular application, I saw a slight increase. This is odd, knowing that the front takes 60% of the braking burden.
In the end, the performance improved with a higher dusting in the rear. Now I only wipe the rear wheels every day, and the front wheels about once every 3-4 days. Lesson learned.
Update -- The brake dust on the rears were killing me, and to be honest, it wasn't any quieter than the original pads either. So, I emailed Akebono to find out what the correct replacment pads would be. Less than 24hrs later, I got a response back from the Catalogue Manager.
Thanks for your inquiry. EUR592 pads fit Brembo calipers. Except Brembo calipers uses EUR688. EUR688A is the same shape but a different thickness. Your 2003 XK8 uses Jaguar JLM2209 which is EUR688.
Denis Chadwick
Catalog Manager
Akebono Brake Corporation
310 Ring Rd.
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
270-234-5540 Office
270-268-8125 Cell
dchadwick@akebono-usa.com
Denis Chadwick
Catalog Manager
Akebono Brake Corporation
310 Ring Rd.
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
270-234-5540 Office
270-268-8125 Cell
dchadwick@akebono-usa.com
Great customer service. I ordered the pads, and I should have the new ones on in a couple weeks.
** 10/25/07 Update **
Akebono EUR688 pads did not initially fit my rear rotors. [sm=chairshot.gif]
The 3-pronged clip that inserts into the caliper is too wide. The single prong is fine, but the side clips are separated too much, even if 'pinched' to their closes spacing. New plan...going to cut these off at the base and have them re-welded on a little closer.
Pics to follow when I get my new camera next week. Stay tuned.
I did turn the rear rotors on this round of work, which were not done when I first started this project with new pads. They felt fine to the touch, but I wanted to make sure that wasn't contributing to the noise being generated with these Red Stuff pads. It helped a ton! The LR must have been just a bit uneven across the pad area. Now it rarely makes noise, but the dust is still excessive.
** 11/12/07 Update **
Just to show the difference in the brake dust generated by the Akebono's and the EBC RED Stuff pads, here are a couple shots taken after 7 days of typical daily driving to and from work.
FRONT (Akebono) REAR (EBC Red Stuff)
[size="2"][font="arial"][color="#cc0000"]
You can clearly see the difference in brake dust generated. So, off the EBC's came...as I had modified my EUR688 pads to fit.
So, wha'ts the problem with the EUR688's that come straight from the factory, supposedly fitting my rear calipers? The side 'clips' that fit into the caliper were too far apart, so I used a simple dremmel tool with a cutting wheel, and continued the cut to the center further, about 6-7cm. At first I feared I would have to cut off the clips and re-weld them to the baseplate, but once I had cut into the center, the clips were able to be bent closer to the center. Perfect!
As you can see, the modified clips can then be bent further towards the center.
[color="#000000"]The newly modified clip now barely fits into the caliper without any other
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IXLLER8 (09-15-2018)
#2
08-11-2007, 06:37 PM
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08-11-2007, 09:03 PM
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#6
08-11-2007, 10:53 PM
RE: Brake Pads & Rotor Replacement Project
@93 - yes, those are stock 2003 rims. The only 19" rims in the XK8 family, i believe, without going to XKR wheels. Apollo style....by far my favorite.
@bigdreams - nothing against the manufacturer, but I have, and I doubt I will ever own a Honda. The h20 in the name is a nick for water...i do civil engineering with water transmission and treatment...ipso-facto, waterboy.
I hope the post was informative for you do it yourselfers. Matt
@bigdreams - nothing against the manufacturer, but I have, and I doubt I will ever own a Honda. The h20 in the name is a nick for water...i do civil engineering with water transmission and treatment...ipso-facto, waterboy.
I hope the post was informative for you do it yourselfers. Matt
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08-12-2007, 08:40 AM
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08-12-2007, 05:34 PM
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#13
11-12-2007, 12:02 PM
RE: Brake Pads & Rotor Replacement Project
By the way, I purchased my EUR688 pads from FCP Groton, LLC in Groton CT http://www.fcpgroton.com
toll free 877-634-0063 - $85 shipped
toll free 877-634-0063 - $85 shipped
#14
12-04-2007, 06:37 PM
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RE: Brake Pads & Rotor Replacement Project
H20,
Great article and very helpful. I too just bought an '03 XK8 and will do the brakes this weekend. Took your advice and got the Akebono's all around. I could never find Brembo front rotors so I am going withthe Pilenga ones instead. Thanks for the pics on the clip mod too. I contacted Akebono too and they had no info on your mod at all.
I have not collected many Jag tools yet and my '65 BJ8 Healey does not use any allensocket fasteners. Do you know what size socket is required to remove the calipers? I think it is 11mm, but not sure.
I also saw you are in Fort Worth. So am I and I think our cars are identical, Quartz with Dove Grey interior! Ilive right by TCU, maybe our paths will cross soon.
Thanks,
Doug
Great article and very helpful. I too just bought an '03 XK8 and will do the brakes this weekend. Took your advice and got the Akebono's all around. I could never find Brembo front rotors so I am going withthe Pilenga ones instead. Thanks for the pics on the clip mod too. I contacted Akebono too and they had no info on your mod at all.
I have not collected many Jag tools yet and my '65 BJ8 Healey does not use any allensocket fasteners. Do you know what size socket is required to remove the calipers? I think it is 11mm, but not sure.
I also saw you are in Fort Worth. So am I and I think our cars are identical, Quartz with Dove Grey interior! Ilive right by TCU, maybe our paths will cross soon.
Thanks,
Doug
#15
12-04-2007, 08:46 PM
RE: Brake Pads & Rotor Replacement Project
Hey Doug, glad you found the article of some use. Good luck on the project this weekend. I think it was a 7 mm allen socket actually, but really don't recall exactly. Sorry. I have the 7 and 8 in the tool box, and cant remember which one. Of course, if it ends up being an 11, i'm gonna feel pretty dumb. By the set, and you won't have to go back to the store. [sm=smiley2.gif]
Mine is platinum silver thankfully, I would hate to think i had a twin in the same town. lol. Quartz is pretty though, i'll keep an eye out for you around town. I work off of hulen and 20, so drive up that way all the time.
Let me know how your project goes!
Mine is platinum silver thankfully, I would hate to think i had a twin in the same town. lol. Quartz is pretty though, i'll keep an eye out for you around town. I work off of hulen and 20, so drive up that way all the time.
Let me know how your project goes!
#16
12-18-2007, 08:22 PM
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RE: Brake Pads & Rotor Replacement Project
H20,
Here is another update.
Did the brakesa couple of weekends agoand it was very easy. Been driving it daily and practically no dust. When I got the rear Akebono pads, the box was marked as EUR-688-A and they fit perfectly without any mods. Maybe Akebono figured it out and rolledthe dash number!
Tahnks for your advice,
Doug
Here is another update.
Did the brakesa couple of weekends agoand it was very easy. Been driving it daily and practically no dust. When I got the rear Akebono pads, the box was marked as EUR-688-A and they fit perfectly without any mods. Maybe Akebono figured it out and rolledthe dash number!
Tahnks for your advice,
Doug
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IXLLER8 (09-15-2018)
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