Lots of brake threads out there, but I didn't want to hijack.

Very simply... In the opinion of the people here, what is the best brake pad for an 88?
I specifically mention 88s because I believe there are some pads available for the earlier cars that are not available for the 88s, due to their low production numbers.

In another thread that I started about my Silverado, many people mentioned ceramic Wagner Thermoquiet.
Good enough, but the Thermoquiet pads for the Fiero do not mention ceramic.

Right now I have a new set of Monroe pads on the front of my car that are, in a word, poor. They work well enough when they're cold, but fade under stress.
I also have a brand new set of 5 year old Raybestos pads (I forget the part #) still in the box, but Raybestos were dis-recommended by some folks, too.
I have used the Fiero Store CarboMet pads, but they required stupidly high pedal pressure until they were hot.

I'm looking at doing a rotor upgrade in the next few weeks, and don't really want to do a bunch of stuff over.

I am going to flush the system and install high temp brake fluid, when I do the upgrade.

I may have asked this in a previous brake thread, but if I did, it was lost in all the other info.

Anyone? Thanks!

------------------
Raydar
88 Formula IMSA Fastback. 4.9, NVG T550

Praise the Lowered!

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 11-12-2011).]

Soon I will need pads too if I can do the 13" rotors upgrade on my red car. I have now Porterfield that I paid like $180 for the set and at least my experience is they are not even close worth that price. On the white car I put a set of Wagner Thermoquiet after seeing a lot of recommendations here. They are ok but nothing spectacular. The best set I have had is a set that I bought for my ex-yellow car at Autozone which were the cheapest they had at that time. Now these may not be the best for a RFTH event but in my case 99.9% of driving is just pleasure driving and no mountains here in FL
I'm starting to think that I am already too used to the newer cars braking that I can't find any stock Fiero setup to be reasonable.

There is no "best" for any brake pad, just an optimum set of compromises for your driving environment. You are correct that the Wagner Thermoquiets for the '88 Fiero (MX378) aren't ceramic, but I have found them to be an excellent pad for street use on my Formula and my other cars. Wagner seems to offer rebates frequently on Thermoquiet pads, up to $30 per axle; after rebate, I think the last set of MX378s I bought for my Formula cost me about $10 ... not bad for a "premium" pad with a "lifetime" warranty, including wear.

quote Originally posted by Alex4mula: I'm starting to think that I am already too used to the newer cars braking that I can't find any stock Fiero setup to be reasonable.

"Newer" isn't an essential requirement. The "best" brakes in any car I've ever owned, hands down, were the unboosted 4-wheel ATE disc brakes in my '69 Porsche 911S. Stopping power and modulation were perfect in the 911S, and the fact that the car weighed only 2200 pounds (dry) didn't hurt; the parking brake worked well, too. The brakes in most newer cars are just better engineered than they used to be, and pad materials have certainly improved over the years.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 11-12-2011).]

Years ago I had all four calipers for my 88 rebuilt by Master Power brakes. I sent them rebuild kits, new slider kits, and AC Delco Durastop pads. Last year (2010) I got my car out after several years of storage and the rear brakes were noisy everytime I drove it. After some diagnostic work I came to the conclusion that the pads were just noisy due to being a semi metallic pad. This year I replaced the rear pads on the car. I wanted to find some ceramic pads as they seem to be a common pad material for newer cars, but I could not locate any ceramic pads for an 88. Pretty much every pad for the 88s by every company is a semi metallic. The only one I found that was not metallic is the EBC green stuff. They are expensive (I think I paid $86 for one set from Summit), but they claim to be a ceramic/organic hybrid pad. I am of the opinion that these are good pads, mostly becasue they are quiet. No longer do I have a scratchy/grinding sound coming from my rear brakes. This next summer I am also going to replace the fronts with the EBC green stuff pads, and then I would be able to comment on the braking ability of the pads.

For me the only downside of the EBC green stuff pads is that they are painted a brilliant, fluorescent green color. I had to spend a couple hours with my right angle die grinder and several 3M Roloc Scotch Bright pads to sand off the green, then mask of the pads and repaint the backing plates red.

quote Originally posted by lateFormula: .. The only one I found that was not metallic is the EBC green stuff. ..

Do you have the part# for those for the 88? Tks

bump

Looking for a good set myself. For a daily driver with only a little bit of spirited driving.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 11-12-2011).]

The part number for the EBC green stuff pads is DP2325. Same part number for both front and rear on the 88s. Bear in mind that EBC also makes a Red Stuff pad for the 88's which is painted red. The Red Stuff pads are not intended for daily driving or street use, they are intended for racing or track use. The Red Stuff pads require a lot more heat to make them effective, which is why they don't work for street use.

Just did some checking on Rockauto.com. They have the Raybestos professional grade pads on wholesale close out for $18.82 (regular inventory $35.79). To make this offer better Raybestos is offering a rebate for 15.00 per box back (good through 11-31-11). So you could walk away with raybestos best pads for under $4. Thats hard to beat, a little better with the discount. I'm ordering up my set.

They also list bendix, Monroe, Wagoner, Centric, and Delco as available brands. Just thought I'd toss this up for anyone who is interested.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 11-12-2011).]

quote Originally posted by lateFormula: .. The Red Stuff pads require a lot more heat to make them effective, which is why they don't work for street use.

This is what their website says about the red ones. Funny how they rate them by HP. BUt I can't find a PN for the red stuff.

"Premium street sport pad for cars up to 200bhp. General spirited street driving.
Designed for premium street driving offering better brake effect up to 600°C (1100°F). EBC Greenstuff has a high initial brake effect and gives drivers confidence from first application of the brake pedal. There is no such thing as a NO DUST pad. The very nature of how a brake works requires that some dust be generated to avoid rotor vibration (shimmying). The EBC pad creates less dust and dust is more easily washed off than most. All pads create more dust as they are bedding in especially if rotors are worn. Nominal friction coefficient 0.55. For heavier faster cars and vehicles above 200bhp we strongly recommend Redstuff which DOES offer much less dust."

[This message has been edited by Alex4mula (edited 11-12-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Fieroseverywhere: Just did some checking on Rockauto.com. They have the Raybestos professional grade pads on wholesale close out for $18.82 (regular inventory $35.79). To make this offer better Raybestos is offering a rebate for 15.00 per box back (good through 11-31-11). So you could walk away with raybestos best pads for under $4. Thats hard to beat, a little better with the discount. I'm ordering up my set. They also list bendix, Monroe, Wagoner, Centric, and Delco as available brands. Just thought I'd toss this up for anyone who is interested.

FEW thanks for the tip. I snagged me a set at RockAuto.
-Joe

[This message has been edited by josef644 (edited 11-12-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Fieroseverywhere: Just did some checking on Rockauto.com. They have the Raybestos professional grade pads on wholesale close out for $18.82 (regular inventory $35.79). To make this offer better Raybestos is offering a rebate for 15.00 per box back (good through 11-31-11). So you could walk away with raybestos best pads for under $4. Thats hard to beat. I'm ordering up my set. They also list bendix, Monroe, Wagoner, Centric, and Delco as available brands. Just thought I'd toss this up for anyone who is interested.

What was the part number for the Raybestos? The ones that I have are PGD378M.

Edit - Just checked. The PGD378Ms are the ones on closeout. I had pretty good luck with those same pads on my other car.
I may have to give them a try, especially since I have enough for the whole car.

My main concern is that with the larger rotors, each revolution of the wheel will be a bit "longer" to travel than the stock. The opportunity to heat and fade would be greater. Of course, this would have to be offset by the larger rotor to dissipate more heat, and the increased leverage provided by the larger diameter. I'm just not sure in which direction the trade-off would lean.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 11-12-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Raydar: What was the part number for the Raybestos? The ones that I have are PGD378M.

Thats the part number listed. PGD378M. 36 month warranty for regular stock. 30 day for the closeout stock. Rockauto puts stuff on closeout when it's being discontinued or when the packaging changes. In this case it looks like the latter. I'd link directly to them if I could.

The only ones I didn't see is the advanced technology grade. It seems Raybestos doesn't make these in an 88 fiero style pad.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 11-12-2011).]

Cool. Thanks!