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Brake Pads & Brake Fluids

I have to comment on Rodd Sidney's blasting of the Pagid brake pads and
promoting his Friction Tech brand.  I sell (as does Bavarian Autosport) both
the Axxis/Repco/PBR line and the Pagid line.  The Repco's are a fine pad for
street use (Deluxe compound) and heavy street/light track use (Metalmaster
compound). They are fairly dust free compared to the German pads although I
have had brake squeal problems.  The Pagid is an OE pad also available in
several compounds. I stock and sell the "T" series which are an OE
composition which are flame surged to 900C to cook the impurities out of the
compound.  Unless these pads are contaminated in the installation process,
the flame surging should eliminate the chance of glazing....glazing is the
#1 cause of brake noise.  For customers who can't live with the brake squeal
problems, I usually recommend the Pagid line.  Note:  all TUV pads are
mandated to have graphite in them..this is why Pagid, Jurid, Textar and
other German pads which are TUV approved are so dirty.
As to the Friction Tech pads....they are a Raybestos owned company in Canada
that makes pads for several different companies.  They are a decent pad and
very inexpensive...the semi-metallic compound works performs well on my
truck.  Wholesale cost on these pads is $9-12 and retail should be around
$20.
Another thing to look at on brake pads is the co-efficient of friction
indices on the back of the pads...there should be 2 letter ratings such as
"EE", "FF", "EF", etc.  The first letter is the cold temp coefficient rating
and the second letter the hot temp coefficient.  The higher the letters, the
higher the coefficient of friction.  The Repco deluxes are a "FF" as are the
Pagid T-compound pads.  The Repco Metalmasters are a "EE".  I don't know
what the Friction Tech pads are rated.
While on the topic of braking, just a few comments on brake fluids.  I've
been selling the ATE fluids for years...about 3 years ago, ATE came out with
a Super Blue Racing fluid, a DOT 4+ fluid with a 280C dry and 200C wet
boiling point  (these temps are significantly higher that ATE's standard DOT
4). The fluid was called Racing Fluid because it was originally DOT
"unapproved" (make still be) because of its blue color...the DOT mandates
that all brake fluids be yellow in color.  ATE decided to take the blue dye
out and introduce a second line of performance DOT 4 fluids called TYP200.
This has the same high wet and dry boiling points (its the same fluid w/o
the dye) as the Super Blue Racing.  These fluids are excellent for ABS
systems and have a 2-3 year change interval under normal use  (I would still
recommend at least annual changes for cars used in track events).  These 2
fluids have a high Dry/Wet boiling point ratio which reduces their capacity
to absorb moisture...this is important for ABS equipped cars as ABS cycling
pulls in moisture a lot greater (because of fluid agitation) than normal
braking w/o ABS.  Many people will alternate annual fluid changes from
yellow to blue as to distinguish the fresh from the old fluid during the
change process.  The fluids should sell for around $10 per liter and a one
liter can should be enough for a brake fluid change.  SD
Steve D'Gerolamo c/o The Ultimate Garage,  Emerson, NJ  (201-262-0412)