EBC Red Stuff brake pads. Any hands on experience?

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I am getting a lot of mixed reviews online about EBC Red Stuff pads. I am looking for a pad that has some better stopping power and mostly a better initial bite. When I apply the brakes I would like to feel some response. OEM pads for my Honda and aftermarket pads that I have tried have not satisfied me yet so again I am looking. Does any one have experience with EBC pads?
 
I used EBC Red Stuff few years ago, on my euro spec EP3 Type-R. Initial bite was scary when it's cold. It's not bad when it gets hot (on track, too), but definitely not the best brake pad for daily driving.

Have you tried Akebono ACT or ASP series?
 
EBC products are fine, I use them in a lot of motorcycles. My experience is that aftermarket pads generally opt for better bite once they are warm, at the expense of cold response. If you are looking for initial braking power then you might be going in the wrong direction. Go to Tirerack and check out the brake section, where they have ratings for stopping power, noise and dust. I have been using Hawk brand pads for the last 5 years and have been happy. You might want to call Hawk and Tirerack and tell them what your looking for, and what would be appropriate.

I bought lower cost pads for a Saturn Vue at Advance Auto, and they performed terrible: so I went ahead and bought some Hawk ceramic pads. Comparing the cheap pad to the Hawk showed that the cheap pad backing plate was [censored] and out of spec, so I returned them and asked to compare to another on the shelf- it was poorly manufactured as well, if not completely wrong for the application. IIRC it was made in China. Since it was a safety issue, I complained to Corporate and wrote a poor review of the product.
 
Don't know if they offer them for whatever vehicle application you need, but I've found Bendix Fleet MetLok have better initial/cold bite than any other pad I've tried. Reasonable price and their burnishing compound means they don't require bedding. Put 'em on and go.
 
Try Hawk HPS. IMO, they are priced better than EBC RED and perform better. They have a better bite than stock, good for aggressive daily driving and dust a little more than stock.
 
I have them currently on VW Tiguan and had on VW CC.
They are good pads. They will be improvement over Accord pads, there is no doubt about that. The cold performance is OK. Where you might get mixed reviews is that there was different compound on market few years back that had serious shortcomings when it comes to cold performance. VW Tiguan and CC have good brakes from get go, and these Red Stuff improved performance. Now if you really want to improve performance go with EBC Yellow stuff. I had it on VW CC and they bite like nuts. BUT, get ready for BMW like dust on wheels and some serious noise when you apply brake very lightly. But, if you do not mind that, make sure you look in rearview mirror when braking because you might get rear-ended
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Although the Red, Yellow and Green Stuff is pretty decent, I love their Ultimax2 pads which I run across the board. GG rated and R90 approved, great friction hot or cold, super quiet and dust little to none. Based on my driving style, pretty spirited, I couldn't ask for a better pad.
 
Had them on two cars at the same time. Dusted like crazy, low lifespan. Was not impressed compared to stock Brembo pads.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Have you tried the Raybestos EHT? They are usually GG rated and also very affordable.


I had a long thread on here about those, I loved them on my old CTS-V with massive rotors. After about 8000 miles I started to get an incredible pulse when my brakes would start to get warm. And you couldn't scrub the rotor with those pads. Only option was to replace front rotors or put a set of aggressive semi metallics in for session of hard braking.
 
I used them soon after release and was scared when I tried to stop. I don't have big enough cojones to try EBC in my own cars or those I work on ever again.

TMD group make textar, pagid and CL, which covers just about every scenario imaginable.
 
Second the EBC Blackstuff (Ultimax)

I bought a stage 1 kit, two plain rotors, pads, and caliper lube for around $100...
 
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Second the EBC Blackstuff (Ultimax)

I bought a stage 1 kit, two plain rotors, pads, and caliper lube for around $100...



I put Ultimax pads on my sisters Camry. Made in the UK and has GG stamped on them. Got them cheap on Amazon. The initial pedal feel is really good.
Don't be afraid to try them.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Have you tried the Raybestos EHT? They are usually GG rated and also very affordable.

I have those pads on my car right now. When I first installed the pads I was impressed with how well the initial bite was but after they bed in it seems like that initial bite is now gone. Before that I had Stoptech sport pads and the car was scary to drive in traffic because if I needed to hit the brakes hard the car would not stop well at all. I almost hit someone because of this. The Stoptech pads came off the car ASAP.

Some one on another forum suggested new fluid and stainless lines to replace the rubber lines. That has me thinking to go with a Hawk pad, stainless lines, and new fluid.
 
The EBC Yellow ate my rotors in a years time - and I'm stilling working the dust stains off the wheels.
They were strong brakes - but traded for a smaller boat and don't need them.
New rotors have PowerStop Extreme Truck & Tow - not the bite "old yellow" had - but clearly better than stock.
 
Have them currently on the Camry in my sig and they are good for daily commute type driving. Feels the same as oem to me except they dust a little more. If you need better than oem, look elsewhere
 
Originally Posted By: dan_erickson
I am getting a lot of mixed reviews online about EBC Red Stuff pads. I am looking for a pad that has some better stopping power and mostly a better initial bite. When I apply the brakes I would like to feel some response. OEM pads for my Honda and aftermarket pads that I have tried have not satisfied me yet so again I am looking. Does any one have experience with EBC pads?


Just go with Akebono ProAct Ceramic. Basically the best you will find and OEM for many vehicles.
 
See if G-Loc Brakes has anything for your car. They are racing focused but make some amazing street pads. They're a smaller US company so they don't have the marketing dollars of Hawk or EBC but make a product that is far better IMO.
 
I never used the red stuff pads, but I used the green stuff ones once and they were garbage. Never again. I switched to Hawk HPS pads and couldn't be happier.
 
Originally Posted By: dan_erickson
I am getting a lot of mixed reviews online about EBC Red Stuff pads. I am looking for a pad that has some better stopping power and mostly a better initial bite. When I apply the brakes I would like to feel some response. OEM pads for my Honda and aftermarket pads that I have tried have not satisfied me yet so again I am looking. Does any one have experience with EBC pads?


I was looking for something similar, but also wanted less wear and less brake dust compared to semi-metallic pads.

I went with Brembo HP2000, and they have a LOT more initial bite and higher frcition coefficient than the standard Ferodo pads. So much so, that I think the ferodo pads must be low friciton and bite on purpose. It's summer now, but can't say that the pads have poor bite or friction when cold, unlike the Sparco T-51 (Ferodo performance compound). Brembo says they're at their best at 2-300 degrees celcius, but haven't had them this hot yet. They don't make much visible dust, but there's some. Much less than semi-metallic pads though.

superior-friction-brembo-slide.jpg
 
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