EBC Yellow Pads Installed - Early Review
04-01-2012, 01:01 PM
#1
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 580
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
C300 Sport 6MT
EBC Yellow Pads Installed - Early Review
I've had mildly warped rotors for some time now, so it was a good excuse to upgrade pads while putting new rotors on. At 40K miles, the stock pads still have a good 40% to my eyes, which is crazy to me. No car I've owned to date had stock pads that lasted this long.
I know that most here prefer Akebonos for their low dust as well as OEM/OEM+ braking levels. I've always favored better stopping power at the expense of increased dust. My pad of choice up until now has been the PBR Ultimates, including for my SUV. I kept holding out hope that they'd come out w/ a W204 application, but alas, no dice, hence why I opted for the Yellows.
Physical fitment was spot-on, including the hole and recepticle for the wear sensor. I paired them with OEM rotors (for $80ea.). After initial bedding, I must say that I'm really liking these pads. Stopping power is noticeably better than stock. I still have some squeal, but knew that going in from all the reviews I've read. Most say the squeal disappears after a few hundred miles of normal driving. It was horribly loud the first day, which made me question myself and take everything apart again to liberally re-apply anti-squeal goop, to no avail. After a couple days of driving, the only squeaks left are under very light braking. Absolutely silent otherwise. If the squeaks really don't go away, I'll swap them out for Reds or PBR Deluxe and save the Yellows for possible track days. No feedback on dust levels since we just set an all-time record for March rainfall here so no car washing.
So if you're looking for much better stopping power w/ just a pad change, I'd recommend the Yellows. They are NOT race pads as some would say. They are track/HPDE worthy, but also perfectly fine for the street. Cold stopping power is fine so far. Granted, if I had some emergency slam-on-the-brakes incident coming out of my neighborhood, they probably won't stop as well as OEM or the Reds, but it's not like you have zero brakes until they're warmed up.
ps I tried searching for a front pad/rotor swap DIY, but couldn't find one; granted, brake jobs are not an issue for me, but I was looking for some tips/gotchas specific to our cars, which I didn't find, so found out the hard way; so, I may do a little write-up sometime to save some angst for others
I know that most here prefer Akebonos for their low dust as well as OEM/OEM+ braking levels. I've always favored better stopping power at the expense of increased dust. My pad of choice up until now has been the PBR Ultimates, including for my SUV. I kept holding out hope that they'd come out w/ a W204 application, but alas, no dice, hence why I opted for the Yellows.
Physical fitment was spot-on, including the hole and recepticle for the wear sensor. I paired them with OEM rotors (for $80ea.). After initial bedding, I must say that I'm really liking these pads. Stopping power is noticeably better than stock. I still have some squeal, but knew that going in from all the reviews I've read. Most say the squeal disappears after a few hundred miles of normal driving. It was horribly loud the first day, which made me question myself and take everything apart again to liberally re-apply anti-squeal goop, to no avail. After a couple days of driving, the only squeaks left are under very light braking. Absolutely silent otherwise. If the squeaks really don't go away, I'll swap them out for Reds or PBR Deluxe and save the Yellows for possible track days. No feedback on dust levels since we just set an all-time record for March rainfall here so no car washing.
So if you're looking for much better stopping power w/ just a pad change, I'd recommend the Yellows. They are NOT race pads as some would say. They are track/HPDE worthy, but also perfectly fine for the street. Cold stopping power is fine so far. Granted, if I had some emergency slam-on-the-brakes incident coming out of my neighborhood, they probably won't stop as well as OEM or the Reds, but it's not like you have zero brakes until they're warmed up.
ps I tried searching for a front pad/rotor swap DIY, but couldn't find one; granted, brake jobs are not an issue for me, but I was looking for some tips/gotchas specific to our cars, which I didn't find, so found out the hard way; so, I may do a little write-up sometime to save some angst for others
Last edited by Doanster; 04-01-2012 at 01:20 PM.
