Brake Pad and Rotor Combo...need opinions

[1fasttc]

Ok so the other day I noticed that my front brakes are not performing like they used too at ALL. So I checked my brake fluid and it was fine. My pads are getting thin in the front and are quite old, so its time for a change. I know I am doing the EBC FA192 HH Pads for the front. Now the question I have is I dont know if I should do EBC Pro-Lite rotors, or Galfer Wave Rotors? I know both are very good, but if someone has used either set before and wants to give an opinion I would really appreciate it. Thanks for all the help. BTW I do NOT race or stunt the bike, its for daily riding and long rides. However I would want it to perform if I ever did go for a track day.

[John]

ive heard good things about the EBC pro lites. havent heard much about the galfers, but im sure they are probably pretty good too

[NinjaNick]

Dude, you want the EBC XC Series that launched FEB 2008 in Indy.

http://www.ebcbrakes.com/mb-streetbikes.html

[1fasttc]

Dude, you want the EBC XC Series that launched FEB 2008 in Indy.

http://www.ebcbrakes.com/mb-streetbikes.html

WOW those look awesome! Looks I need to find someone who sells those! Happen to know what they cost approx?

[NinjaNick]

Why not order from online though?

[1fasttc]

oh directly through EBC? does anyone use a preferred online website or store?

[NinjaNick]

You could try some sites to see, but I'm sure you could buy direct from EBC if you called, or they will give you a list of dealers near you.

[1fasttc]

Yeah it shows Iron Pony, looks like I will be calling them tomorrow. Prolly gonna be real high from them.

[natedogg624]

god i love brakes

there is nothing better than the feel of solid stopping power.

[1fasttc]

So are saying Galfer or EBC? I see you use Galfer Pads? I am getting SS Brake lines as well from Galfer

[natedogg624]

well i think that it depends on what pads you use. if you are choosing ebc pads then you need(?) to get ebc rotors and vice versa with galfer.

i chose the galfer because the guy i bought them from had some very very good information selling me on the fact of galfer over ebc. i told him i wanted good strong bite, and he said both HH series' are good for that but the galfer holds the initial bite longer than the ebc.

if you were to put the amount of friction on a graph the galfer would be a straight line horizontal whereas the ebc friction line would be a negative sloping line.

ill try and get some information to back that up tomorrow for you it really doesn't make much of a difference on what pads you use for your application im sure to the common layman that they are both the same. All i know to be true is you need to match pads to rotors.

lines doesn't matter at all in your case.

[1fasttc]

I have seen the EBC Friction Test, it did have Negative towards the end.

[natedogg624]

yea i believe galfer 1375 series stays strong all the way to the end. i just emailed the guy who told me all this and should get a response by tomorrow.

but its only the 1375 series so make sure if you do decide to buy galfer that you dont mix up 1396 and 1375 from what i was told it is a large difference (again not sure if its noticeable to the layman or not)

[natedogg624]

here you go guys this is from Todd at Cal-Sportbike.com

my question in bold and his response:

whats the difference between galfer and ebc HH pads?

EBC pads have stronger initial bite since their higher copper content means they build heat faster. But according to THEIR OWN marketing ads, their peak

friction rating is .6u. Galfer is .7u, or roughly 15% higher peak friction, which means stopping power. However, Galfer uses higher ceramic content in

their sintered mix, meaning the pads cool faster thus they put less thermal demand on the rotors, so they're more "rotor friendly" than EBC pads. Also,

a difference in feel comes because ceramic builds heat in a more linear fashion, so some people THINK EBC pads are better, but it's a difference in

FEEL (only initial bite) not in peak performance. Like having a car geared strong in 1st and 2nd but gets beat in the 1/4 mile, ya know?

am i correct in saying that rotors and pads have to be made by the same company? For instance you can't get ebc pads with galfer rotors or

vice versa yes?

It's a very good idea to use rotors and pads from the same company in many cases, mostly because they only warranty their components to work together.

Makes sense, because they would use THEIR pads to test on their rotors, so Galfer, EBC, Ferodo, and others, tend to not want to warranty rotors if you

use someone else's pads. And quite right IMO.

one more question: can you compare the different series of galfer HH pads. I know we had discussed this as well between the 1396 series and the 1375 series and whatever other HH line they have.

The one numbers that matter for you is 1375 versus 1370. 1396 is for offroad applications basically. So the 1370 and 1375 are both bronze-based ceramic compound. However the 1375 also adds a ceramic coated backing plate, which is a heat barrier to lessen thermal bleed through to the caliper pistons and thus the fluid. Any time you lower the temp of your fluid, the more you stay away from the dreaded boiling point which causes total fluid degradation. So this is why the 1375 compound is more expensive, but is much more popular for track riders and serious sport riders who understand the facts about braking performance.

Now, to help you understand that I'm not just cheerleading Galfer and ignoring anything else...understand that I don't always run Galfer pads on

MY OWN bikes. In fact, my Ducati 888SPO has Ferodo XRAC pads on BrakeTech Axis ductile iron rotors, which is a step UP from the Galfer setup. But the iron rotors can stand up to the higher thermal demand of the XRAC pads.

And on my track bike, with a Brembo setup and 19x18 radial master cylinder, I really loved the Galfer 1375HH pads since they complemented the way the radial master applies a lot of force quickly. I actually tried Vesrah pads (sort of between Ferodo and Galfer in friction) and they were too abrupt, so I wanted a more linear feel for predictability in all conditions.

[1fasttc]

Awesome man! Thank you so much, looks like I can do Galfer Rotors w/Galfer Pads, Galfer SS Lines and in the future Brembo Radial Master Cylinder.