What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
all - Spare Part Quality? - edlithgow

Seems to be pretty dire on the US market, according to this video rant (goes on a bit, but you'll get the idea fairly quickly)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snotq6WCWtA

I have mostly used scrap parts where there's been a choice, (for my current car there usually isn't) and in the UK pulled them myself, though this may no longer be possible. This would normally get you OEM, so I dunno owt about the state of the UK aftermarket.

all - Spare Part Quality? - S40 Man

I didn't watch the video. I normally go for euro Car Parts. Stuff airways fits in my experience. Maybe go for the one up from the cheapest. I got the cheapest track rod ends for an MOT fail and they were advisories the next year. The originals had lasted 10 years.

all - Spare Part Quality? - Bolt

Not used ECP for years as the parts were always either wrong, didn`t fit as they should, poorly made or didn`t work when fitted and waited for ages to change them.

My mate buys and sells cars but has the same problem with parts from them, he puts up with the grief as he says the profit is better getting there parts, I don`t understand his logic if you have to keep taking parts back, ie its time and money doing so imo.

I don`t think there are any scrap yards left now that you can take parts off cars yourself, they strip and shelve parts employing people to strip and test the parts then shelve them, the ones I used to use wouldn`t budge on a price either, you had to pay ticket price

I worked in one years ago taking cars apart and you used to negotiate prices and it worked well, I don`t think there are any around now, and not sure if Dartford yard is still going as that was strip yourself?

all - Spare Part Quality? - nellyjak

I usually go for Blueprint stuff...reasonably priced and haven't yet had anything that didn't fit properly.

all - Spare Part Quality? - Steveieb
After six attempts to sort a brake squeal on my Corolla I finally decided to take the matter in my own hands and delivered a new set of pads from my factor.
The indie agreed reluctantly to fit them claiming the old pads were hardly worn and quality Mintex pads .
Problem sorted for £20 . But on checking out Mintex brands I found that the name has been bought by a company which also supplies the ECP basic pads .
Heard similar stories about the Lion brand batteries ?
The parts man at Euro Car part s was staggered when the customer in front of me bought the cheapest pads , at £25 for his M powered 5 series !
all - Spare Part Quality? - _
After six attempts to sort a brake squeal on my Corolla I finally decided to take the matter in my own hands and delivered a new set of pads from my factor. The indie agreed reluctantly to fit them claiming the old pads were hardly worn and quality Mintex pads . Problem sorted for £20 . But on checking out Mintex brands I found that the name has been bought by a company which also supplies the ECP basic pads . Heard similar stories about the Lion brand batteries ? The parts man at Euro Car part s was staggered when the customer in front of me bought the cheapest pads , at £25 for his M powered 5 series !

It almost always amazes me that people who buy cars that cost a lot of money to buy will go for sometimes shoddy aftermarket parts.

The example above for a BMW M5 is sadly not uncommon.

all - Spare Part Quality? - RT
After six attempts to sort a brake squeal on my Corolla I finally decided to take the matter in my own hands and delivered a new set of pads from my factor. The indie agreed reluctantly to fit them claiming the old pads were hardly worn and quality Mintex pads . Problem sorted for £20 . But on checking out Mintex brands I found that the name has been bought by a company which also supplies the ECP basic pads . Heard similar stories about the Lion brand batteries ? The parts man at Euro Car part s was staggered when the customer in front of me bought the cheapest pads , at £25 for his M powered 5 series !

It almost always amazes me that people who buy cars that cost a lot of money to buy will go for sometimes shoddy aftermarket parts.

The example above for a BMW M5 is sadly not uncommon.

No different to putting ditchfinder tyres on any car.

all - Spare Part Quality? - John F

It almost always amazes me that people who buy cars that cost a lot of money to buy will go for sometimes shoddy aftermarket parts.

No different to putting ditchfinder tyres on any car.

I think it is very different. I replaced the front brake pads on my 70,000 mile 2005 Audi with original discs a few months ago. There was a wide choice and an enormous price range up to well over £100. They were delivered to my door from 'Autodoc' for the grand total of £33.71. They work perfectly well and with a bit of carborundum wheel attention to the disc lips and surface, the slight judder there was during hard braking from high speed has gone. I don't mind if they wear out more quickly because around 100,000 miles the discs will probably need replacing. I am sure they will stop the car just as well as the most expensive pads - possibly better if they are softer. At its current annual mileage of about 3K per annum that'll take ten years, if I and the car survive. The car, being aluminium, might be a better bet.....:(

all - Spare Part Quality? - bathtub tom

Many years ago, I fitted some Moprod brand pads from Halfords to my Princess. A few weeks later, coming down a Welsh hillside, they faded completely. Halfords refused to accept there was anything wrong with the product and they went in the bin to be replaced with Lockheed, resulting in no further problems.

I've avoided Halfords since.

all - Spare Part Quality? - Steveieb
Reminds me of my colleague who arranged for one of the mechanics at work to change the pads on his Princess during the lunch break.
Thinking all was well he drove out onto the main road after work only to find he had no brakes and a grinding noise.
The chief mechanic took a look at the car and found the pads had been inserted back to front so metal to metal contact.
The word got round so the mechanic responsible was never asked to do any work on the side again, which may have been his aim ?
all - Spare Part Quality? - John F

Many years ago, I fitted some Moprod brand pads from Halfords to my Princess. A few weeks later, coming down a Welsh hillside, they faded completely. Halfords refused to accept there was anything wrong with the product and they went in the bin to be replaced with Lockheed, resulting in no further problems.

Are you sure it wasn't ancient contaminated brake fluid boiling just behind the caliper pistons? Seals are probably better nowadays.

all - Spare Part Quality? - bathtub tom
Are you sure it wasn't ancient contaminated brake fluid boiling just behind the caliper pistons? Seals are probably better nowadays.

Hard pedal and no retardation equals brake fade. Pedal hitting the floor could mean boiling fluid. I've experienced both.

all - Spare Part Quality? - edlithgow

It almost always amazes me that people who buy cars that cost a lot of money to buy will go for sometimes shoddy aftermarket parts.

No different to putting ditchfinder tyres on any car.

I think it is very different. I replaced the front brake pads on my 70,000 mile 2005 Audi with original discs a few months ago. There was a wide choice and an enormous price range up to well over £100. They were delivered to my door from 'Autodoc' for the grand total of £33.71. They work perfectly well and with a bit of carborundum wheel attention to the disc lips and surface, the slight judder there was during hard braking from high speed has gone. I don't mind if they wear out more quickly because around 100,000 miles the discs will probably need replacing. I am sure they will stop the car just as well as the most expensive pads - possibly better if they are softer. At its current annual mileage of about 3K per annum that'll take ten years, if I and the car survive. The car, being aluminium, might be a better bet.....:(

My understanding was/is that "performance" brake pads resist brake fade better.

If you don't go in for sustained heavy brake use you wont get that anyway.

If this is true, it might imply that, for a one off emergency stop they are no better than the cheap ones.

all - Spare Part Quality? - Manatee

My understanding was/is that "performance" brake pads resist brake fade better.

If you don't go in for sustained heavy brake use you wont get that anyway.

If this is true, it might imply that, for a one off emergency stop they are no better than the cheap ones.

All standard brakes in good condition should be capable of locking the wheels.

What might change with the pad material are fade resistance (tolerance of heat), wear rate, brake force requirement (a proxy for the friction coefficient), and subjectively the initial "bite".

I know people who have spent serious money upgrading brakes on hobby cars that they do hardly any miles in anyway. Four pot calipers, drilled and grooved discs, braided hoses, etc. I can't see why they should be any better in normal use and I'm not going to spend the money to find out. Tyres and the driver are probably the biggest influence on stopping distance given the same car, speed and conditions.

That said I wouldn't buy the cheapest pads anyway. I'd rather not worry, even a bit, about whether they will fit properly or come unglued in use. The last ones I bought were Textar, not counting the replacements on the Outlander which were whatever the Mitsubishi parts department supplied.

all - Spare Part Quality? - Steveieb

The episode of my screeching and knocking brakes bought home to me not to rely on the branding of a part. The aftermarket business is fast moving and brands that you trust are often bought out for the name and replaced with cheaper alternatives.

what helped me was to ask the factor to recommend a brand with the least returns and this proved successful as they have standardised on one supplier once a good track record was established. In my case a little known brand from the EC called APEC.

all - Spare Part Quality? - skidpan

I know people who have spent serious money upgrading brakes on hobby cars that they do hardly any miles in anyway. Four pot calipers, drilled and grooved discs, braided hoses, etc. I can't see why they should be any better in normal use and I'm not going to spend the money to find out. Tyres and the driver are probably the biggest influence on stopping distance given the same car, speed and conditions.

Upgraded brakes in normal road use can be a useful upgrade especially when the powertrain of the car has been upgraded.

Take my Caterham as an example.

From the early 60's Lotus and then Caterham used Triumph Spitfire calipers and discs on the front and drums from whichever axle they used at the time (Ford or BL). When I bought my first Caterham in 1989 it was built just like that. Compared to the Golf GTi I owned at the time the brakes felt OK, just on the road but on the track I felt they needed improvement. So I did what most racers were doing at the time and fitted a set of Ferodo DS racing pads on the front and some higher rated shoes into the Ital axle at the rear, it was a definite improvement for stopping power and feel.

When I built the 2nd Caterham it came with exactly the same front brakes but the rears were Sierra calipers using standard sierra pads onto the same Triumph Discs used at the front. I junked the standard front pads and fitted the same Ferodo material I had fitted to the first car but the wisdom from people familiar with this later set up was that the rear was over braked and needed a valve in the brake line to reduce pressure to the rear. Initially it felt fine on the road but on the track the rear was far to eager to lock up and I fitted a rear valve which improved matters. Ran it like this for about 18 years but over that time the brakes on my road cars had improved greatly, the power on the Caterham had increased form about 135 bhp to 175 bhp and the friction of aftermarket pads had reduced due to new legislation. I needed new pads but a Mintex was now the flavour of the month. Tried it and it was rubbish, could not get a firm pedal. Ferodo did a similar pad which gave a good pedal but nowhere near as much stopping power as the previous pads.

Eventually concluded I needed to act but the options for uprated caliper kits were confusing. The Caterham kit was very expensive plus the pads were also pricy. You also needed a new master cylinder. One company did a kit using Willwood calipers and large discs but there had no dust seals and were intended for track use and the pads were pricy. Another company did a kit which used off the shelf pads and discs but the calipers had no dust seals and they got pretty poor press for aftersales.

So I bought the kit that used the Willwood calipers. Arrived next day and returned immediately. The parts supplied to mount the calipers was total tat and the discs supplied were machined in a dangerous manner, got a refund with the help of Mastercard.

More thinking and I spoke to the company that supposedly did poor aftersales. They were extremely helpful and brought a kit to my attention that they did not actively market since it was more expensive (buy still way less than the Caterham kit), had dust seals and used off the shelf pads from a Volvo (EBC's £14 a set). They could make them with a piston size that would not need a new master cylinder which was another bonus. The large discs were a good price as well and would still fit under my 13" wheels because of the shallow design of the caliper, looked brilliant, so I ordered a set.

Took about 4 weeks since they were made to order and when they came they looked great. The brackets were sturdy and all the fasteners were top spec. Everything bolted on perfectly until I came to the brake pipes which were about an inch too short on full lock. Their poor aftersales was turned on and they initially refused to help but to get the car on the road I simply bought some different fittings for the ends of the braided hoses (perfect fit now) and argued my corner, they paid out my parts costs eventually.

How are they on the road, simply brilliant. The car stopped like a modern car with easy modulation of stopping power and no instant locking up. After a few weeks I removed the pressure reducing rear valve to see if it was still needed, it wasn't, the rears were still not locking first.

At MOT time I was getting a higher reading on the rollers for the fronts for the first time ever.

6 or so years later I still do not regret spending the £600 approx doing the job. Still using the supplied standard EBC Volvo pads on the front but I replaced the rear pads with EBC's to match. Only issue there was the fronts were new spec Ultimax 2 and the rears original spec Ultimax (guess there is not much of a market for Sierra rear pads now) and the rears do produce a bit more dust, will check to see if they do Ultimax 2 eventually.

Edited by skidpan on 27/12/2020 at 15:03

all - Spare Part Quality? - Lee Power

Back in the late 90s I fitted some Halfords branded brake pads ( Ferodo where out of stock ) The Halfords pads lasted 2 weeks before they where metal to metal.

Replaced with a set of Ferodo & they where still on the car 18 months later when I traded it in.

Fitted a Brake engineering master cylinder to a mk4 Fiesta - didn't take long before the front seal failed & leaked brake fluid in to the servo.

Part taken back for full refund & genuine Ford part purchased.

Cant be bothered with cheap parts now, either genuine or a decent / quality aftermarket branded one.

As for brake friction components, its OE or Brembo for me now.

Edited by Lee Power on 27/12/2020 at 16:00

all - Spare Part Quality? - RT

Back in the late 90s I fitted some Halfords branded brake pads ( Ferodo where out of stock ) The Halfords pads lasted 2 weeks before they where metal to metal.

Replaced with a set of Ferodo & they where still on the car 18 months later when I traded it in.

Fitted a Brake engineering master cylinder to a mk4 Fiesta - didn't take long before the front seal failed & leaked brake fluid in to the servo.

Part taken back for full refund & genuine Ford part purchased.

Cant be bothered with cheap parts now, either genuine or a decent / quality aftermarket branded one.

As for brake friction components, its OE or Brembo for me now.

Brembo pads are made by Pagid who also sell pads under their own name.

Thing is that pads can be made to various specifications, the brand name doesn't tell you which OE specification they're made to - if you want OE specification, buy OE it's not like yo need a loan to buy them!

all - Spare Part Quality? - Manatee

Back in the late 90s I fitted some Halfords branded brake pads ( Ferodo where out of stock ) The Halfords pads lasted 2 weeks before they where metal to metal.

Replaced with a set of Ferodo & they where still on the car 18 months later when I traded it in.

Fitted a Brake engineering master cylinder to a mk4 Fiesta - didn't take long before the front seal failed & leaked brake fluid in to the servo.

Part taken back for full refund & genuine Ford part purchased.

Cant be bothered with cheap parts now, either genuine or a decent / quality aftermarket branded one.

As for brake friction components, its OE or Brembo for me now.

I've been trying to untangle this myself.

Brembo pads are made by Pagid who also sell pads under their own name.

Thing is that pads can be made to various specifications, the brand name doesn't tell you which OE specification they're made to - if you want OE specification, buy OE it's not like yo need a loan to buy them!

Pagid is a brand of TMD Friction whose website says the exclusive distributor of Pagid in the UK is ECP.
tmdfriction.com/aftermarket/

I can't see Brembo on their list of brands - not to say they don't have an interest in Brembo, but it's not obvious nor is it mentioned her

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brembo

I am wary of ECP, and of brand exclusives. Pagid are supposedly trade quality parts, so why would TMD not distribute through motor facors? They sell Brembo but ECP's speciality seems to be licensing or purchasing brands and applying them to cheap own brand parts - see Crosland filters.

I recently bought some brake parts from CarParts4Less (ECP by another name). I swerved the Pagid pads as the previous ones weren't a good fit, so I ordered Textar, trusting they are authentic.

My local independent won't fit ECP parts, claiming he has had too many comebacks. He has just done a service for me on my wife's Skoda for which I supplied parts but he didn't object to the Textar pads, or Bosch filters.

Edited by Manatee on 27/12/2020 at 21:01