Best pads for road use?

[Bits]

Hi,
Elan S4 1970
I have a fully refurbished standard braking system but with no servo.
Done 200 miles since and I need to improve the brakes, hopefully by not adding a servo.
Green stuff pads fitted at the moment.
Any recommendations please?
I’m not bothered by wear rate. I just need better stopping power.

[UAB807F]

When you say "better stopping power" do you mean less effort (pedal pressure), lower stopping distances or do the existing pads fade on you ?

From the ones I've tried, Greenstuff had the best initial bite and it felt like I had lower pedal pressures, certainly compared with standard pads. The marketing for Greenstuff was around them being the go-to pad for when you removed servo assistance, so I'm not sure you'll do better on that aspect.

If you want lower pedal pressures then a smaller diameter m/cylinder or servo is the obvious answer unless you are about to redesign the system entirely. Lower stopping distances will be a problem, the OEM system was/is fine but you're not going to compete with modern cars and larger wheels, discs, tyre grip, etc. It's a 60's car with skinny rubber, excellent in it's day but things have moved on.

Personally I use Mintex 1144 at the front. I've had a S1 Elise from new and that came with steel discs/no servo but I found the initial braking awful on my daily commute - the pads never warmed up enough. I switched to 1144's and they were excellent and I've since fitted 1144's to both the Elan & Europa. Neither car has standard brakes (Elan=GT6 discs, Europa=custom all round) but neither has a servo and the brakes stop well without high pedal pressures.

Brian

[661]

I have green stuff on the S4, no servo and +2 calipers. Can't wait to get rid of them. Poor to start with and fade with spirited stopping.
CLs on the GTS which are excellent , but probably not for the road. I think Mintex 1144s are the way to go for the road.
.

[nmauduit]

I have green stuff on the S4, no servo and +2 calipers. Can't wait to get rid of them. Poor to start with and fade with spirited stopping.
CLs on the GTS which are excellent , but probably not for the road. I think Mintex 1144s are the way to go.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

as for the GTS, how would you compare the CL with Pagid if you've tried some?

[pptom]

Had greenstuffs on my +2 with no servo, hated them. They just felt wooden and not especially effective, put Mintex 1144's on which I had used on another classic and they are awesome, but they do squeal a little bit when you're just feathering the brakes.

[mbell]

I have greenstuff on my +2, no servo. Not a big fan, feel wooden and not much initial bite unless heated up.

Way off wearing them out but it crossed my mind to replace them with something else. I've found mintex pads good on a few daily cars in the past.

[661]

I have green stuff on the S4, no servo and +2 calipers. Can't wait to get rid of them. Poor to start with and fade with spirited stopping.
CLs on the GTS which are excellent , but probably not for the road. I think Mintex 1144s are the way to go.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

as for the GTS, how would you compare the CL with Pagid if you've tried some?

I can't compare on the Elan, I had Pagids and then CL 5+s on the Exige. Preferred the CLs , but neither were as good as Performance Friction pads, in my view.
From memory I think it is CL 6's on the Elan

[alanr]

I agree with others. EBC Greenstuff in my experience are not suitable for our cars at all They are just too hard a pad for a light car like an Elan or +2 and make the pedal have no feel at all. Awful ability to stop the car bordering on dangerous i think!
I now have EBC Ultimax disc pads in my +2 ( with servo) and find they have a lot more 'bite' for road use and whilst still not perfect are more acceptable for a road use car.
Ideally though I would like to use a pad with a Mintex 1144 lining of which I have experience of in FF1600 racing and I think would be good for a light road car like ours but as yet I have yet to find anyone stocking them in the UK in the correct size pad for my +2.

Alan.

[Bits]

I’ll be on the lookout for some Mintex 1144’s on the front.

[Elanman68]

Tony Thompson appears to have them:

https://www.tonythompsonracing.co.uk/pa ... front-633/

[alanr]

Tony Thompson appears to have them:

https://www.tonythompsonracing.co.uk/pa ... front-633/

Ah....Thanks for that! Never thought of TTR.

Alan.

[elans3]

I use Ferodo DS 2500 in both my Alfa Giulia, and had them in my ElanS3 (now sold). They have been fantastic, loads of feel, and don't need warming up before they become effective, like the old DS11's used to need.
Expensive, but the best are.
https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/ferodo- ... ferfcp11h/

I wouldn't use Greenstuff on a pram personally, after having them on an Alfa some years ago.

[Tim]

I also had EBC Greenstuff on my Plus 2 which I run without a Servo and with a dual circuit 0.7" master cylinder from Caterham. They were 'ok' but from reading other posts I decided to switch to Mintex 1144 and there is a definite improvement, particularly in how progressive they feel. Got mine direct from Mintex.

[Robbie693]

I am also thinking of ditching the Greenstuff. Seeing this thread is timely - Mintex are looking like a good option. I found this link:

https://www.mintexclassic.com/product/lotus-elan-22-pads/

I assume they now have a classic division and are the same company. There is no mention (nor on Tony Thompson's) wether the pads are for metric or imperial calipers, does anyone have a part number for the metric?

Robbie

[rgh0]

Ferodo DS 2500 are a great road pad on my experience in my Plus 2

cheers
Rohan