306 Brakes :(???

deighton306

Wrench Pro
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158
Location
Darlo
Car
306 D-Turbo-Finally
I have recently passed my test and got myself a 306 1998 XSI, not too great on speed but reasonable for now as i am pushing hard for cash, but one thing that really dissapoint me was the brakes... I was doing a little faster than the limit but as i tried to brake sharply it felt as if there was nothing there but as i pulled over my brakes were smoking, any suggestions on how and best way to upgrade these ....Cheaply of course Cheers ;)
 
how new are the brake pads? sounds like u were doing a lot more then the limitvlol, try some 406 calipers and disks with ebc pads maybe or if u can get ur hands on a set of GTi-6 brakes then that might be better but they might cost a little more
 
Congratulations on passing your test. No, GTi-6 calipers won't be lightweight but if you can get them cheap from a scrappies along with good condition discs then get new pads they might well be a good upgrade.

If not, grooved discs will stop gas build-up between the pad and disc and help keep the pad surface clean. Add to that some decent pads such as Mintex M111 and fresh fluid and this should improve braking significantly.

Braided hoses play second-fiddle to better discs and pads with regards to performance vs. ££££ so that's something to think about too if you're on a tight budget.
 
Cheers guys thats a real insight and will defo be putting the advice into action.. Once i get the funds together that its, Thanks Again:D
 
Most Peugeots stop pretty effectively with the standard brakes (they have to, the French are good at food and good at innovative car design but the driving is a bit questionable at times!) so perhaps a full fluid change will help.

New pads will help if the existing ones are heavily worn. Other than that, disc brakes are self adjusting so once the pads are bedded in (which is a subject in itself) the braking should remain pretty constant until the pad wear message pops up on the central display.

Check the discs as well. These wear much more quickly since asbestos was banned from brake lining materials - it's quite common to replace discs every other set of pads.

Find a friendly local garage with a MoT brake test lane and ask them to check the brakes for a small fee. Any imbalance might point to a caliper that's starting to stick which is affecting the overall performance.

Please be aware that the basic minimum brake requirements for an MoT are frighteningly low. Just because your car has a current MoT does not mean that the brakes are perfect.

I take it there are no warning messages on the central display - ABS fault etc. This could indicate that the ECU is incorrectly recording the speed of one or more wheels.

Last note - I'm not a fan of EBC pads at all. I found the OEM ones were far better. They are made by ATE Teves. You can buy them from Peugeot (in a Peugeot box) or get them from Euro Car Parts in the ATE box for little over 30 quid for a front set but they are the same pads with the same friction material formulation. (The rears, despite being tiny, are over forty quid a set, but last for ages unless you're a particularly savage driver).
 
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I've used both Mintex and EBC and I rate them both as good as each other TBH. And it was same car that I had both sets in.

What you say of EBC products is interesting. No-one who's ever heard of them is without an opinion. Seems to be a love 'em or hate 'em thing.

Perhaps this depends upon the car to which they're fitted. I had a set of green stuff in the front of my 406 in 2005 and they were rubbish. Smoked and faded persistently. This was, however, with OEM discs and the discs were about 15,000 miles old when they were fitted.

I've never tried EBC discs and pads together, perhaps that would have helped.

Yet I'd had EBC Green stuff in the front of the Primera a couple of years earlier (again, std discs) but they performed brilliantly in that car. This was an earlier green compound (2003 was the year I fitted them).

I even fitted EBC black stuff to the rear when it was pad change time (there was no upgrade available for the rear of the Nissan at that time) and they, too, worked extremely well.

I wonder if I should have gone with Red Stuff in the 406 on account of the extra mass of the diesel engine up front.

Of course, none of this matters directly as I don't have a car at all at the moment.
 
I did mention on another tread about the use of 406 coupe brakes and all the gubbins and i think I was made by this guy as well.....if you need to stop quick then thats the way to go...
 
lol...sounds good to me....if all else fails just get the anchor from under the seat....wait a minute...I thought it was standard equipment on peugeots and citroens....
 
What you say of EBC products is interesting. No-one who's ever heard of them is without an opinion. Seems to be a love 'em or hate 'em thing.

Perhaps this depends upon the car to which they're fitted. I had a set of green stuff in the front of my 406 in 2005 and they were rubbish. Smoked and faded persistently. This was, however, with OEM discs and the discs were about 15,000 miles old when they were fitted.

I've never tried EBC discs and pads together, perhaps that would have helped.

Yet I'd had EBC Green stuff in the front of the Primera a couple of years earlier (again, std discs) but they performed brilliantly in that car. This was an earlier green compound (2003 was the year I fitted them).

I even fitted EBC black stuff to the rear when it was pad change time (there was no upgrade available for the rear of the Nissan at that time) and they, too, worked extremely well.

I wonder if I should have gone with Red Stuff in the 406 on account of the extra mass of the diesel engine up front.

Of course, none of this matters directly as I don't have a car at all at the moment.


The only real difference the red stuff pads would have made is that they are more resilliant to fading so if you were using them quite a lot then they would have made a diffence otherwise then you probebly wouldn't have noticed....

I need so better brakes for my car...I think I will fit some of those coupe brakes and make a guide on how to fit them and what to use etc...

Might do it in the new year but I will let everyone know :)
 
EBC are crap in the opinion of myself and most if not all of my car-loving friends. Spend the extra and get yourself a set of decent pads or stick to OE. You do hear good things about them until they switch for some proper pads then their opinions change.
 
Yeah I'd never heard of EBC untill everyone was raving about them on another forum...but I have mintex on the back and freodo (i think thats how you spell it) on the back....I bought halfords ones before and now they were dire...I glazed them over almost instantly and the other brands i just mentioned were cheaper as well and 10 million times better but yeah I will be using mintex pads and probebly brembo or tarox discs from now on i think
 
I'll be using Mintex M1115 (Wilwood dynalite fitment) on the Punto when it's finished. Ferodo DS2500 on the Alfa when they need replacing.
 
Nice...mine are just oem kinda spec ones they do alright but they fade a lot... but yeah buy decent pads they are worth it....does wilwood do some sort of brake kit for the 306?
 
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I think so. It's just a case of same kit for most hatches but with different brackets more or less. Probably looking at £500 to £600 for a new 4-pot kit for the front.

The bracket is the important part, find a good engineers that will design and make you a bracket up and you can physically fit anything that your master cylinder can handle. You could have Brembo 4-pots on the front for a couple of hundred quid if you use your noggin.
 
True i that case then I have an idea of what I have to do then I got to get the brembos off a 406 v6 coupe I have to use discs off a v6 xantia and the calipurs should fit straight onto my car without a bracket....I just need some decent rear brakes I'm going to upgrade to a gti-6 rear beam and it has discs at the back but I want some more wwoooooow lol
 
how much are the v6 brembos looking at costing ? ive looked into 4 pot 996 porsche rear calipers for the bora ( they go on the front ) can pick up the correct ones for a couple of hundred and the new brackets are around £80 dont know how much a fabricator would charge for them
£300 for 4 pot setup thats lighter than the OEM setup cant really complain.
 
I haven't really looked actually, the reason I mention them for the 306 was that they will fit straight on to the hubs with no modification.
The only difference is that you have to use xantia v6 discs rather than the coupe discs cause they won't fit, the hub centre are different where as the xanita ones are the same
 
Good comments on brakes.Having trouble at the moment.Leaking rh wheel cylinder.MOT.Fail.
Drum at the back,disc front.Got a wheel cylinder and it was to big a dia. for the Backplate.Took it back OK.Went to another place and they say they have the right ones but when I asked about dia on the wheel cylinder they looked blank?????they wil be here Tues and have my Micrometer with me and will measure them before I take em.
Heres Hoping.
Just saw last post NOV 2009.Hey,I know I am slow but not that much!@!
 

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