Ferodo DS3000s breaking up

[sam55]

I'm doing Snetterton this weekend, so this weekend I took the time to check the car over. This included cheking the pads.

I've been running DS3000s for a few miles now, they've done a track day with me at Bedford along with the Brembo HC disks I have, and they've been phenominal.

But upon inspecting them I've noticed that they're breaking up, and cracking. The stopping power is still amazing, but apparently the pads are knackered!

Here they are:

Question I have is, if I sanded them down a mm or 2 to smooth them out again, would they be ok to use again?

And what could have caused this? Is it just serious overheating? When the pads were new we did sand the backs down to make sure they fitted, but by the looks of it something wasn't right!

Oh and I've warped my discs lol

 

[MartinR]

I would say thats down to heat or a dodgy batch tbh

 

[sam55]

Yeah I figured heat most likely. They felt ok on the track, I always came in once the pedal began to go soft. But I will admit I was pushing so must have just pushed too hard in the braking zones!

 

[Advikaz]

I've seen a lot of pads break up on the leading edge over the years, come to expect it on heavy track use after a while.

I don't think they should do it, but a lot i've seen have after heavy usage.

 

[Sam@NP]

were the pads cooled properly? e.g an entire cool down lap with next to no braking?

 

[sam55]

Yeah, it was the full Bedford layout too so I figured a whole lap at 30mph should have done it, maybe it wasn't enough! And I parked it in gear to protect the rears. It was a 33 degree day in summer so that wouldn't have helped.

They're only like this for about 1.5mm, so sanding them down so they're smooth would be ok yeah? I thought they were awesome and so I don't fancy binning them if I can use them again at Snett

 

[Fred@BTM]

have you removed the shims from the calipers and filed the back plates down a bit so the pads are free to move vertically by about 1mm?

 

[sam55]

Yeah sanded off about 1mm and haven't been running the shims. They were lose within the calipers. The only thing I can think is maybe the sides of the pads needed filing down?

One of the pads looks fine now after a few mins of sanding it on a flat surface. So think they should be fine for this weekend.

Might take out the fogs and remove the arch liners just in case.

I was shocked when I saw the state of them as they still work amazingly!

 

[Fred@BTM]

well they look ok to me!

 

[sam55]

I was worried by the cracks and uneven surface, but to be honest they worked well before I took them off! Cheers!

 

[Fred@BTM]

if you were pressed against an iron disc at 100mph+ i think you'd look a bit worse for wear too!

 

[danh90]

if you were pressed against an iron disc at 100mph+ i think you'd look a bit worse for wear too!

Lol

 

[Tony Hunter]

Nothing wrong with those at all.

 

[sam55]

Glad to hear that, thanks guys. I can now stamp on the brakes without any concern