[phil200tdi]

Worth doing?

I'm soon to be fitting new oem pagid disks and cool carbon pads. Was going to change the brake fluid at the same time for ATE super blue racing stuff. Was wondering whether it's worth upgrading the hoses for goodridge braided items?

My car is 99% road use, will I see much benefit?

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

Worth doing?

I'm soon to be fitting new oem pagid disks and cool carbon pads. Was going to change the brake fluid at the same time for ATE super blue racing stuff. Was wondering whether it's worth upgrading the hoses for goodridge braided items?

My car is 99% road use, will I see much benefit?

Sorry for what will seem like a flippant remark Phil,but with your car being used 99% on the road,do you see the other mods (Discs,pads &ATE fluid) as beneficial?

If as I believe your car runs crazy BHP,the upgrade to the hoses is a no brainer IMO, and for the relatively small amount of money involved would be a shame not to do,and is part and parcel of the other upgrades.

[phil200tdi]

I think you are right! Now is the time to do it whilst I'm there. £85 isn't too bad at the end of the day...

I read this on another site and found it interesting:

The Importance of Braided Brake Lines

* Installing stainless steel braided brake lines should be one of the first purchases for ANY sportscar. Replacing the crappy OEM rubber brake lines has two major benefits: eliminating brake fade and reducing your maintenance. This will help to reduce water permeating through the rubber only hoses, braided are still rubber in the centre so there is still the possibility water getting in but its deffinitely reduced with braided lines but not eliminated.. there are plenty of cheap Halfords sheit out there so make sure you spend a few bux and get DOT approved ones!

Safety first: Eliminating dangerous brake fade

* Brake fade is the loss of braking power when your brake system overheats. When you apply your brakes, brake fluid is forced through the rubber brake hoses, squeezing your brake calipers and causing you to decelerate. A by-product of the braking action is HEAT which is bad for your brake lines. As the brake fluids heats up, so do your OEM rubber lines. Hot rubber lines will expand when the brakes are applied - instead of channeling the fluid towards your calipers, they expand outwards, robbing you of valuable braking power.
* Stainless steel braided brake lines don't expand when heated by your brake fluid. You will get maximum braking power regardless of the time spent riding. These brake lines may save your life one day.

No Maintainence & Peace of Mind

* Some manufacturers recommend their OEM rubber brake lines to be changed every couple years. Most stainless steel brake lines never need to be replaced - Most cases one purchase and guaranteed for life!

[Yoro35i]

Hey

I just finished doing the front cool carbon pads , HEL brake lines and topped up a little new brake fluid because i didn't have time to do the rears.

After a few bedding runs, i can say it is worth doing!! initial response are about the same as oem but it grips more and more and more (the new pads) so i can say there is a good amount of improvement to be had.

Some remarks on the brake hoses, The driver side is just long enough but i couldn't use the rubber thing to fit it back on the hose holder so i had to cable tie it up. The OEM rubber hoses had 2 rubber ding whereas the HEL has one only. So you should probably look if good ridge has the same design.

Brake fade - after laps and laps of bedding and the a spirit drove home i didn't experience brake fade in the front whereas before after a couple of powerful stops i would have brake fade BUT I did feel a little from the rear end tho.

Some people would say this is because the brake fluid was changed but i only used half a litre as i am waiting to put the rears on then do a proper brake fluid change.

Hope my experiance today helps

[bbstoke]

Doing my front disks and pads.. Are Pagid a good make? As Euro parts do them and for £40 each seem a little to cheap

[phil200tdi]

Pagid discs are great.

Im using them with cool carbon pads

[bbstoke]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

Pagid discs are great.

Im using them with cool carbon pads

Cheers fella

[ade146]

I dont think braided hoses make any difference to the pressure exerted at the caliper. In fact it couldnt according to physics. It does affect travel and I have fitted lines to my motorbikes where lever travel makes quite a bit of difference.

[ed330D]

Originally Posted by ade146

I dont think braided hoses make any difference to the pressure exerted at the caliper. In fact it couldnt according to physics. It does affect travel and I have fitted lines to my motorbikes where lever travel makes quite a bit of difference.

The original hoses are made from reinforced rubber. "Braided" hoses are made of PTFE (Teflon) with a protective cover, usually of stainless steel, but also of man-made materials.

Rubber hoses have a different feel to "braided" hoses; rubber hoses give a softer feel, ie they have some give, which some people prefer. On the other hand, PTFE hoses give a hard feel - this does not give shorter braking distances, or require less effort, than good rubber hoses, it just feels different.

However, over time the original rubber hose will deteriate, so some of the pressure applied by the master cylinder is wasted in expanding the hoses, rather than applying the brakes. It results in reduced braking efficiency, excessive pedal travel, and eventually a total loss in braking.

Once the original hoses are a few years old, any new hose will improve the feel, it doesn't have to be braided.

As already commented, braided hoses should last longer, probably a lot longer, before requiring replacement.

So why don't manufactures fit braided hoses? Well they have less give, you can't twist them, so alignment is crucial; this can be very difficult, sometimes impossible, to achieve over the path travelled by the calliper. If rotational forces are applied to a PTFE line it is more likely to fail than a rubber one. Also, the stainless lines are very abrasive - if they rub against anything they act like a file - so keep them away from cables etc.

I would hope a set of braided hoses purchased from a recognised supplier would fit without any problems, but I wouldn't be surprised if all wasn't perfect. Personally, I always use original hoses on my road cars.

[doughboy]

Yup, they only improve feel, if you like a firmer pedal with less travel.

Its BS about reducing fade, brake lines don't get hot.

The fluid in the caliper gets hot and can boil and cause a soft pedal and the pads get hot and fade, neither of which has anything to do with the lines.

I have goodrich lines and like the firm pedal.

[bbstoke]

Got Pagid brake discs,pads and sensor today from Europarts for £109.. Bargain

[omaragha]

Always stayed OEM with my brakes ? Never seemed to cause me any issues ? I dont track the car mind !

[ade146]

Oem on the 335 is 348mm and pretty good. Ive melted 2 sets of discs plus pads on the 330d. They were Delphi/ Lucas though. 5 roundabouts and they are cooked.