Great service - FG Ecoboost brakes

[MattSAU2XR8]

Hi Matt,

Just a short note to say thanks for your good advice and a good price on a brake upgrade for my FG G6E Ecoboost.

In case any other FG Ecoboost or NA 6 owners are wondering what is a simple but effective upgrade that offers good value for money then the following works pretty well, as you had advised me it would:
- RDA 322 mm slotted and dimpled discs,
- Ferodo DS performance pads,
- XR6 Turbo caliper brackets to allow use of the bigger discs, $150 on ebay if
you can't find any second hand, although I had some lying around,
- So worst case scenario about $490 delivered with all new parts.

Regarding fitting these up:
- I had to buy an 18 mm spanner (ebay again) for the caliper guide pin,
- I needed to bend the brake line bracket on the suspension upright slightly to take tension off the hose due to the caliper being in a slightly different position.

One interesting development out of this is that now if I brake hard the tail lights or possibly hazard lights start flashing, presumably as a warning to cars behind me that I am braking hard? I wasn't aware that FG's had this feature. Maybe a bad thing because Plod can now tell that I'm pushing on from about a kilometre away.

Also I think I need slightly heavier front springs now because it dives more than it used to :-)

I don't think this is a massive upgrade, i.e. making the car into a racing car, but it is definitely more than adequate for an FG Ecoboost or NA L6 used a street car. Much more enjoyable to drive - this is what Ford should have put on there in the first place.

Regards,

Matt Steele

[Blem]

Something not right there if you have brake lights flashing on & off or even hazard lights.
When your hazard lights are on it should be your YELLOW indicators that flash, not your red brake lights.
May pay to get someone to follow to check which is flashing under harsh braking.

[dragons90]

Fg mkII hazards flash on hard braking

[Mechan1k]

So the XR6T setup uses the N/A calipers ... just different brackets for the different position????

If that's the case .... I know what I am going to be doing for my FG XT after the bigger wheels go on.

I love the 322mm's on my Territory .... add braided lines ... even better again.

[MattSAU2XR8]

Just an update on how my DS Performance pads and RDA slotted rotors have been going in case anyone is considering these.

1. Braking performance is very good

2. Discs have not warped

3. I do sometimes find there is a small amount of brake shudder which goes away after a decent application of the pedal. I.e. after a hard stop the next few easy stops are perfectly smooth. I assume this is due to a buildup of pad transfer material on the disc? If so these pads could be considered to require reasonably hard braking to prevent shudder now and then.

4. These pads are quite (and possibly very) dusty, as Matt clearly warned me. My nice shiny G6E alloys are black, although this may also reflect on how infrequently the car gets washed :-(

5. The discs themselves have next to no wear at all after 5000 kms although a lot of this is commuting.

So I still think these are likely the best bang for buck pads you can get, or at least the most bang you can get in a road pad, but it does come at a cost of dust and occasional shudder. This probably wouldn't worry you if you wash your car often and brake reasonably hard reasonably often.

[FLOORED]

Originally Posted by MattSAU2XR8

Just an update on how my DS Performance pads and RDA slotted rotors have been going in case anyone is considering these.

1. Braking performance is very good

2. Discs have not warped

3. I do sometimes find there is a small amount of brake shudder which goes away after a decent application of the pedal. I.e. after a hard stop the next few easy stops are perfectly smooth. I assume this is due to a buildup of pad transfer material on the disc? If so these pads could be considered to require reasonably hard braking to prevent shudder now and then.

4. These pads are quite (and possibly very) dusty, as Matt clearly warned me. My nice shiny G6E alloys are black, although this may also reflect on how infrequently the car gets washed :-(

5. The discs themselves have next to no wear at all after 5000 kms although a lot of this is commuting.

So I still think these are likely the best bang for buck pads you can get, or at least the most bang you can get in a road pad, but it does come at a cost of dust and occasional shudder. This probably wouldn't worry you if you wash your car often and brake reasonably hard reasonably often.

It seems from this message that you rarely wash your car . The outcome was pretty much what we thought and keep your eye out for some new brake pads in the near future that hopefully will handle the same work rate with less dust.

[Mechan1k]

Yes the DS Performace are very dusty ..... have have found that on the Territory as well.
Work well though and pull up nicely ... just need to wash my wheels more often.