[Amey]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Reading up on articles related to brake pads I came across the fact that brake pads actually have a grading mechanism.

The gradings go from E- H. The grading is indicated by two letters one for the grading indicating braking ability when cold and the other for the grading ability when warm. Here are more details in the link below.

Best Brake Pads article - Part 2 | EBC Brakes

I inspected my Swift pads for these gradings but could not find any. Here is the picture of the pad below. The pads are by a company named TOKICO. More of my travails in this quest for brake improvement to follow.

Attachment 871597

Drive on,
Shibu.

Tokico parts are GOOD. They make OE as well as performance aftermarket parts.
The Tokico pads indicate these pads are SGP and not MGP. THe price difference is huge. Back in the day when I had my Swift and got a pair of slotted Tarox rotors, I was told to specifically buy SGP pads over MGP. The price for MGP pads was 800 bucks as against 3200 bucks for the SGP. Its quite understandable because in the early days, Swift spares were imported.

Anyway coming back to braking improvement,
Me and a friend of mine, a fellow BHPian and owner of a reputed private garage in Pune were thinking of trying to make slotted rotors.Just for the heck of it and try if it works.
We did manage to source a set of OE rotors for the Swift and managed to get them slotted and cross drilled. The outcome was brilliant,visually.
We had to test them to draw a conclusion whether our experiment had succeded or failed ?
We installed them on my Swift and I was off to Goa for a vacation and testing of these new rotors.
I really went brutal on those rotors with some serious hard braking to test them.
All I can say is after so much of rigorous testing, the outcome was more than satisfactory.
Let's just say that including the cost of rotors, if the machined rotors cost me 7-9k a set, its a worthy investment for such a huge improvement in braking.
Agreed that the pads will wear quicker but look at the improvement,compared to the improvement its nothing.

Just my experience and thoughts.

[rajanprash]

Hi guys, I wanted some ideas on how to improve the braking in my 2009 Ritz Lxi brakes. I feel that they are , compared to the i10. This also reduces my confidence while driving above 90km/hr. Can anyone please guide me in the right direction. I am not looking for high performance braking, but something better than what is present now. Help would be highly appreciated. TIA.

[saket77]

Hello,

I have been driving my pocket rocket 2002 MPFI Maruti Zen since 10 years now. The car itself is in great condition and I plan to keep it for some more time with me.
The issue is that I drove an Alto a few weeks back and immediately noticed that the braking was more efficient. In fact more than what I was prepared for. Let me add here that it had counterfeit brake shoes dropping black particles on the rim!
But just to have a check, I took my car to the ASC and had the rotors cleaned, brake lines bleeded & calipers greased. The brake shoes were in order so were not replaced. Brake shoes were rather scratched with sand paper to make them rough to produce more friction ( I don't know for how many braking cycles this rough would last!). Brakes improved of course, but still felt weaker than the Alto that I had driven. Its not that they are posing any hazard or danger, but still wanted to know if its a known fact that Zen's braking is little inefficient as compared to Alto or it was some fault with counterfeit break shoes.

Thanks in anticipation of answer!

Regards.

[NFS2024]

Can anyone let me know where to source EBC brakes from in India? Any contact numbers or website URLs please?

Thanks

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by NFS2024

Can anyone let me know where to source EBC brakes from in India? Any contact numbers or website URLs please?

Thanks

I think N1 racing Mumbai keeps them.

http://www.n1-racing.com/

[Jeroen]

Not sure how big a thing this is in India, but the one thing that really annoys me is the black brake dust on my nice shiny rims. I own a Jaguar XJR and that's a heavy, powerfull car, I drive it "enthusiastically, so even a few hours driving after cleaning will leave brake dust of over the rims.

So I upgraded to ceramic brake pads:

http://www.akebonobrakes.com/afterma...ads/index.html

Braking wise there is not much difference. If anything you might have to push a little harder. At least in theory they should be better on overall wear and fading.

And at long last I'm done completely with the brake dust. None that's visible.

Jeroen

[NFS2024]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I think N1 racing Mumbai keeps them.

http://www.n1-racing.com/

I already checked with n1 and they do not stock EBC brakes. However they have Hawk HPS brake pads.

[mithun]

My Ritz ZDi is due for the 40K service. The crappy JK Vectra is doing the tarmac duty and will be replaced within the next 5/10K.

My feeling is that the capable tall boy is having inadequate braking power when compared to its awesome acceleration.

What about upgrading the brake pads to something like http://www.amazon.in/ALTECH-Hi-Perfo.../dp/B00Z2DMB4I

I know that it's not practical to mess up with the braking system for a vehicle loaded with ABS, but please advice on improving Ritz's brakes other than the tyre upgrade?

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by mithun

My Ritz ZDi is due for the 40K service. The crappy JK Vectra is doing the tarmac duty and will be replaced within the next 5/10K.

My feeling is that the capable tall boy is having inadequate braking power when compared to its awesome acceleration.

What about upgrading the brake pads to something like http://www.amazon.in/ALTECH-Hi-Perfo.../dp/B00Z2DMB4I

I know that it's not practical to mess up with the braking system for a vehicle loaded with ABS, but please advice on improving Ritz's brakes other than the tyre upgrade?

Once you throw away the crappy vectras, and replace them with something nice like michelins or yokohamas, you should be able to notice some improvement in braking. Good brakes are nothing without good tyres.

[Manoj2268]

I would suggest you go with the Brembo high performance brakepads(which are available thru a dealer in Goa, I remember his ads in Tbhp classifieds) apart from the tire upgrade(195's will be more than sufficient for a car this size).

I would also recommend that you get the tires replaced first, as you said that they are nearing their end of usable life, with a brand having softer compound(s), then a complete brake check up . Brake service will help in identifying whether the car has uneven pad wear which is caused due to stuck caliper pins/spring pads(grease/replace accordingly). If the pad wear is even, then get the brake fluid replaced/flushed, rotors lightly sanded with emery paper and see if the braking improves.


This is the first time I have heard anyone saying that the ZDi variant of Swift/Ritz having inadequate braking power(just my observation, bhai). L/V Di variants, yes, they have undersized tires and the problem is compounded by the absence of ABS/EBD.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Once you throw away the crappy vectras, and replace them with something nice like michelins or yokohamas, you should be able to notice some improvement in braking. Good brakes are nothing without good tyres.

+1 i completely agree, Ritz has one of the better brakes from maruti stable of cars. The issue here i think are the tyres, get better tyres and maybe go for a 195 width, which will improve both handling and braking of the vehicle.

Performance pads are for very high speeds and competition use, they take more time to heat up and perform, which may not be the case in daily driving. So do think twice before spending money.

[mithun]

Thank you all.

I'm not saying that Ritz's brakes are bad in anyway, but when compared to the newer breed of vehicles and when driving the 1st Gen i20 Asta Diesel which is at home and which comes with rear disc brakes!

Maybe my crappy JK's are the real culprit. I will do the tyre upgrade for sure.

Any other cost effective options for a secure spirited driving?

[Akshay1234]

Upsize your tyres to 195 and choose a good brand like Michelin, Continental, Yokohama or Pirelli and see what a difference just this makes to the braking. I don't think you will feel the need to do anything more to your brakes after that.

[IshaanIan]

Mintex pads are cheap and should serve up a slight bump in braking abilities. Like everyone else has suggested, better tyres, preferably 195 section ones, and not some low rolling resistance eco tyre like Earth 1 or XM2, should improve things drastically. Lastly, maybe your brake lines have air in them and need bleeding or perhaps your braking technique needs revising because when it comes to cars, I switch between my Wagon R and Kizashi the most. The Kiz has the best braking ability in its segment with akebono components and I still don't need more than a drive out of my gate to get accustomed to the Wagon R's braking ability never even felt less confident with it. I found the Ritz's braking ability to be quite satisfactory but I would definitely find it lacking if I wasn't supplementing my braking with engine resistance like if I was using the clutch too much while braking or something silly like that.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by mithun

Thank you all.

I'm not saying that Ritz's brakes are bad in anyway, but when compared to the newer breed of vehicles and when driving the 1st Gen i20 Asta Diesel which is at home and which comes with rear disc brakes!

Maybe my crappy JK's are the real culprit. I will do the tyre upgrade for sure.

Any other cost effective options for a secure spirited driving?

Going for modified tyres with extra width will serve the purpose. In my Santro Xing, I have opted for 165 mm tyres as against the stock tyre size of 155mm.