My Mk3 ZS - Brake Suggestions

[Ubetcha]

Winter weather / Cold water has played havoc with one of my brake discs and I am now the proud owner of a warped disc! 

I just had a quick search to see if there was anything on relating to brake upgrades but unfortunately I could find anything relevant so I'm asking..

..Should I just replace the discs with factory Ford ones or should I spend a little more and get an aftermarket set?

If so, what do fellow owners recommend please? and if i'm taking the discs off I may also buy new pads as well..

..Suggestions (and approx prices please!) Thanks everyone

[Luke4efc]

I've always used Pagid or Brembo when changing disks/pads. Maybe Eicher if they're quite a bit cheaper.

Check EuroCarParts, they usually have a 50% off code floating around. If not then 35% off pretty much every week. I got rear Brembo discs and pads just before christmas for £80 ish. You'd get them cheaper with Pagid, but I didn't know if they had new pad clips. Never do one side (ECP won't let you buy 1 disc anyway) and pads come as a full set for front or rear too.

[Tasape]

Mintex,   get them on Ebay  quite cheap

EBC  are good but Expensive  

[JW1982]

If you want the original brake discs you should be aware that there is a difference between the original Ford (ATE) brake discs and the Motorcraft brake discs. The original Ford brake discs are produced by ATE. These are the same brake discs as the ones that are factory fitted. Ford also offers the Motorcraft brake discs as a cheaper alternative for the original Ford brake discs. The Motorcraft brand includes a large number of aftermarket service parts that are are a cheaper alternative for the OEM Ford parts.

I do not know the current situation but in the past Motorcraft brake discs and brake pads were basically just rebranded Bosch parts. 
 

I personally prefer Brembo brake discs combined with Textar brake pads. I have very good experiences with this combination. Considerably more brake force than the OEM brakes and a lot less braking dust.

[FatHead1979]

I've got Brembo discs and EBC Yellowstuff pads, neither are particularly cheap (especially the pads).  In terms of value for offering really good value for money Pagid and Mintex seem to be popular on here, just don't go for el-cheapo no name discs and I'd give Eicher a swerve as well.

My local garage refuses to fit Eicher discs due to multiple warping issues, one disc was apparently warped when it arrived at the garage from Euro Car Parts!! 

[Ubetcha]

Thanks for your comments guys, at least I have an idea now. I'm going to look into these over this weekend and get something ordered. I'll keep you all updated.

[Ubetcha]

OK, so I've spent the last thirty minutes searching.. this is not an easy thing!

Trying to find something that actually fits is not as easy as they'd have you believe..

Amazons links were appreciated buy they were just generic searches for "Ford" + "Brembo" and I couldn't see anything applicable there :-(

eBay was comical.. Enter the details of your car and search.. A huge list of brake pads seemingly available yet when choosing one and double checking to see if it fit I kept getting "This item does not fit Ford Focus 2011 MK III [2010-2018] Hatchback 1.6 EcoBoost 1596ccm 182HP 134KW (Petrol)." so that was rather annoying. I even listed the search by price (most expensive first) and it still said they weren't compatible!

Right then, I went straight to the manufacturer (Brembo's PDF) and looked at their PDF so see what was suggested in that.. This states "FD213000" which of course eBay and amazon don't have any of! I found a link in Germany HERE for the price of around €321, obviously plus p&p etc but is this really the only offering I can choose from?

Regarding pads, I've found HERE from Textar, wtf is 'epad'?

Looking at the top two examples, I've found Option 1 HERE on amazon for around £25 and Option 2 HERE from OnlineCarParts for around £55 - Any suggestions?? Will either fit? According to amazon check fitment those should be good but they seem too cheap to me! Thoughts?

Also is this a typo? ..

Quote

Posted Monday at 07:55 AM - 1979Damian said "neither are particularly cheap (especially the pads)"

Discs circa €350, pads circa £55 - Sorry but I'm either muddled up or I'm looking at the wrong this of items to buy for my Zetec-S (Confirmation please)

If you can specify model numbers so I can easily find items you refer to as well please guy it'll certainly be appreciated.

OK, I'll hold fire until I hear back from you guys, I wont order anything just yet! Thanks in advance :-)

[wilto]

I have a 2010 Zetec S it has 278 mm discs on the front and 265mm discs on the back (done a rear disc conversion) 

I'm not 100% sure but I think your discs will be the same, if so then put the size into eBay and do a search from there.

[wilto]

Here you go

[Ubetcha]

Appreciate that Wilto,

 

Actually I started looking with my eyes at EuroCarParts and found these two.. I entered the old UK reg too to find out if they were 300mm or 278mm discs..

 

Link 1 - Discs

 

Link 2 - Pads

 

I presume these are the correct items? (and much cheaper than the Brembo race discs I discovered earlier (£180.97 + £3.95 P&P / €211.47))

 

 

If these were correct would these be best price? Its hard for me to know! Thanks

 

[wilto]

You need to whip your wheel off and measure the discs, like you said it will either be 278mm or 300mm, I reckon it'll be the 278mm ones. Euro Car Parts I find have upped their prices, and then give you a big discount at the checkout, I mean £44 for a set of pads, come on. Don't go for the Eicher brand they are rubbish. Have a look for on eBay, the Mintex one's I posted a pic of earlier look like a good buy, when I come to change mine next, that's what I'll be getting.

[FatHead1979]

17 hours ago, wilto said:

You need to whip your wheel off and measure the discs, like you said it will either be 278mm or 300mm, I reckon it'll be the 278mm ones. Euro Car Parts I find have upped their prices, and then give you a big discount at the checkout, I mean £44 for a set of pads, come on. Don't go for the Eicher brand they are rubbish. Have a look for on eBay, the Mintex one's I posted a pic of earlier look like a good buy, when I come to change mine next, that's what I'll be getting.

+1 for DON'T touch Eicher they are DOG *****!  They'll likely be warped within 3 months....assuming they don't come warped out of the box.  IMHO unless one of the "bigger" names is on at a silly discount somewhere then just buy Mintex and you shouldn't need to worry about it.

[Luke4efc]

You can usually find a 50% off code for brake stuff at Euro Car Parts. If not then check to see if the price is less at Car Parts For Less. It's the same company just a different website. The boxes usually come with ECP stickers on anyway.

[wilto]

Going off topic a bit, this is the reason I don't shop with ECP anymore, in the early days they used to display the price you pay at the checkout.

Now they over inflate their prices by 55% and the give you a discount of 50% at the checkout thinking you've got a good deal.

[Ubetcha]

Thanks for the advise guy, its always appreciated.. Yes, I must whip a wheel off and just double check although I'm 99% certain that it'll be a 300mm disc. What make you think it'll be a 278mm disc Wilto? Also after the first few helpful comments on this thread I always had planned to avoid Eicher. The screenshots I posted are Brembo/Pagid aren't they? Cool.. OK so I'll also check out CPFL as suggested Luke, infact I'll do it now.. HOLY MOTHER.. look!! 

That IS SOME difference.. Brilliant! - Well done guys, that's definitely a beer I owe you!

 

 

 

 

[Luke4efc]

I still reckon you can get it for around £90.

[FatHead1979]

If you use the weekend35 discount code I suspect the price differences between the 2 will be minimal, plus with ECP you can collect them straight away if the stuff is in stock.

[Dave1981]

Can only comment on my MK2.5 but I run Brembo discs and pads all round. Done 10k on them and they are gr8. 

[wilto]

18 hours ago, Ubetcha said:

. What make you think it'll be a 278mm disc Wilto

Because on the MK2.5 only the 2.0 litre petrol and the 1.8 and 2.0 litre diesel had the 300 mm front discs, all other size engine's had the 278mm discs, apart from the ST which had 320 front and 300mm rears. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong 😉

By the way, mines a pint of Stella Artois 🍺🍺🍺

[Ubetcha]

17 hours ago, Luke4efc said:

I still reckon you can get it for around £90.

Please Luke, show me, show me!!

15 hours ago, 1979Damian said:

If you use the weekend35 discount code I suspect the price differences between the 2 will be minimal, plus with ECP you can collect them straight away if the stuff is in stock.

I'm going to be a postal customer due to living in Southern Ireland.

14 hours ago, Dave1981 said:

Can only comment on my MK2.5 but I run brembo discs and pads all round. Done 10k on them and they are gr8. 

Thanks Dave, that's reassuring to know.

8 hours ago, wilto said:

Because on the MK2.5 only the 2.0 litre petrol and the 1.8 and 2.0 litre diesel had the 300 mm front discs, all other size engine's had the 278mm discs, apart from the ST which had 320 front and 300mm rears. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong 😉

By the way, mines a pint of Stella Artois 🍺🍺🍺

Well, mine definitely has 300mm front discs! For the left photo I stood the tape measure on the ground and adjusted it to the top of the disc, I took closer shots on the right because if you look at the left image it looks miles out, that's just perspective, I didn't move the tape at all for the three photos. Hmm a good 'ole pint of wife beater eh!!!

[Dave1981]

Ur right my 2.0 MK2.5 is 300mm front and I think 260 or 270mm rear. 

Personally I'd go with best you can afford as you can't put a price on safety.

[Ubetcha]

On 2/12/2018 at 6:48 AM, Dave1981 said:

Ur right my 2.0 MK2.5 is 300mm front and I think 260 or 270mm rear. 

Personally I'd go with best you can afford as you can't put a price on safety.

Agree'd

Went with the cheaper and only £5 for delivery to Ireland.. Will update once they arrive.. (and no doubt there will be a host of cheaper listings posted here now that I've ordered!!)