Series 1 Brakes

[Stattic]

Hey all, my front brakes badly need doing, pads and rotors so in a few weeks i will be upgrading them at home with a mate.
Keeping in mind its a series 1, what have people used? so far im leaning towards DBA slotted rotors and QFM pads (they are a definite). does anyone know if bursons or repco or something would sell QFM because i can get trade price there. i doubt they do but i thought id ask anyway

also what series DBA rotors? im not sure what options there are for my brakes so any info would be awesome.
thanks everyone!

[GS608]

I'd go RDA over DBA, basically the same thing but MUCH cheaper.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

I've done a brake upgrade on my ghia s1, dba slotted all round with bendix brake pads.

$600 all up from Race Brakes Sydney, they're a site sponsor on here, hit them up and say you're a member of ford forums. Fantastic service, fast postage and if my dealings are anything to go by you shouldn't have any issues.

Matt is a great guy who will go out of his way to help you get the right setup to suit your needs.

[Stattic]

a good mate of mine is a ford mechanic and can get me trade prices so im sure nowhere is going to do better value since he is fitting them for free lol
not 100% sure where i can get cheap QFM pads from tho...

whats the big difference with RDA and DBA anyway that allows DBA to get away with being more expensive? keeping in mind im getting either a lot cheaper, which should i go for and what series

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Off another forum: "DBA are made here in oz with a few different options and RDA are made overseas.The quality and finished product of a DBA disc rotor compared to a RDA rotor speaks for itself."

To counter this: "DBA are the ones that are misleading when they claim their rotors are Australian made, only a small selection are. Just because something is made in China, doesn't mean it is poor quality. An Australian owned company that has it's manufacturing plant in China is only taking advantage of less expensive labour and overheads. the same manufacturing tools and techniques are used as if they are made in Australia, just made in China. (Most of the time)."

I've had people swear by DBA and other by RDA.... the choice is yours really, mine do the trick but it really does appear to be brand name you're paying for... but im a whore for the shiny, hence I went brand name

[Stattic]

so what should i expect? my real question is... will DBA brake better than RDA? will one wear faster or warp easier etc?

[JC]

Originally Posted by Stattic

so what should i expect? my real question is... will DBA brake better than RDA? will one wear faster or warp easier etc?

I've had both DBA and RDA in the past, and both have performed and worn well. If anything, the DBAs seemed to need nachininf more regularly (every 10,000km or so), where the RDAs I had for 18 months, and they never needed machining. RDAs don't come with paintd hats, so will rust up pretty easily unless you paint them. DBAs do come painted so do not rust up as easily. I'd still go RDAs and paint the hats.

[Stattic]

i suppose the best advice i could get is from someone who has had both, thanks JC!
ill get some prices on both and ill take it from there =)

[Mont5.0]

any reason why you wouldnt upgrade to series II brakes??

[ON_DUBS]

Upgrade to Series 2 it's so much better.
Get a nice low kms set of brakes from a BF that's what I put on my S1 Fairlane.

Besides the brake discs and calipers you need the lower control arms, uprights, swaybar and the mounting brackets for the sway bar. Simply unbolt the old stuff and bolt your new gear in.
Only thing was I had to drill an extra hole for each sway bar bracket.

In total the job cost me barely $500

[POELWYK]

im up for ney roters mine have heat spots on then again

[Stattic]

I thought the brake conversion was complicated I don't know if I'd want to try it at home and too expensive to pay someone

[POELWYK]

its not hard i was looking at that when i had mine in a part yesterday i can do the s2 upgrade

[SLO AU XR8]

I have DBA slotted rotors up front and RDA's on the rear, my front's have done close to 20k without any drama's.

[Ride]

Series 2 brake conversion without a doubt, there's so many options once you've done the conversion and can usually go larger sizes easily if need be. I'd be going the BA/BF 322mm upgrade once you do the S2 stuff.

[Stattic]

I don't need to go overboard, my brakes are actually good, not sure on the pads or disc but they don't seem anything special and they stop really well
I'd be just replacing discs and pads but while I'm there why not get a bit of an improvement? I think I'll be happy with these

[Mont5.0]

twin piston calipers FTW.

[Dave_Obsession]

Originally Posted by Stattic

not 100% sure where i can get cheap QFM pads from tho..

Try Brakewest in Sunshine....that's where I got mine...the HPX are about $160 for fronts and rears IIRC....

[Stattic]

Dave! Haven't heard from you in a bit lol
160 for all 4?that's really cheap

[Dave_Obsession]

Originally Posted by Stattic

Dave! Haven't heard from you in a bit lol
160 for all 4?that's really cheap

Yeah moved house, still haven't got internet yet lol....can only get on at work every now and then!!! Hopefully getting it sorted in the next few days, then I'll be back on all the time LOL

Yeah about $160 - $170 was what I was quoted for the HP-X, and $116 for the Super X pads (plus postage)......

I paid for the Super X, but they sent me the HP-X anyway!!

[FLOORED]

Originally Posted by Stattic

so what should i expect? my real question is... will DBA brake better than RDA? will one wear faster or warp easier etc?

Personal preference is DBA.
To answer the other questions though,can i ask what brake pads you will be running and how do you drive the car ? the answers to these questions will determine the answer to the other questions.It is always a good idea to ask what people are running to get positive or negative feedback but in the end all drivers and cars are different and you may need to run a combination first to get your answers.

FYI - Avoid Bendix GCT pads with slotted rotors as this combination has proved the most troublesome combination.

[GK]

Series 2 Upgrade FTW!

I have had dba and rda. Rda is much better for the reasons described earlier by JC; less machining (in fact none at all on either falcon) and they're considerably cheaper.

Even my Brakes Plus guy said he'd go rda, even though they get most of their stuff from dba! He also mentioned that you'll have less warping with rda.

I use QFM pads on rda slotted rotors and have found the combo very good.

The site sponsor is correct though, you choose the pad for your particular style of driving. I would still select from the QFM range though.

All the best with your decision.

GK