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      06-14-2016, 04:46 PM   #1
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Track Review of EBC Yellow Brake Pads

I know that when someone looks for a "review" of brake pads, he or she needs to take any review with a grain of salt, as there are so many variables at play in how any particular brake pad performs on any given car, such as the following:

1. Type of pad (was it a 2011 pad, or a 2016 pad, as companies tend to update their compounds);
2. Type of tires;
3. Type of brake fluid;
4. Type of brake hardware
5. Weight of car;
6. Make/Model of car;
7. Type of track;
8. Environmental conditions on the day in use (temp, weather, etc.);
9. Experience level of driver (very important);
10. Manner in which the brakes are used;
11. Length of track session.

The list goes on. That being said, I recently took my M235i out to Buttonwillow Raceway Park in (central) California, and had a really good experience with them, so I figured I would share my experience.

First, me. I am a novice-intermediate level driver. I have a little under 20 days on track under my belt. I have an "idea" of what I am doing, but I by no means would call myself "good". I probably overwork my brakes (or underwork them, as the case may be) and I have a pile of technical driving problems to fix, but I am, at very least, not a danger to myself or others.

Second, my car. I have a 2015 M235i, 6MT (with sunroof -- adds weight, so have to mention it). The car has been moderately modified: F&R sway bars, camber plates, wider (255/35 x 4) and stickier (Hankook RS3) tires; LSD; Torque RT 700 brake fluid, stainless lines, Stoptech slotted rotors, fabspeed catted downpipe, and, of course, EBC Yellow brake pads.

Third, the track: Buttonwillow Raceway Park in the 26A configuration (see attached map), CW (same as map, but runs the A-Section turn in the lower left-hand corner). There are 6 major breaking zones on the track: Sunrise, into the A-Section, into Cotton Corners, end of Bus Stop, end of Drag Strip (into Star Mazda), and into Sunset. Speed reductions vary, however, Sunset, Sunrise, and Cotton-Corners involve (at least for me) dropping the car from 100-110+ down to about 50 or 60. The Drag Strip requires a drop from about 130+ down to about 40. On the days I was at the track, weather was dry, and average temperatures were around 90 F.

Long story short, the EBC Yellow pads held up extremely well, especially for a pad that can be used on the street with not too much annoyance (some light noise occasionally and excessive dust). I never had any issues with the pads overheating (I don't think I smelled them once, except the last session when my traction control was stuck on for about 10 minutes -- long story). Pedal never got soft, and the braking performance was constant throughout the entire 25 minute session (6 total sessions).

It was very confidence inspiring, especially at the end of the Drag Strip, which required you to dump in excess of 90 mph and make a low 3rd, high 2nd gear right hand turn, which was pretty sharp. I presume if you were a more experienced driver, or were driving a car with more power (or weight, grip, etc.), YMMV, but with my car in those conditions, the pads were very good.

Moreover, the pads are completely streetable. I have them on my car right now, and pedal feel is still very firm, bite is good, and they are only making a little nose after their long weekend (will probably abate with a few weeks of street driving to even them out).

I would highly recommend these pads if you fall into my sort of situation. I know a lot of people shit on EBC for various reasons (cheap, not a "real race pad", not Pagids, etc.), but they worked out really, really well for me. I will be getting another set after these are done.

Of course, if you are looking for a dedicated track pad, there are better alternatives. However, the EBC Yellow pads (for me at least) are a very good balance of street manners and track performance.
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      06-14-2016, 10:15 PM   #2
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Best dual use pad in my opinion. I use them as a street pad, and when I get lazy sometimes they see track.

No they are not a race pad, but they work well for what they are. Some tracks I run race pads in front and ebc yellow in rear, if there are not a lot of brake zones to heat up the rears.

They Make some slight squeezing at low speed, but nothing like race pads. Very very minor.
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      06-15-2016, 11:24 AM   #3
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Yellows are very good for street and decent for weekend track duty.


Not my fastest lap by far, but fastest on PSS and Yellowstuff so far.


Breaking from 130 to 65, after 3 laps i still noticed brake fade. You have to run a full cool down lap after 3 laps or you have no brakes at all. These are not track pads.

Im running bimmerworld SS lines with heat shields, ATE Blue.


Below is a m235iR from Classic BMW at LimeRock pulling 1:00.00 laptimes. They are on 18'x10" tires and full race prep.
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      06-15-2016, 11:32 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bryan_f22 View Post
Yellows are very good for street and decent for weekend track duty.


Not my fastest lap by far, but fastest on PSS and Yellowstuff so far.


Breaking from 130 to 65, after 3 laps i still noticed brake fade. You have to run a full cool down lap after 3 laps or you have no brakes at all. These are not track pads.

Im running bimmerworld SS lines with heat shields, ATE Blue.


Below is a m235iR from Classic BMW at LimeRock pulling 1:00.00 laptimes. They are on 18'x10" tires and full race prep.
To be fair, you are Enzo Tuned. Faster speeds = more breaking power needed. I'm still on the stock motor, so I don't need to haul myself down quite so much.

Also, I think maybe you should try the EBC Bluestuff pads? They are slightly more aggressive than the Yellows, but may still be streetable.
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      06-15-2016, 11:36 AM   #5
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I use pagids now or dedicated track pads with matching rotors when i feel like going full out. Sometimes I don't wan't to change everything and just drive a little more conservative.

Im basically 400/440 on the power scale.
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      06-15-2016, 11:39 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bryan_f22 View Post
I use pagids now or dedicated track pads with matching rotors when i feel like going full out. Sometimes I don't wan't to change everything and just drive a little more conservative.

Im basically 400/440 on the power scale.
Aren't Pagids dedicated track pads?

Also, yeah, I'm at 320/330 on the power scale (downpipe only with no tune), so no big deal there.

Again, I know Yellows are not full race pads, but for people who want a dual-use pad that can handle some track abuse, the Yellows do the job fairly well.
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      06-15-2016, 11:41 AM   #7
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they are race pads, but they are already cooked to my DD rotors.

Just brought it up because most ppl are JB4 with dp and will be going to a track for the first time. Just take caution at times it felt OEM pads lasted longer than the yellows.
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      06-15-2016, 11:42 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bryan_f22 View Post
they are race pads, but they are already cooked to my DD rotors.

Just brought it up because most ppl are JB4 with dp and will be going to a track for the first time. Just take caution at times it felt OEM pads lasted longer than the yellows.
Gotta disagree with you there. OEM pads do not last longer than the Yellows in my experience.
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      06-15-2016, 02:51 PM   #9
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oem pads did not even make it through euro delivery for me. They replaced the rotors and pads at port. 3 track days, 2 at the ring, one at spa. They were basically metal on metal.
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      06-15-2016, 06:24 PM   #10
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I have just got the EBC Yellow's for some weekend trackdays coming up. I've been just running the OEM stock pads, but i chewed through the fronts fairly quick last 2 track days in Loudon NH. The rears were still pretty beefy, the yellowstuff have a much stronger initial bite. In traffic they take some getting used too. But once on the track they will be great for occasional track use.. Good middle of road compound.

-Paul
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      06-17-2016, 06:47 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Liquidpaper View Post
Aren't Pagids dedicated track pads?
I run Pagid RS29 on the track and on the street without any problems.

They make less dust than the OEMs, but are sometimes a little noisy at slow speeds around town.

A very small price to pay for strong and fadeless track performance on such a heavy car!!!
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      06-17-2016, 06:59 AM   #12
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A little noise? Less dust?

Pagids ion my 911 on the street are loud enough to get me pulled over for a safety inspection, have zero bite until warm, can't heat them up street driving. They make more dust than a sander. Race pads are for he track.
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      06-17-2016, 12:24 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pparana View Post
A little noise? Less dust?

Pagids ion my 911 on the street are loud enough to get me pulled over for a safety inspection, have zero bite until warm, can't heat them up street driving. They make more dust than a sander. Race pads are for he track.
This is what I was talking about -- brake pad performance is extremely subjective. Some people don't think "sounding like a city bus" actually sounds like "a city bus." Some people don't mind excessive dust (I don't happen to care, but it really bothers some people).

Hell, I wish I could run RS29s on the street. But, I think at this point in time if you want near perfect track performance with reasonable street manners, you really need CCBs, but then you need to pony up 10k an axle when it comes time to do your rotors. No thank you.
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      06-17-2016, 12:38 PM   #14
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Thanks for the write-ups guys. Anyone have experience with the Ferodo DS2500? Seem like a good alternative to the Pagids?
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      06-17-2016, 12:57 PM   #15
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Thanks for the write-ups guys. Anyone have experience with the Ferodo DS2500? Seem like a good alternative to the Pagids?
The Ferodo pads are "intermediate" pads like the Yellowstuffs -- not full track pads like the Pagids.

I have no idea if they are any better than the Yellows (haven't tried them), but they are considerably more expensive.
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      06-17-2016, 01:05 PM   #16
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I have an m235i RWD Auto with Enzo Tune and Downpipe. Been using EBC Yellow Stuff pads for past 10,000 miles all for street use. I like them, no problems at all. Minimal if any noise. They do produce more dust than the OEM pads.
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      06-20-2016, 12:18 AM   #17
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Nice - glad to see the majority is favorable towards the yellows as I just installed them 2 days ago in prep for my June 26th track day at Colorado's best purpose-built roadcourse, High Planes Raceway. http://highplainsraceway.com/

I'm curious as to how the original poster learned abut Torque RT700? I've known the founder/president of Torque for some time, back when he was with Prospeed and the RS 683 fluid. This season it was used by 85% of the Indy 500 starting field (straight out of the bottle) and is by far the best fluid you can buy in my experience. My first track event with my 235 was stock which was a good baseline on many levels - but just changing to RT 700 decreased my laptimes by 3.5 seconds on the 2.5 mile HPR track.

Anyway - I have an FBO 235 now after selling my 550 WHP 135i last year. I used to race competitive national 125cc shifter karts and AMA regional superbikes, so I have a pretty good grasp on the ins-and-outs of vehicle dynamics and control at 90+% on a racetrack. Nothing under $1mm really can come close to the unfiltered hyper-adrenaline of the shifterkarts, but I will be at an "exotic car club" event at the same track on the 26th and will be mixing it up with some Ferrari 458s, lambos, vettes, porsches, etc. Haven't done Pure stage 2 yet - but think I can hold my own at 95% of driver/car ability vs. the rest of the field that will be much less experienced and/or willing to push their $200k cars to the limit.

I'll be sure to document how the new VRSP intercooler, EAS straight DP, EBC yellows (after a good 200 mile break-in), JB4 on race map, E85/race gas mix, and 135/155 Bridgestone Potenza RE-71r rubber can perform in the company of some exotic sheet metal/aluminum!
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      06-20-2016, 12:33 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by ramair311
Nice - glad to see the majority is favorable towards the yellows as I just installed them 2 days ago in prep for my June 26th track day at Colorado's best purpose-built roadcourse, High Planes Raceway. http://highplainsraceway.com/

I'm curious as to how the original poster learned abut Torque RT700? I've known the founder/president of Torque for some time, back when he was with Prospeed and the RS 683 fluid. This season it was used by 85% of the Indy 500 starting field (straight out of the bottle) and is by far the best fluid you can buy in my experience. My first track event with my 235 was stock which was a good baseline on many levels - but just changing to RT 700 decreased my laptimes by 3.5 seconds on the 2.5 mile HPR track.

Anyway - I have an FBO 235 now after selling my 550 WHP 135i last year. I used to race competitive national 125cc shifter karts and AMA regional superbikes, so I have a pretty good grasp on the ins-and-outs of vehicle dynamics and control at 90+% on a racetrack. Nothing under $1mm really can come close to the unfiltered hyper-adrenaline of the shifterkarts, but I will be at an "exotic car club" event at the same track on the 26th and will be mixing it up with some Ferrari 458s, lambos, vettes, porsches, etc. Haven't done Pure stage 2 yet - but think I can hold my own at 95% of driver/car ability vs. the rest of the field that will be much less experienced and/or willing to push their $200k cars to the limit.

I'll be sure to document how the new VRSP intercooler, EAS straight DP, EBC yellows (after a good 200 mile break-in), JB4 on race map, E85/race gas mix, and 135/155 Bridgestone Potenza RE-71r rubber can perform in the company of some exotic sheet metal/aluminum!
Hilariously, heard about it on a The Smoking Tire one take. Some guy was raving about it and I figured I'd try some. Its really great.
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      06-22-2016, 06:41 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pparana View Post
A little noise? Less dust?

Pagids ion my 911 on the street are loud enough to get me pulled over for a safety inspection, have zero bite until warm, can't heat them up street driving. They make more dust than a sander. Race pads are for he track.
This is you opinion and not at all my case. The only downside to my Pagids (besides cost) is the occasional relatively minor noise, which I can live with.

With regards to the problem of getting them up temp on the street, this is simply untrue on my car with these pads.

In fact, your comments could mislead others into making wrong decisions.

If they are bedded-in correctly at the beginning, they will treat you well.
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      06-22-2016, 11:53 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Béhème View Post
This is you opinion and not at all my case. The only downside to my Pagids (besides cost) is the occasional relatively minor noise, which I can live with.

With regards to the problem of getting them up temp on the street, this is simply untrue on my car with these pads.

In fact, your comments could mislead others into making wrong decisions.

If they are bedded-in correctly at the beginning, they will treat you well.
His comments shouldn't be misleading anyone into doing anything. Like I said in the OP, reviews/impressions of brake pads should be taken with a grain of salt -- including his, yours, and mine. If using Pagids on the street works for you, super. But don't pretend like your opinion of those pads on the street is somehow worth more than someone else's conflicting opinion.
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      06-22-2016, 09:46 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Béhème View Post
This is you opinion and not at all my case. The only downside to my Pagids (besides cost) is the occasional relatively minor noise, which I can live with.

With regards to the problem of getting them up temp on the street, this is simply untrue on my car with these pads.

In fact, your comments could mislead others into making wrong decisions.

If they are bedded-in correctly at the beginning, they will treat you well.
Pagid rs 29 are racing endurance pads, they need 400 degrees c to reach there optimum operating coefficient. Street pads are usually 100-200 degrees c.

race pads require heat to work effectively. The ferrous materials in racing brake pads require higher temperatures or they become very abrasive to the rotor surface. This is why you don't want to use track pads on the street. But once some heat has built up from several hard stops they are phenomenal. If your not heating the pads sufficiently, you need to rebed them often.

It's just not practical for most drivers to run race pads, unless they can get the brakes hot, real hot often. Otherwise it is the worst of both worlds, glazed expensive pads and rotors.
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      06-23-2016, 09:01 AM   #22
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don't use race pads for daily driving.

If you are on the highway for a period of time with no braking the pads will cool, than when you need to stop short, you wont have any brakes.
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