# Apec Brake pads



## NELLEE (Mar 8, 2014)

Just thought I would update the forum on my recent quest for brake pads, 

I took a punt on these Apec's off Ebay and they have been fine for normal road use. I wouldn't say I push my car that much, just the odd blast now and then , and there fine for me.

Just ordered a spare set front and back for £90


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## tangoturbo (Jun 4, 2014)

I also saw them as well but didnt want take chances,
Go on push a bit harder let us know your review on them please.
thanks


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## james_barker (Nov 17, 2016)

Tenner says you end up parked next to this chap! 









Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk


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## tangoturbo (Jun 4, 2014)

NELLEE said:


> Just thought I would update the forum on my recent quest for brake pads,
> 
> I took a punt on these Apec's off Ebay and they have been fine for normal road use. I wouldn't say I push my car that much, just the odd blast now and then , and there fine for me.
> 
> Just ordered a spare set front and back for £90


Hi
How are the Apec pads doing?
are they up to expectation ?
thanks


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## needforspeed (Mar 6, 2008)

I've gone for a set for my road-going R33 GTR. They are backed by a 2 year/24,000 mile warranty so they can't be that bad for purely normal road use?


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## K66 SKY (Jan 25, 2005)

needforspeed said:


> *I've gone for a set for my road-going R33 GTR. They are backed by a 2 year/24,000 mile warranty so they can't be that bad for purely normal road use?*


Well...When I was a poor Lucas Apprentice, Limited funds mean't I once had to use Apec brake pads _(supplied by a local Motor Factors)_ on my 90bhp 1.8S Opel Manta Hatchback. These were utter $hite and the worst pads I ever used. This car BTW was only ever used as a road car, So NEVER got Tracked either....

The cheap pad material glazed up quickly and soon broke down loosing massive chunks of pad without warning as more and more heat cycled through them. Pedal feel was only ever spongey at best. I learned fast that when you _"Buy Cheap"_ you often _"Buy Twice"_ life lesson back then.

Apec Brake pads made my under powered Manta scary and unpredictable in utterly normal conditions, So I'd hate to think of what a Skyline GT-R would be like with a set of these Brake Pads fitted?! 

JM2PW!


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## needforspeed (Mar 6, 2008)

K66 SKY said:


> Well...When I was a poor Lucas Apprentice, Limited funds mean't I once had to use Apec brake pads _(supplied by a local Motor Factors)_ on my 90bhp 1.8S Opel Manta Hatchback. These were utter $hite and the worst pads I ever used. This car BTW was only ever used as a road car, So NEVER got Tracked either....
> 
> The cheap pad material glazed up quickly and soon broke down loosing massive chunks of pad without warning as more and more heat cycled through them. Pedal feel was only ever spongey at best. I learned fast that when you _"Buy Cheap"_ you often _"Buy Twice"_ life lesson back then.
> 
> ...


How long ago are we talking here? I'm guessing quite a few years? I'd wager that Apec brake pads may have improved considerably to the point where they are now confident enough in the quality of their products to offer a fairly decent warranty.

I'm going to run these and will happily report back either way. I'm certainly hoping they'll be safer and more suitable than the Endless pads that were on the car previously. These supposedly superior and pricier pads were lethal until they warmed up - hardly ideal for normal road driving! :nervous:


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## Stealth69 (Jan 6, 2005)

I suspect it was just after the dinosaurs went extinct because he says it was an Opel manta lol

I***8217;d not use the Apec pads I don***8217;t think. I went for hawk racing pads and they are mint!


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## K66 SKY (Jan 25, 2005)

needforspeed said:


> *How long ago are we talking here? I'm guessing quite a few years? I'd wager that Apec brake pads may have improved considerably to the point where they are now confident enough in the quality of their products to offer a fairly decent warranty.*


My Own personal experience was over two decades ago BUT I work in the Motor Trade and Apec products have not really improved since so I still wouldn't recommend them to anyone. 




Stealth69 said:


> *I suspect it was just after the dinosaurs went extinct because he says it was an Opel manta lol
> *


LOL! I had seven of them back in the day. Started off with a bog standard 1.8S GT/J Hatch which lead to me building a 160bhp 2.2i GT/E and finally a 170bhp Calibra powered 2.0i 16v Exclusive GT/E Coupé. 

Hmmm...I wonder where my love for a modified Skyline possibly came from?? :chuckle:


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## needforspeed (Mar 6, 2008)

K66 SKY said:


> My Own personal experience was over two decades ago BUT I work in the Motor Trade and Apec products have not really improved since so I still wouldn't recommend them to anyone.


That's fair enough, and I appreciate how a bad personal experience can colour any future dealings but Apec sell over 18 million brake pads a year, all backed with a 2 year/24,000 mile warranty, so I find it hard to believe that they can still be _that_ bad.

As they say though, the proof is in the pudding, so I'm going to give them a try and see how they go!


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## Stealth69 (Jan 6, 2005)

needforspeed said:


> As they say though, the proof is in the pudding, so I'm going to give them a try and see how they go!


So in a months time you will either be posting a glowing report or a "wanted - Front End" advert


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

If it did come to it I have the following

Bonnet
Wing ns
Bumper
Undertray


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## needforspeed (Mar 6, 2008)

Stealth69 said:


> So in a months time you will either be posting a glowing report or a "wanted - Front End" advert


Ha ha, it'll be a bit longer than a month - the car won't be back on the road until Spring time but aye, one or the other! 



Skint said:


> If it did come to it I have the following
> 
> Bonnet
> Wing ns
> ...


Beat it and sell your parts on your own thread! :chuckle:


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## K66 SKY (Jan 25, 2005)

needforspeed said:


> *but Apec sell over 18 million brake pads a year, all backed with a 2 year/24,000 mile warranty, so I find it hard to believe that they can still be that bad.*


Its all about perspective....a Ford Ka or Vauxhall Corsa Owner is more than likely to use such cheap _"That'll do"_ products. I though personally wouldn't use them on a 155mph capable machine...._But It's your Car, Your Rules!_  

Gotta love the interwebs tho, Folks ask for Members advice on some products then others defend rubbish bargain basement parts usage for their Performance Car. CRAZY?! 

_Its almost as bad as the boastful supposedly 800bhp+ Supra Owner I met at the Whifbits Open Day who was running said vehicle on standard Brakes and Wanli no grip tyres!!!!_ Excellent choices for such a machine....


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## needforspeed (Mar 6, 2008)

K66 SKY said:


> Its all about perspective....a Ford Ka or Vauxhall Corsa Owner is more than likely to use such cheap _"That'll do"_ products. I though personally wouldn't use them on a 155mph capable machine...._But It's your Car, Your Rules!_


But then where in the UK are you going to manage anything over 70mph other than on a track? If an owner is planning on doing anything like those speeds, they'd probably never use a street pad regardless of price. 

My point is that for everyday road use, I don't think there'll be anything wrong with these pads _so_ I'm going to try them and if they are bad, I'll happily admit it. As I said before, there's no way they can be worse than the track-biased pads that were in the car previously - at least these pads are actually designed for road use and won't require me to do the equivalent of a hot lap before I got any real stopping force!



K66 SKY said:


> Gotta love the interwebs tho, Folks ask for Members advice on some products then others defend rubbish bargain basement parts usage for their Performance Car. CRAZY?!


Are these "rubbish bargain basement parts"? They are cheaper than performance pads, sure, but priced comparatively with other OEM-spec pads. Secondly, most parts manufacturers knowingly producing rubbish wouldn't give any kind of warranty, would they? 

You had a bad experience with Apec pads in an Opel Manta years ago and are willing to write-off all the development that's likely gone into their products since then without trying them? I mean, I didn't have the best experience losing my virginity but it didn't cause me to write-off all women for the rest of my days.  

At the end of the day I don't _know_ how these will perform, but then really neither do you, all we have are our somewhat differing opinions. I'm at least willing to give them a try and find out so that the OP (and others) can make a more informed choice. 

_That's_ what makes the interweb great: it allows people to view both sides of a debate and then make their own judgments based on all the available information.


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## K66 SKY (Jan 25, 2005)

needforspeed said:


> *But then where in the UK are you going to manage anything over 70mph other than on a track? If an owner is planning on doing anything like those speeds, they'd probably never use a street pad regardless of price. *


So why did you buy a GT-R exactly? 



needforspeed said:


> *You had a bad experience with Apec pads in an Opel Manta years ago and are willing to write-off all the development that's likely gone into their products since then without trying them? I mean, I didn't have the best experience losing my virginity but it didn't cause me to write-off all women for the rest of my days.  *


_Urrm...Thanks for sharing that virginity tale._ :nervous:

FWIW, I done an Apprenticeship with Lucas Heavy Duty Braking Systems Cwmbran and then worked for Lucas Car Braking Systems Pontypool afterwards experiencing plenty of R&D during those years too which took me to their sites at Bouzonville in France and also Koblenz in Germany. I now work Testing peoples vehicles daily for the DVSA, But hey-ho what do I know about cars and the parts fitted to them??

For Road use, Anything with genuine Mintex or Ferrodo linings will do and won't cost the earth either! 

And that's all I'm going say on this subject. You have your opinion, I have mine and that's that needforspeed. :thumbsup:


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## charles charlie (May 3, 2008)

Well my tuppence worth is that I've tried probably 90% of the pads out there for the R35 over the last 8 years (9 in May) and the Ferrodo DS2500 take some beating for price and performance.

If you shirk at their cost I do wonder how you can afford to run an r35 at all as I wouldn't call them expensive for a performance car pad.


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## Teaboy (Apr 24, 2016)

K66 SKY said:


> For Road use, Anything with genuine Mintex or Ferrodo linings will do and won't cost the earth either!


Completely agree and have always had great experience with the both.







charles charlie said:


> Well my tuppence worth is that I've tried probably 90% of the pads out there for the R35 over the last 8 years (9 in May) and the Ferrodo DS2500 take some beating for price and performance.
> 
> If you shirk at their cost I do wonder how you can afford to run an r35 at all as I wouldn't call them expensive for a performance car pad.


As CC says it's the best all round pad for the GTR and as far as I know with the exception of the Apec ( in a GTR ) I have driven them all.


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## needforspeed (Mar 6, 2008)

To reply to a couple of points:

1. I bought my GT-R because it's always been my dream to own one. Just because I own one doesn't automatically mean I'm even remotely interested in breaking the speeding laws. 9 times out of 10 I have my 5 year-old in the car with me because he loves it too. The other 1 time out of 10 I have my entire family in the car.

2. While I love the car, I have a wife and young family who I love more. As the sole earner, where I can I like to seek out the best value when buying parts. While I do not 'shirk' at the cost of more expensive road pads, as I've said in previous posts, for _my_ needs I do not believe there will be anything wrong with the Apec pads so I'm going to give them a try. If they don't work out, I'll know better next time and take it as a lesson learned - I'm quite into actually trying things before I judge them, it's a quirk of mine I guess.

There are many ways to own a Skyline; with my earnings and other commitments I'm certainly lucky to own mine.


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## charles charlie (May 3, 2008)

Playing devils advocate I would argue that having a wife and young family you owe it to them to spend a little more to keep you safely on the black stuff.

There are good reasons why larger numbers of people settle on two or three brands of pads.

Those that track head towards Pagid.

Those that don't I'd argue tend towards the DS2500 and for very good reason. Price/performance balance.

I'd also suggest it's the same with tyres. Some try alternatives and in my experience soon find out why the popular ones remain so.

Not looking for an argument or to ridicule your choice, just presenting an alternative view based on experience and the available evidence.


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## terry lloyd (Feb 12, 2014)

Give them a go and see what you think - everyone told me EBC yellow stuff pads are rubbish , i actually rated them for road use on a heavy gtr and i had other race pad options sat in the garage


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## charles charlie (May 3, 2008)

Don't listen to this GTR traitor. His opinion is now meaningless :bawling:


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## terry lloyd (Feb 12, 2014)

Still more than happy to share my 4 years of diy tuning experience with these cars :thumbsup:


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## charles charlie (May 3, 2008)

Nope, just static.... :chuckle:


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## needforspeed (Mar 6, 2008)

Fair enough comment. I personally think that for the amount of miles I cover and with my style of driving these pads will do everything they are designed to do well enough for my needs, but I've certainly taken everything all the other owners have commented on board.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a healthy discussion.

Tyres are a topic for another thread, but agreed they are also important. I've bought what I hope will be a good set in a higher price band - they certainly get good reviews!


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## Trevgtr (Dec 24, 2012)

needforspeed said:


> If they don't work out, I'll know better next time and take it as a lesson learned - I'm quite into actually trying things before I judge them, it's a quirk of mine I guess.


Fair play to you, I like people that don't follow the flock. I had all the same comments when I was the first to try Borg & Beck pads for the R35 nearly 5 years ago. I actually found them great for road use, some others hated them (just search and you'll see!).

But back then they were 60 quid for a full set front and rear! I shot myself in the foot by telling people about them though, and the price shot up to 250 quid which no longer represents decent value to me.

Discs and pads are one of the drawbacks of R35 ownership IMO, they are just such a blatant rip off in price. A couple of months ago I was quoted just over £3000 for a pair of front discs - scamming idiots!


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