Using EBC Red Stuff brake pads was the cornerstone of my brake upgrade for Buster, my 2015 Countryman S, and they are amazing.
When you say you want your brake pads to be good pads and to stop the vehicle as good as possible it sounds simple, and the idea really is, but as with most things the simplicity is really an illusion if you are into performance mods for your MINI. Let’s break down (no pun intended) how your pads affect your braking and see how these address those concerns. Then we will look at how EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads from EBC Brakes handle our needs.
I want to start by saying that no brakes and no brake pads (even the EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads) will stop a car with bad or worn-out tires. Tires are absolutely your first line of defense. Buy good tires, sized correctly, and keep them in good shape.
Stopping power
First and foremost you want your brake pads to stop the vehicle as quickly as possible. The problem here is that EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads, as well as other brake pads, react differently at different temperatures, and some can actually glaze over when heavily used making them almost non-functional.
Since I tend to do a lot of drives where I am dealing with a lot of high-speed curves generally with MINIs in front and behind me, my brakes really get a workout so I need a set of pads that can perform well under high heat and extreme use. This necessitates a pad that will bite hard when they are very hot. EBC Red Stuff brake pads are supposed to have a very high heat tolerance.
Next, my MINI is a daily driver, this means I need my brakes to work well when I have just cranked the car in thirty-degree Fahrenheit weather and roll up to that first stop sign in traffic. This necessitates a pad that will bite hard when they are very cold.
Regular brake pads you get at the auto parts store are for your regular drivers on regular roads. They perform fine in cold weather and will stop the car well immediately after cranking the car with no warmup. You can get better quality ones that have a little more bite for a few dollars more. The problem here is these pads will glaze up when pushed very hard which massively reduces your stopping capabilities. These are like the EBC Green Stuff pads.
The other end of the spectrum is to use track or racing pads. Once warmed up these pads bite like crazy and will stop the car on a dime even when they are almost red hot. There is almost no glazing or fading when they are pushed to the limit. Unfortunately, they don’t stop worth a flip when they are cold (in this case meaning not well heated up from use). These are like the EBC Yellow Stuff pads.
The solution here is something in between like these EBC Red Stuff pads. They are good at stopping the vehicle when they are cold and excellent at stopping the vehicle when they are hot.
The EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads are not as good as the greens first thing in the morning but there tends to be less traffic and I have more time to react in 30mph traffic in town making it less critical that I have every inch of braking power I can get.
The EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads are also not as good when they are superheated, such as in an actual race environment or in competition track events. Fortunately for me, I don’t race my car or participate in those kinds of track events so I should be in good shape.
Other considerations
I would also like a pad that lasts a long time, doesn’t eat away at my rotors and generates very little visible brake dust which makes my wheels and calipers look terrible.
Regular brake pads from the auto parts store tend to be fairly gentle on your rotors and for a few bucks more you can get ones that do not generate too much brake dust so there really isn’t much gain here going with something like the EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads although they do generate very little visible brake dust and so far have not hurt my rotors.
One small downside is that the EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads are a little noisier than the factory pads. While this is to be expected since they do grab more, it can be a little disconcerting if you are not expecting it. This is made worse if you, like me, switch to performance rotors that are drilled and/or slotted. Once you get used to it, however, it is no big deal.
How do they stop?
I did several upgrades to the brakes at once so I can not attribute the substantial increase in braking power to just the EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads however I am confident the EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads played a huge role in my newfound stopping ability. When I picked up the car from the shop with the new brakes I was going down a reasonable hill and decided to see what the brakes could do, so I stomped on them and promptly started to slide under my seatbelt.
While I am sure larger brakes such as the four-piston units used on the JCWs might be better, I would be hard-pressed to believe they are much better, Buster stops on a dime with change to spare.
Months later after I have had a chance to really put the EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads through everything from daily driving in heavy stop and go traffic to blazing-fast runs on some serious curvy roads, they still perform excellently. I have noticed no fading at high temps, very little brake dust, and that the EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads provide immediate and immense stopping power.
EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads score easily 5 out of 5 stars even with the slight increase in noise. When running the curves, you should always have as much or more braking power than you have going power, these pads really help.
I hope you enjoyed my EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads review!
