hey,
just thought i would post a quick comment in regards to a set of a1rm front pads that i put on an mps3 recently
firstly, gslrallysport are really good to deal with, and the pads were received shortly after via courier
installation was pretty straight forward and quick
couldn't be bothered machining the discs, and just took the car out to bed them in after bleeding the brakes.
impressions after bedding:
- pads do not have as much initial bite as the oem pads, and require an extended bedding in process, which may be due to me not machining the discs. recommend finding a freeway to bed them in, at night, and late
- pedals feel kind of spongey and requires a bit of effort to stop the vehicle
- no noise, but they smell good
- no noticeable dust on the rim unless you touch it with your fingers
anyway, i decided that i would take them for a bit of a drive the next day to run them in a bit:
- initial bite not as good as oem when cold, so require some warming up
- pads will require more pedal pressure than oem to slow the car down when cold
- initial bite when warm still not as good as oem, but the stopping ability is really starting to pick up now and the pedal is actually starting to feel solid
- can easily lock up the fronts
- no noise yet, and the smell is gone
- a fine layer of dust, but definitely less then stock
now, after 2 weeks of daily commuting to and from work in peak hour traffic:
- pads warm up quickly during peak hour driving
- still nothing too flash when cold and requires a bit of motivation
- very nice feel in the pedal when warm, and good stopping power
- can easily trigger the abs without too much effort
- squeaks at low speeds under minimal pedal pressure when warm (although a different car with the same pads only gets the squeak when cold, while another gets no squeak at all)
- sqeak can be heard inside the cabin, with windows up, no music on
- barely any more dust compared to the last check, so i think the majority of it was due to the bedding
so far, i will say that the pads are quite good, but i can see how they are not for everbody. for a start, i am sure some people will be put off by the noise, and as i mentioned, i know two people with different cars and same pads who either get no squeak, or a sqeuak when the pads are cold.
because they are meant to be a street and track pad, they definitely do not stop as well when dead cold compared to the oem pads, but will have similar and possibly better stopping ability when warm. i havent driven them that hard yet to comment on their limits, but i do know that they stop very well at higher speeds, possibly better than the oems.
they do not require much effort to heat up either, and about 4 stops from 50km/hr (or less) is pretty much enough to get them up to operating temperature for me, though this will vary for different people and conditions.
i dont want to make it seem like the pads are crap, when in fact they are a good pad in my opinion.
- the fact that they require a bit of warming up is not an issue for me, nor is the squeak
- the low dust is good (after 2 weeks of daily commuting, i have less dust than about 4 days of commuting on the oem pads)
- similar stopping ability to oem (possibly better), though pedal feel is different
- cheaper than oem
would i recommend these pads? yes i would, but they are not for everyon
i will update this again with more feedback once i bleed the brakes and do something besides peak hour driving