Mtec Discs And Pads...

[Mistermena]

Well this is a continuation about the awful Pagid discs and pads I bought for my T-180 estate.

The discs and pads supplied from Euro car parts (£185 including delivery) seemed to be a good quality after market set to replace the :censor: ones that were on the car. So armed with my spanners and jack I went out to fit them. Well to cut a very long 5 week story short and having taken each wheel, caliper and disc off 5 times I found that the ones supplied to me just didn't fit.

I checked the Pagid site and cross ref with the original Toyota parts and they seemed to be correct for my car. After many long hous of messing about (And at one point with a :censor: big Hammer in my hand) I decided to buy another set of discs and pads from MTEC. WOW... What a difference and they fit! L@@k great with the drilled and groved black addition, and the stopping is just amazing compared to the Bosch original set up I had.

So just a point of note for anyone wanting to change there braking components on there Avensis DON'T BUY PADIG! and look at the MTEC's and see what you think. Mine cost me £215 for the full set of discs and pads in Black including postage.

Hope this helps someone not to have the problems I've encountered with brakes

[Jamesbelfast]

Rather than rubbish the company who supplied the so-called ill-fitting discs it would much better if we knew why they didn't fit.

I take it you returned the items as faulty and got your money back.:)

[Mistermena]

Rather than rubbish the company who supplied the so-called ill-fitting discs it would much better if we knew why they didn't fit.

I take it you returned the items as faulty and got your money back.:)

I think that they should be rubbished! If a person goes to buy a product it should be the correct size for the car and fit for that purpose. They were half a milimetre to large on the circumference and 2mm to thick and the pads were quite differcult to place in the caliper. The new pads just slotted in without any problems at all. I will be taking the Pagid parts back on Monday as I've already spoken to them via the net to tell them how unhappy I am :censor:

[Jamesbelfast]

Now we know why they didn't fit.

Was it because they were poorly manufactured or the wrong type supplied?

It would be interesting to know if it was Pagids or Euro Car Parts fault.:)

[Mistermena]

I really dont know tbh. That is a question that i will pose to ECP when I take them back. They looked fine to me (Having changed brakes on many different cars for over 25 years) but they just simply dont fit the Avensis.

Its been so frustrating to have to keep taking the :censor: things off so many times to find that they are not correct for the car. But I look at it as something to learn from even when one does a cross reference to the main dealer product.

[Jamesbelfast]

To be honest many manufacturers chop and change component suppliers during construction runs. To be certain of a match it's best to check the sizes of the existing discs before ordering replacments. Sadly many a poor mechanic has been caught out. Most after-market disc suppliers quote their disc dimensions and profiles so for the sake of taking one wheel off each axle it saves so much time. Having worked at cars both professionally and at home for over 40 years I have learned never to assume a supplier will always supply the correct parts and I can't blame them to some extent as the range of disc available is enormous and it ony takes a simple mix-up in a database to foul things up.

So in essence as yet you just don't know if the Pagid discs are rubbish as you claimed in your first post.

Also one golden rule you should always observe when assembling brakes. If it requires you to use a hammer there is something badly wrong. All components should be easily assembled by hand.:)

[acetip]

To be honest many manufacturers chop and change component suppliers during construction runs. To be certain of a match it's best to check the sizes of the existing discs before ordering replacments. Sadly many a poor mechanic has been caught out. Most after-market disc suppliers quote their disc dimensions and profiles so for the sake of taking one wheel off each axle it saves so much time. Having worked at cars both professionally and at home for over 40 years I have learned never to assume a supplier will always supply the correct parts and I can't blame them to some extent as the range of disc available is enormous and it ony takes a simple mix-up in a database to foul things up.

So in essence as yet you just don't know if the Pagid discs are rubbish as you claimed in your first post.

Also one golden rule you should always observe when assembling brakes. If it requires you to use a hammer there is something badly wrong. All components should be easily assembled by hand.:)

HI james,good post.

nothing worse than promising a customer a date for his car to be fixed,then when part arrives its not what you ordered.been there myself.

[Mistermena]

To be honest many manufacturers chop and change component suppliers during construction runs. To be certain of a match it's best to check the sizes of the existing discs before ordering replacments. Sadly many a poor mechanic has been caught out. Most after-market disc suppliers quote their disc dimensions and profiles so for the sake of taking one wheel off each axle it saves so much time. Having worked at cars both professionally and at home for over 40 years I have learned never to assume a supplier will always supply the correct parts and I can't blame them to some extent as the range of disc available is enormous and it ony takes a simple mix-up in a database to foul things up.

So in essence as yet you just don't know if the Pagid discs are rubbish as you claimed in your first post.

Also one golden rule you should always observe when assembling brakes. If it requires you to use a hammer there is something badly wrong. All components should be easily assembled by hand.:)

I understand your point. But if they dont fit then in my view they are rubbish to me regardless of the reason! Not alot of point in having something that doesn't work.

But after checking on the Pagid site and on the Euro Car Part site it looked to be the correct size for the car. Hence the reason why I orderd them and the price was competitive compared to the main dealer. The point I made about the hammer was a "tongue in cheek" one as I'm aware that if you had to force them in then they were not correct. But when you've tried so many times to fit the parts and you've called on all your years of experiance and they still dont fit, all you want to do is give the :censor: thing a wack! :ffs:. To the human eye its almost impossible to see that the Pagid discs were 2mm to thick. Hence the reason to buy a completly different set up. And now the new discs and pads work fine and it only took an hour and a half to do all 4 corners. Job done

[bestseany]

The Pagid discs fit fine on my Avensis that I bought from Euro Car Parts.

However, they warped very quickly and now need replacing again.

[Heidfirst]

The Pagid discs fit fine on my Avensis that I bought from Euro Car Parts.

they may have fitted your car but the 2.2 D4Ds use different discs from the 2.0 petrol.

It will be interesting to find out whether Mistermena's Pagids were incorrectly boxed/labelled, supplied or manufactured.

[bestseany]

It's also worth noting that Euro Car Parts list two different types of Pagid discs for the front of 2.2 diesel.

[Heidfirst]

Pagid themselves only list one though (albeit it's a direct replacement for an older part #).

Mind you Toyota themselves also changed part # (possible oem supplier change?) but again a direct replacement.

[baba_metca]

I'v installed Pagid front break pads on my avensis and the mechanic had no problem.

[Darius28]

Well this is a continuation about the awful Pagid discs and pads I bought for my T-180 estate.

The discs and pads supplied from Euro car parts (£185 including delivery) seemed to be a good quality after market set to replace the :censor: ones that were on the car. So armed with my spanners and Jack I went out to fit them. Well to cut a very long 5 week story short and having taken each wheel, caliper and disc off 5 times I found that the ones supplied to me just didn't fit.

I checked the Pagid site and cross ref with the original Toyota parts and they seemed to be correct for my car. After many long hous of messing about (And at one point with a :censor: big Hammer in my hand) I decided to buy another set of discs and pads from MTEC. WOW... What a difference and they fit! L@@k great with the drilled and groved black addition, and the stopping is just amazing compared to the Bosch original set up I had.

So just a point of note for anyone wanting to change there braking components on there Avensis DON'T BUY PADIG! and look at the MTEC's and see what you think. Mine cost me £215 for the full set of discs and pads in Black including postage.

Hope this helps someone not to have the problems I've encountered with brakes

Hey Mistermena,

did you get break pads from Mtec too? i emailed them as couldnt see any pads for sale, they replied offering mintex red box for £46. Thanks

[Mistermena]

Hiya mate,

Yer I got the Mintex pads with them as past of the disc pad set up. £215 delivered. Going to buy another set off them for my Polo TDi as I think they're great value and look fantastic. Ferodo pads is what I'd get if I had the option tbh. But they are more expensive.

They said that they'd do me a deal on th next set of discs and pads as I've bought this lot off them

[Lupidog]

I had already ordered Front and Rear Mtec drilled and grooved Discs and Mintex Redbox pads direct from Mtec yesterday and then I saw this post tonight.

I have a late 06 Rav4 T180 and as I couldn't find the full set on the website or separate Brake Pads, I phoned them on Monday using the number on their website. Their first question was are the front discs 276mm or 296mm. As Big Kev will agree, I didn't know that there were 2 types of front discs fitted to the RAV4 T180.

After removing a Wheel to get an exact measurement on the front I was able to see it was 296mm and that the rear was obviously smaller at 276mm. I could see that the fronts were larger without removing the wheel, but I couldn't get an exact measurement and didn't want to take any chances.

I rang them Tuesday and ordered the front and rear discs plus the pads. I had asked them by phone if they supply pads and they do. It just doesn’t show on their website unless you buy a disc and pad set (Which isn't shown for the D-CAT T180).

As you can see below. they offered to put the set specific to the Rav T180 on their website and gave me other ordering options.

Please be aware that although I am not in a position to confirm this the D4D brakes are different to the D-Cat brakes they do show as different.

I have been told that this will be delivered by Friday and that will coincide nicely with the arrival of my Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow Tyres. I had wanted Verdstein W4EXT, but they are rare as Hens teeth now and not due be widely available until late Autumn. I am going to use the Pirellis's as all year tyres as most of my driving is farm and country lane. The reviews I have read say they are excellent all year tyres which excel in the Winter.

As you can see mine were slightly cheaper but I went for Stainless rather than Black discs.

I have attached a couple of emails below which show their good service so far:

From: MTEC Brakes <mtecbrakes@yahoo.co.uk>

Subject: Re: discs and pads

hi Rob

we can supply a complete kit for £204.95, and we can list it on our website, send a paypal invoice, or take your order on the number below,

Thanks

Gavin

MTEC Black Edition Discs now available.

Freephone 0800 4101910 for sales and enquiries

www.mtecbrakes.co.uk

From: MTEC Brakes <mtecbrakes@yahoo.co.uk>

Subject: Re: discs and pads

To: Lupidog

Date: Tuesday, 29 March, 2011, 9:14

Hi Rob

I have attached your invoice above for you, i have checked your reg and 2 discs options are showing for the front the 276mm or the 296mm, your reg gives us all the info on your model right down to the colour which is black, unfortunately as it doesn't confirm which size is required, if you are unsure we would advise measuring your current discs to be certain.

Thanks

Claire

[Mistermena]

I dont think you'll be sorry in the choice of discs and pads. I beleive that mine were 296mm (But I can't remember tbh now) as I was so happy to get a set that fitted the T-180. I had spoken to the lovely Claire ( Love that Irish accent ) and she confirmed the size as there were 2 different quoted for the front disc set. I paid the extra £25 for the black version as I didn't want the hubs to rust up like hell as the last set did. They looked awful and the stopping was even worse.

I'm looking for a winter set of Verdstein to. Either those or the Goodyears that won the Auto Express shoot out on winter tyres. I bought a brand new genuine set of 17" Toyota alloys from eBay for £185 delivered. But finding a set of winter tyres has proven difficult as most manufactures only go upto 16" alloys for my tyre size I've found.

Take some pics and post them on here when your done. I have some posted on the Avensis forum. Just a point of note. Be carful when you try to take the rear discs off. Because if they are rusted on like mine you'll need 2 M8 (If I remember correctly) bolts to withdraw the discs from the hub after you've slacken off the inner hub handbrake parking shoe adjuster.

I was unlucky as when I did mine it took the friction material off the shoe and one of the retaining shoe spring pins gave up the ghost. So after phoning all round the motor factor I found that you could only get this 10p spring as part of a £44 set from Toyota! I was well :censor: off and had to wait another week for them to arrive.

[Lupidog]

I will repost when I have the discs and tyres fitted. Don't rule out the Pirelli's they have some very good reviews.

The spring will be a common item to that particular brake calliper. You should be able to get the spring from an independent calliper supplier or even a breakers (although you may have to fork out a Tenner for the whole calliper).

The Toyota dealer you are using can use there discretion and just supply you the spring and of course they are choosing not to. Its the same as them choosing not to supply the reversing camera for the wiring loom, brackets and feed cable connected to the monitor which are already fitted to all Rav4 T180's, but the camera was not available at build and now you can buy the whole loom, feed and camera for £700, but you can't just have the £15 camera.

Hence the reason for moving away from toyota discs as well.

[Mistermena]

I will repost when I have the discs and tyres fitted. Don't rule out the Pirelli's they have some very good reviews.

The spring will be a common item to that particular brake calliper. You should be able to get the spring from an independent calliper supplier or even a breakers (although you may have to fork out a Tenner for the whole calliper).

The Toyota dealer you are using can use there discretion and just supply you the spring and of course they are choosing not to. Its the same as them choosing not to supply the reversing camera for the wiring loom, brackets and feed cable connected to the monitor which are already fitted to all Rav4 T180's, but the camera was not available at build and now you can buy the whole loom, feed and camera for £700, but you can't just have the £15 camera.

Hence the reason for moving away from toyota discs as well.

I dont blame you for going for an after market set up either. And you'll find these to be far better than the original Bosch discs and pads in my view. I called 4 Toyota main dealers to see if I could just buy a pin retaining spring. I even went to Kwik fit and other places and offered them a fiver for one. But they didn't have that type and so it was main dealer for me.

I asked the same question to the main dealer service department, and they couldn't or wouldn't sell me a spring. Not even for a tennor. But never mind as I've done the job now.

Thats a crazy price £700 for the camera kit. Have a search and see if you can pick one up off good old eBay. I'll take a look at the tyres you recommend to

[Lupidog]

Tx, I don't need the kit. I was just using that as an example. I have everything fitted in the vehicle except the camera. I have already looked on eBay, etc.. But I would still prefer the original camera, so I am keeping my eyes peeled at various Breakers.

I don't need it as the parking sensors are excellent. It's just another "nice to have".

[Darius28]

I went to Unipart shop today to get the quote, and it came up £180 ish for Mtec discs and pads, very similar to Mtec web prices. Just its a shame that they cant get grooved or drilled discs, but reckon the usual ones are as good as those bit pimped :). What do you think guys?

[Lupidog]

The "grooved" is mainly about airflow across each surface and also keeping the discs and pads free from contamination.

The "drilled" is mainly about getting the heat away from the core of the disc.

As you brake the discs heat up and the braking performance deminishes as the disc heat. It is not necessary to have the discs grooved and drilled for normal road use, however it can help to prevent disc "scoring" due to less contamination and warping due to overheating cause by excess braking.

The grooved and drilled option seemed the most sensible to me as I have suffered both warping and bad scroring on previous Rav4 standard discs.

[Heidfirst]

I went to Unipart shop today to get the quote, and it came up £180 ish for Mtec discs and pads, very similar to Mtec web prices. Just its a shame that they cant get grooved or drilled discs, but reckon the usual ones are as good as those bit pimped :). What do you think guys?

afaik Unipart don't resell Mtec discs (& Mtec resell Mintex pads, they aren't their own) ...

As for grooved v drilled v grooved + drilled v grooved + dimpled well, I went for grooved only.

Reason being that it's not unknown for drilled discs to develop cracks & in road use I didn't think that the extra heat dispersal/weight reduction would affect me.

Grooved & dimpled gives the cosmetic look of grooved & drilled without hopefully the potential cracking.

With grooved only you get 10 grooves per side whereas with + drilled or + dimpled you get 8 per side.

It's personal preference though.

Oh & I went for Ferodo Premier pads - again personal preference.

[Lupidog]

Hello again, the saga continues.....

I finally got around to fitting the Mtech grooved, drilled and ventillated front discs and pads and the rear grooved, drilled and non ventillated rear discs and pads today.

No issues at all, everything fitted perfectly, thank you Mtech.

I did this at the same time as removing the BRS rims and replacing the Brigestones with Dunlop SP Winter Sports 3D 235/55/18 tyres.

The discs and pads perform well, although its too early to say how well as they are not fully bedded in yet.

The Dunlops have excellent grip in the dry, a more comfortable ride on tarmac and off road in my fields they perform just as well as Michellin Lattitude Cross or Continental Cross Contacts. I haven't used them in the wet so I will post how they perform when it rains. They do have a fair bit more road noise than the bridgestones, some of that can be put down to new tyre tread, but I think it isn't going to get much better. You will have to wait until winter for a snow trial.

[Mistermena]

I'm glad that your pleased with the MTEC set up. Mine are beding in quite nicely now. I've just ordered another full set for my VW Polo TDi, they should be here tomorrow morning so I'll know what I'll be doing on the weekend

I went for the drilled and groved again, but not the black ones this time as you cant really see them that well with my 14" alloys. Got them for £145 delivered from the lovely Claire at MTEC B)